{"id":24835,"date":"2026-07-16T07:24:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T07:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=24835"},"modified":"2026-07-16T07:24:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T07:24:05","slug":"how-diplo-built-a-lean-athletic-body-at-47-and-why-he-stopped-training-like-a-bodybuilder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=24835","title":{"rendered":"How Diplo Built a Lean, Athletic Body at 47 \u2013\u00a0and Why He Stopped Training Like a Bodybuilder"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Diplo<\/a>, the Grammy Award\u2013winning DJ and producer, lives in a $13 million Malibu home that once belonged to Kid Rock. The property is expansive \u2013 lush and green, with wild parrots in the trees \u2013 though the natural setting belies a home gym heavy on tech. Diplo has all of the toys you\u2019d expect (cold plunge, sauna<\/a>, hyperbaric chamber) and some you wouldn\u2019t. He recently had the engineers at Hypoxico build an altitude chamber large enough to fit his Peloton, so he can simulate riding at 10,000 feet.<\/p>\n

‘People think I\u2019m just, like, a drug addict or something because I\u2019m a DJ,’ says Diplo<\/a>, who goes by Wes offstage. The guy barely drinks, pointing out the obvious: playing a set in Vegas at 3 in the morning is still a job, one he\u2019s paid hundreds of thousands of dollars per night to do with big-beat energy. ‘Can you<\/em> go into your office and rip a bottle of tequila?’<\/p>\n

One can be forgiven for making assumptions. This is, after all, the dude who famously ran the Los Angeles Marathon high on LSD in 2023 (in under four hours, no less). But point taken. When you\u2019re on the road for 200 days a year \u2013 and producing for Beyonc\u00e9, Bieber, and BTS \u2013 you\u2019ve gotta nurture your body and mind. Especially when you\u2019re 47. There\u2019s a mythology around touring artists \u2013 the groupies, the parties, the drugs \u2013 but Diplo is part of a generation of musicians intent on changing that narrative by approaching health and fitness like an elite athlete.<\/p>\n

‘When I was younger, I wanted to be massive. I\u2019m not trying to be ripped now,’ he says, adding that his workouts these days have a single goal: to keep him from ‘ever getting hurt’.<\/p>\n

For the record, Diplo is in enviable shape. We took a boutique fitness class together in Malibu \u2013 a combo of yoga and boxing \u2013 and he tore his shirt off, revealing a tight core and the kind of yoked biceps you don\u2019t get from spinning records. As a kid in Florida, he wrestled in middle school and ran in a trash bag to make weight. His daily routine has evolved since, now including a mix of running, yoga, swimming, and sauna, with a focus on functional training. <\/p>\n

‘Small movements,’ he says, ‘getting my hamstrings open, a little bit of chest and bodyweight, but it\u2019s mostly animal-style calisthenics<\/a>.’ <\/p>\n

Whatever he\u2019s doing, he says, he wants it to be ‘effective for my life’.<\/p>\n

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Clayton Cotterell<\/span><\/figcaption>

Diplo running near his home in Malibu, California. on June 9, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

When I ask about his sleep habits, he actually shakes his head, saying, ‘I don\u2019t even want to talk about it.’ <\/p>\n

Sometimes he gets just four hours on the road, and that\u2019s not a brag. He has a partnership with the fitness wearable Whoop, and after its team looked at his sleep data, ‘they were like, “Are you dying?”‘ <\/p>\n

Everyone is on him about it, including the longevity enthusiast Bryan Johnson<\/a>, a friend who regularly sends Diplo ’40-minute’ voice notes advocating two things: drinking olive oil that\u2019s high in polyphenols and sleeping more.<\/p>\n

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Kevin Mazur<\/span>\/\/<\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption>

Major muscle: Diplo spinning at Coachella, April 12, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

He\u2019s working on it (and has the cold-pressed olive oil on the counter to prove it). But his life entails some unique challenges. DJ sets require standing for hours on end, and according to his frequent trainer Stephen Cheuk, founder of a New York\u2013based studio called S10<\/a>, their workouts are designed to boost Diplo\u2019s mitochondrial capacity \u2013 his energy production, basically. They involve a lot of zone 2 cardio<\/a> (an intensity at which you can hold a conversation), which, when done in an altitude chamber with less oxygen, trains your body to use energy resources more efficiently. His workouts are also highly intentional, which might mean boxing one day and big-toe stretches (to combat plantar fasciitis) another. Cheuk praises Diplo\u2019s consistency: he\u2019s the rare client who might do a 20-minute yoga session on the plane and then go from the airport to the gym.<\/p>\n

