Biography of Dan Reynolds
Daniel Colter Reynolds is an American professional musician and vocalist, one of the founders and a permanent member of the rock band Imagine Dragons. The formation of the team took place in 2008-2009, the peak of development was in 2012-2016. Reynolds and his band became a sensation in the world of music, combining various styles such as pop, country, R&B, synth-pop and rock.
Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds
Childhood and education
Dan Reynolds was born on July 14, 1987 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
His parents, Ronald and Christine Reynolds, belong to the Mormon religious movement widespread in the United States. One of the features inherent in Mormons is having many children based on adherence to Christian traditions. It is therefore not surprising that the Reynolds family raised nine children, the seventh of whom was Daniel (Dan) Coulter. From early childhood, Daniel was taught to play music; he and the rest of his sisters and brothers learned to play the piano from the age of 6.
The huge family of Dan Reynolds (in the center are the musician’s parents)
While studying at school, Daniel was a difficult teenager; it was difficult for him to communicate with his peers; the future musician was tormented by complexes due to his appearance. Dan Reynolds later recalled that as a child he had only one friend; he could not become part of any company. The teenager's consolation was his serious passion for music - from the age of 12, Daniel began composing his own melodies using a computer.
In his youth, Dan Reynolds suffered from complexes due to his appearance
In the Reynolds family, passion for music was considered more of a hobby than a life credo or a serious profession. Later in college, while creating the rock band Imagine Dragons, Daniel was very worried about his parents’ attitude towards his occupation, and felt discomfort due to the difference with his brothers and sisters, who were already working as lawyers and doctors. Eventually, with dreams of a career in the military or FBI, he enrolled at the private Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. After the first year, he dropped out of school, but it was in this place that he met his future partners in the musical group Andrew Tolman (drums), Wayne Sermon (guitar), as well as temporary members of the group - Aurora Florence (keyboards), Dave Lemke (bass -guitar), Andrew Beck (guitar), Brittany Tolman (keyboards). A very young Dan Reynolds plays the guitar. In the period from 2008 to 2009, the group, starting with performances among peers and in local bars, came to a number of victories in student competitions. Regular music lessons already at this stage allowed Daniel to grow greatly in terms of vocal skills, ability to play the guitar and drums. The realization of his first successes prompted Dan Reynolds to decide to leave the university and devote himself entirely to his career as a musician.
Symptoms worsened when Imagine Dragons gained industry attention
“When I woke up, I felt stuck for hours. I haven't been able to touch my fingers since this morning,” Reynolds says. “It was terrible at night. I could not sleep. Due to the excruciating pain, I kept turning over. I tried to find a position that wouldn't hurt. Even sitting for long periods of time was a problem.
Right before the band got signed, we were playing clubs around Los Angeles and Las Vegas. We had one of those shuttle buses to the airport that we used to take. Representatives of record companies began to come to our concerts. And I knew that I was not able to perform the shows that I could produce.
I remember doing a show in San Diego where I was stiff as a board. I stood completely still and straight the whole time. They probably thought it was my thing (laughs): “He has really good posture!” Any movement while singing caused this spasmodic nerve pain.”
Music career
In 2009, the group, having gained fame in Provo, moved to Las Vegas, where they began performing at local strip bars and casinos. Here the group releases its first mini-albums: “Imagine Dragons” and “Hell and Silence”.
Dan Reynolds is Mormon
The first major success and widespread fame came to “Imagine Dragons” after their performance at the Bite of Las Vegas 2009 festival, where they appeared as a replacement for the retired rock band Train. Participation in this major festival gave Dan Reynolds and his band the important experience of performing in front of an audience of more than 25,000 people, recognition from listeners, event organizers and music critics.
The rapid growth of popularity and coverage of the group in the press allowed in 2010 “Imagine Dragons” to receive the status of “The Most Popular Group of 2010”, in which they already performed at the Bite of Las Vegas 2010 festival as a guest group.
Dan Reynolds and Imagine Dragons
An important stage in both the career and personal life of Dan Reynolds was the meeting in 2010 with his future wife Aya Volkman, the lead singer of the group “Nico Vega”. Together they recorded four tracks included in the mini-album “Egyptian”. Egyptian – Fade In November 2011, the up-and-coming rock band Imagine Dragons signed a contract with Interscope Records, allowing them to begin fruitful work with Grammy Award-winning producer Alex Da Kid. This collaboration gave the music world the single “It’s Time” (2012), the mini-album “Continued Silence” (2012) and the full-length albums “Night Visions” (2012), “Smoke and Mirrors” (2015) and “Evolve” (2017). , and their tracks have firmly entered the radio airwaves around the world and have received recognition from listeners and critics. Dan Reynolds: on the creation of the song “Next to me” The most outstanding and highly acclaimed compositions include “Believer” (2017), “Radioactive” (2012) and “Thunder” (2017). Each of these rock hits topped the charts in the US, Canada, Sweden or the Czech Republic.
