David Gluzman - Chief Design Officer - BlackSquare.Io / GWDB.Io (Canada)

Years In the Wine Industry:

Approximately 10 years or so, but first caught the bug when I raced bicycles in Italy while in my late teenage years.

I first got caught up in the industry professionally with an online magazine I founded (before blogs were a thing), then starting a wine club in Canada in 2009 (WineCollective.ca), on the back of that spun up a tech company to help wineries sell direct to consumer (BlackSquare.io) and most recently have been working on a platform to allow wineries to share accurate wine information thru the Global Wine Database (gwdb.io). I’m based in Calgary, Canada (near the mountains) and travel to wine regions frequently.

My Biggest Challenge To Wellness:

Being an entrepreneur makes it difficult to place boundaries around when work starts and ends. Keeping energy levels high and a positive attitude with the ups and downs of business can be challenging. Knowing the limits of my own mental fortitude and physical well being is incredibly important to being able to function at my best.

How I keep it Together To Stay Well:

I commute almost exclusively by bike year round on my cyclocross bike in the summer and fatbike in the winter. This allows me to stay active without having to worry about going to the gym. Also fighting for a Strava segment after a long day at work is a great way to burn off some stress and reset.

When I travel I make sure to eat the freshest food I can while staying hydrated (especially when doing the jaunt to Australia). I always pack a pair of running shoes to enable me to sneak in a workout regardless of my environment.

Outside of working out I keep things in focus by subscribing to a variation of “getting things done” (https://gettingthingsdone.com/), where I keep track of all my tasks and communications in a way that helps keep my life organized. If I can deal with a task in less than 5 minutes I take care of it right away, otherwise I file it away to deal with at a later date.

You can connect with David on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.