The music of the country often finds its lyrical soul in the heart. But for the singer Chase McDaniel, He needed a failed Prer PR attempt – and almost lost his life in his devastating consequences – to become the unlikely inspiration for his transformation from Powerlifter into a powerful wildcard.
Kedaki’s local remembers little of this fatal lift, when there was a clear 300 -pound force, became his worst scenario. McDaniel destroyed at the top of the lift before collapsing on the platform, as 300kg of iron crashed in its 155 -pounds. The accident left him in the hospital with severe concussion, followed by amnesia.
Then things get worse.
In the months and years that followed, McDaniel was haunted by relentless panic attacks – he attacks so intense that even the most basic tasks felt insurmountable, including gaming in the gym. “He feels like an impending death and there is nothing you can do for it,” he says.
Before the accident, the lifting heavy-McDaniel once destroyed a better 491-pound competition-it was its main emotional exit. “The transition to the gym has always been how I got involved in the world,” he explains.
But after he had to give up Powerlifting, McDaniel turned to music to edit his emotions. “The only place left was in my mind,” he says. “And even though my head was a really dangerous place to be, the only place I could put on the words – because I didn’t want to tell anyone about it – it was in music.”
The song became his treatment, a way to channel pain and confusion into something creative and therapeutic.
This week, McDaniel’s story comes full cycle with the release of his autobiographical debut album, Lost, September 19th. The title piece, accompanied by his emotionally raw video, is part of a deep personal work dedicated not only to the fans of the country, but also to anyone who fights with their battles in their heads. “This whole album is a personal journey,” he says. “They are all personal anecdotes, and they are also stories of overcoming.”
The answer was overwhelmingly positive. His debut, ‘Underneath the sky’ He landed on the top 3 of the most added tracks in Country Radio, which won him the Musicrow’s “Discovery Award” award. He has also released pieces such as “Heart still works” and “doing it so far”, and is going to support superstar Jason Aldean on his upcoming tour.
In addition to his musical achievements, McDaniel returned to the weightroom. Although it starts from scratch – using lighter weights and a smith machine to rebuild its power – its first goal is to once again press the bench to push 250 lbs. Spiritually, it is a huge step forward for an artist who was once on the brink of suicide before a stranger intervenes and pulled him into security.
“I tried to promote it alone,” he says. “And then I tried to kill myself. I found myself standing on the side of a bridge trying to jump and the guy pulled me back.”
Robbie Stevens
Chase McDaniel: Barbells before ballads
Chase McDaniel’s stabilization with Powerlifting started at the same time as he learned to walk. This is the rule when you grow up in a family that “eats, sleeps and breathes powerlifting”. The singer “Burned Down Heaven” was introduced to the gym at the age of four by both his father, a national champion and his grandfather, an Olympic lifter. “My dad and my priest made me squat when I was four,” he says. “It was only all I knew.”
The early introduction of McDaniel quickly turned into a lifelong obsession with force. The gym was more than just a place to build muscle-it was his sanctuary that relieved stress and a evidence that you should never underestimate the little guy. “In high school and high school,” he says, “I was a very small guy – I never weigh more than 150 pounds, but I got a lot of good in powerlifting.
His numbers talked about themselves. “My occupation of competition was 491, while in the gym I did over 500,” he says. “On the bench – again in the gym – I did about 315 or 325.”
Although he published impressive PRS at 155 pounds, McDaniel says his pull created most of the problems during the competition. “My Deadlift was my worst elevator,” he says. “I think it was somewhere in the 90s, maybe 500 again.”
Even with compact numbers, the singer began to push harder after the death of his father’s excessive dose during his highest year in high school. “I decided that I wanted to do Olympic weight lifting,” he says. “I have taken this powerlifting thing as much as I can go. And at that moment, they only had the 2012 Olympics. I was like, man, [the U.S.] He has not won gold for many years, maybe I will be the guy. ”
From the edge of the platform to the edge of despair
Many lifters have, at some point, considered that the sense of feeling, the dizziness, and even the nausea-when they were trying a maximum. Most of us immediately reject it as an uncomfortable price signal that comes with profits, rarely if it ever gives a second thought of possible consequences.
With the American open weight event quickly approaching, McDaniel went on to work out strong and motivate to attempt a pure personal better than 300 pounds. Instead, he found himself in a hospital bed, with little memory of anything around him.
“I went with over 300 pounds on me,” he recalls. “I woke up on a cat scan machine and had a support around my neck. Then I had no idea who I was, what day it was, what year it was, even who my family was.”
Physical injuries were serious – McDaniel suffered a concussion and throat injury – but psychological wounds were running even deeper. Like many athletes, he tried to rush his return to the gym. However, the results were almost as destructive as its concussion.
“I tried to go to the gym probably two weeks later,” he admits. “I just used a warm -up weight, like 40 pounds, and felt like a bomb that came out on my skull. I just started crying and returning home and didn’t get back to a gym after that.
McDaniel’s problems have worsened, extending to his daily life. “I had panic attacks I went to grocery stores and panic attacks in my house.
Initially, as many young and naive athletes, he chose to “platinum”, trying to correct his issues. Even when spiritual stress continued to build – including the pain of his father’s loss years earlier in addiction – he believed he could only fight in the dark. In the end, the pain became unbearable. He tried suicide, standing over a bridge, waiting for the moment to jump. But through the miracle of a passerby who stops lending emotional support, McDaniel did not pass with it.
“I tried to promote it and then tried to kill myself,” he says openly. “So I got sick. It wasn’t because I wanted to die, it was because I didn’t want to feel like that anymore.”
Robbie Stevens
Chase McDaniel is now attacking music to help silence panic attacks
Chase McDaniel describes his panic attacks so much more than just periods of stress-are complete attacks on his entire body. From unbearable migraines to senses of cardiac arrest, the symptoms are severe and overwhelming. “Imagine you are running from a tiger. You are running from a lion. You are already in his mouth. And there is nothing you can do for it,” he says.
It took almost five years before McDaniel allowed himself to seek professional help. He says it was an emotional change of change, though he admits that the road to regularity is still long.
“I finally went to the treatment and did some other things,” he says. “And not that I’m completely there, but I’m much closer than I was on this bridge.”
For McDaniel, the scene is not just a place for music – it is also a creative safe space to escape as much as possible from the stress that consumes other areas of his life. Although it rarely experiences complete panic attacks during the performances, the fear of this worst scenario is enough to create another form of anxiety. “I will have panic attacks to have a panic attack on stage,” he admits. “If there is a worse place for this to happen, they are literally in front of as many people are here.”
The road to regularity was gradual. Chase McDaniel learned to meditate before training, practiced self-speech and took small steps-like the grocery store only-as part of his journey to recover his life. But perhaps the most powerful tool was music. Songs like the Dark “Burned Down Heaven” have been described as “dynamically written … his pain, the inflated vocalist sells it as a job”.
“Music was always part of my life, but I think it really sank into my DNA after the accident.
McDaniel recently started the Lost Ones Fan Club, Creating a supportive community for others facing similar mental health challenges.
And perhaps the most inspired: McDaniel is slowly returning to the gym. Using a Smith machine instead of a power shelf, McDaniel is currently focusing on lighter weights to rebuild his power and trust. Although far from installing new PRS – it still targets the Bench 250 kg. Each session is a mental victory as it works to overcome the fear and trauma associated with the past of the accident.
“I still fail. You know. I had a panic attack two nights leaving the gym. But I did.