Stress management, self-discipline is the key to achieving remission
What does Dan Reynolds recommend most for those struggling with ankylosing spondylitis or another autoimmune disease? Be kind to yourself and eliminate stressful situations from your life, he urges.
Whether you're a rock star or not, stress always appears in life as a catalyst for outbreaks. Do things every day that will color your life. Treat yourself to whatever you want. If I need to listen to my podcasts, or go to the gym, or read a book, that's what I'll do. My priority in life is my health. If I don't have health, I'm not capable of anything. I can't be a good father, a good musician, a good husband.
Dan Reynolds on Ankylosing Spondylitis #MonsterPainInTheAS.
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Social activity
One of the goals of Dan Reynolds's creativity and social activities is the fight against suicide and intolerance towards the LGBT community, as well as helping those suffering from ankylosing spondylitis (inflammation of the joints of the spine). The topic of complex illnesses and the deep depression that comes from this state is well known to Dan Reynolds. He created This AS Life Live!, an interactive course on the symptoms of the disease, how to manage it, and how to live with ankylosing spondylitis.
Dan Reynolds' disease is called ankylosing spondylitis
The Imagine Dragons singer himself suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, which, in his own words, turns life into a constant struggle. Against this background, he developed an anxiety disorder, and when the musician finally managed to get out of a particularly prolonged depressive phase, he wrote the song “Radioactive” as a symbol of a new page in life. The song subsequently became a major hit for Imagine Dragons. Imagine Dragons – Radioactive Another cornerstone theme can be considered regular support for the LGBT community, an attempt to convey the message of equality of people with traditional and non-traditional orientations. He pays special attention in this matter to Mormons, who have a negative attitude towards any manifestations of non-traditional orientation. Dan Reynolds came up with the idea of creating The LoveloudFestival, a series of concerts in Utah dedicated to the problem of suicide among teenagers associated with the LGBT community.
Dan Reynolds is not gay, but supports the LGBT community
Stretching and yoga help prevent stiffness and pain
Despite his skepticism about yoga, Reynolds says his wife convinced him to try it. "When my wife asked, 'Why don't you try yoga?' ", I said: "Only over my corpse" (laughs). I'm 1.93 meters tall and I wasn't flexible at all. The last thing I wanted to do was go to this class where people were doing handstands and walking like crabs. … But now yoga is a big part of my exercise.”
In 2020, Dan Reynolds posted a shirtless photo of his muscular torso on Instagram . Freed from the mystery of his invisible illness, he began sharing more and more of his healthy lifestyle with his fans. In the post, he thanked his trainer Ben Feinberg for helping him control his symptoms. “I spent a decade battling an autoimmune disease that inflamed all my joints (JJ). I now live pain free, am in complete remission, and am the healthiest I have ever known. Proper diet, vitamins and exercise. It changed my life.”
Personal life of Dan Reynolds
Dan Reynolds was married once, divorced, but reconciled with his wife again. Father of three children. The Imagine Dragons singer met his future wife Aya Volkman (also a singer and musician) in 2010, during her performance at a nightclub in Las Vegas. Already in March 2011 they got married.
Dan Reynolds and his wife Aya
At the beginning of their married life, they repeatedly publicly expressed the depth of their feelings for their other half. Dan Reynolds claimed that their couple was connected not only by music, but also by deep, warm feelings of recognition of a loved one.
The marriage gave birth to three daughters: Arrow Eve Reynolds (born August 18, 2012), twins Coco Rey and Gia James (born March 28, 2020). Dan Reynolds has repeatedly said in his interviews that his children and wife gave him hope and strength to fight the disease and were a bright ray in his life.
The Imagine Dragons singer has three children
At the end of April 2020, the couple announced the start of divorce proceedings, without even hinting at the possible reasons for the disagreement. It took them eight months to make peace. Now there is harmony in the family again. “I’m proud of you, Dan Reynolds, for your humility and ability to still be a loving dad,” Aya wrote on Instagram.
