Daniel was born and raised in Houston, Tx. The second oldest of five kids who were all homeschooled, Daniel was always a fun-loving adventurer. Growing up, he spent a lot of time outdoors, climbing trees and playing sports. Fun fact: he wasn’t very good at any of the sports he played as a kid. He just loved being active and was competitive enough to not quit when things got tough. During middle school Daniel spent a brief time obese for his age weighing over 150lbs, which ultimately kickstarted his passion for health and nutrition on top of his childhood love of movement and sports. During his high school & young adult years his focus turned to new passions such as singing, dancing, acting and the performing arts.

After graduating high school, he attended a two-year ministry school and received an associates degree and simultaneously began coaching & training at Iron Sports Ninja Gym. In 2015 he began his rookie year competing on season 7 of American Ninja Warrior and thus his journey to becoming one of the top athletes on the show had begun. That season launched him into his athletic career with accomplishments like 9x National Finalist, the title of season 12 Champion and more recently the fourth in US history to beat the final, Stage 4 of American Ninja Warrior. During his career he was also selected to compete on multiple All-Stars episodes as well as multiple USA VS. The World competitions. He was a team captain of seasons 1-3 of Ninja vs. Ninja and even had the opportunity to travel abroad to compete internationally on Sasuke Indonesia, and Sasuke Japan both on their 41st season and representing team USA on the inaugural Sasuke World Cup in 2024.