For Diplo, that commitment \u2013 drilled into him by his father, a military vet \u2013 is about much more than his physical health. <\/p>\n

‘It\u2019s my mental state,’ the DJ says. From a young age, Diplo has dealt with ADHD<\/a>. It remains an almost comical challenge. While we talk, at various points he\u2019s distracted by an errant squirrel, his cell phone, and a neon green didgeridoo he\u2019s just 3D-printed, putting his lips to it to prove it works. Earlier this year, he flew to Uganda between Coachella weekends for an off-the-grid adventure, but also because he couldn\u2019t sit still.<\/p>\n

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Clayton Cotterell<\/span><\/figcaption>

Diplo\u2019s training is a mash-up of lifting, calisthenics, yoga, and running.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Clayton Cotterell<\/span><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

He\u2019s wildly competitive, telling me he goes into group yoga classes with the intention of ‘winning’, whatever that means. But working out also helps to quiet his mind so he can be the best version of himself. What we\u2019re circling is one big idea: sweating as a form of meditation. What really gets him going is running, a decidedly analogue sport. He often runs while touring, he says, telling me about running the beach in Copacabana or some New Zealand trails through Middle-earth.<\/p>\n

Perhaps surprisingly, Diplo doesn\u2019t listen to music while he jogs, choosing instead to be alone with his thoughts \u2013 sometimes working through to-do lists, other times contemplating his goals (which include doing a triathlon and possibly running another marathon). In 2024, he started Diplo\u2019s Run Club<\/a>, a 5K that\u2019s grown to include races in nine US cities (with major corporate sponsors and international invitations pending). He\u2019s quickly become one of the most powerful evangelists for the sport.<\/p>\n

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Clayton Cotterell<\/span><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Diplo runs in most of the club\u2019s events and also DJs at the finish line \u2013 a pop-up day club that thrives on camaraderie and community. When asked what running means to him, this self-described poor kid from Florida praises its low-bordering-on-no barrier to entry. <\/p>\n

‘It\u2019s the most democratic sport you can do,’ he says. ‘You don\u2019t need anything but shoes. You can do it anywhere you are.’ <\/p>\n

Plus, it helps him combat jet lag, which is a bonus when he\u2019s often in multiple time zones in a single week.<\/p>\n

For Diplo, a father of three, staying in peak shape is increasingly personal. He lost his sister, Amy, in 2023 to some combination of obesity and diabetes, he says, explaining a shift in his intentions of late. Ten years ago, his life was all about going on the road and making money. Now, he says, ‘what matters most is my health, my wellbeing. I want to be here for as long as possible, making music for as long as possible.’<\/p>\n

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Clayton Cotterell<\/span><\/figcaption>

Mobility work helps Diplo crush 5Ks, carve waves, and slay long DJ sets<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Diplo is home in Malibu maybe eight days a month. When he\u2019s in town, he likes to surf at Point Dume, comparing the chilly ocean water to a cold plunge (if you don\u2019t wear a wet suit). Surfing is a full-body workout, he points out, saying he sometimes has to paddle a quarter mile back after catching a wave. But the benefits are maybe more intangible.<\/p>\n

Recently, he says, ‘I was out there. You\u2019ve got nothing going on. All you got is the horizon. Somebody behind you is going to talk to you about crypto \u2013 because it\u2019s Malibu. I\u2019m just like, Shut the fuck up. <\/em>Then you paddle away and you stay on the sunset. Surfing is technical. But looking at waves? All that shit is supernatural.’ <\/p>\n

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Photographs:<\/strong> Clayton Cotterell
Grooming:<\/strong> Jenna Nelson using La Prairie skincare for The Wall Group
Creative Director:<\/strong> Jamie Prokell
Visual Director:<\/strong> Sally Berman
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\"fitness<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

If there\u2019s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it\u2019s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in \u2013 all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here<\/a> to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the <\/strong>Men\u2019s Health <\/em><\/strong>app.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Mickey Rapkin is a journalist and screenwriter whose first book, Pitch Perfect, inspired the film series. Previously a senior editor at GQ, he has written for The New York Times, WSJ, and National Geographic. He lives in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n