HE’S AN ALL-AMERICAN

Dave Swanson has lived several lives.

He has been a professional wakeboarder, a Las Vegas personal trainer to celebrities and poker stars, the owner of a booming meal-prep business, and a man who lost nearly everything.

Now, as “All American Dave” of “All American Dave’s,” Swanson has started over in Mammoth, bringing with him the same brand and food philosophy that once fueled some of the biggest names in poker.

Swanson moved to Mammoth just over a year ago, first launching out of a food truck before expanding into the Snowcreek restaurant space in January.

But the road here was anything but straightforward.

Swanson grew up in Oregon and spent much of his early life chasing competition. He became a professional wakeboarder, but after tearing his ACL twice, he started looking for a new outlet.

That led him to natural bodybuilding.

“It was a lightbulb moment for me,” he said. “Understanding the precision of diet, how important it was to reach your fitness goals.”

At the time, Swanson was working as a personal trainer. He realized that nutrition was often the missing piece for his clients looking to shed weight.

“If I could do this for my clients, I could look like the best trainer in the world,” he said. “All my clients would be getting great results.”

That idea eventually brought him into the world of Las Vegas poker.

One of his clients was professional poker player Antonio Esfandiari, who later helped give Swanson the nickname “All American Dave.” Swanson began cooking meals for him and bringing them to the poker table.

The clientele was an unusual fit for a nutrition-focused business. Poker players were known for long nights, casino food and sedentary routines, but Swanson saw an opportunity.

“They had all this money, and they weren’t doing anything with it,” he said.

Beyond food, Swanson became a kind of lifestyle coach, taking clients rafting, snowmobiling and on other adventures. But meals remained the foundation.

At first, he cooked out of his own kitchen, creating personal-chef-style meals for players who were used to high-end restaurants.

“These guys were high-end, eating out all the time,” he said. “I’m watching how much money they’re spending at restaurants every night, and I put together this plan.”

The challenge was making healthy food that still tasted good.

Swanson said Esfandiari, a serious foodie, pushed him to create meals that went beyond traditional bodybuilding fare.

“It wasn’t just chicken and rice,” he said. “It was like, let me add a ton of flavor. Let me change it up and keep it fresh.”

The word spread, and the business grew quickly.

What started as personal training became a meal-plan company. Swanson hired cooks and delivery drivers, bought a food truck, and eventually built a major operation around the World Series of Poker at the Rio Casino.

By 2019, he had 63 employees.

His philosophy was to change his client’s habits, not just a good one-time meal.

“You couldn’t just get one meal,” he said. “You had to buy 20 meals.”

Then came COVID-19.

When the Rio implemented COVID-19 vaccine requirements connected to operations at the property, Swanson said he was unwilling to require his employees to get vaccinated, citing his belief in personal choice.

“The Rio basically said, ‘You can’t be on property unless you have the vaccine,’ and I wasn’t willing to do that for my staff,” he said.

Swanson tried to keep the business running by splitting operations, with some employees working off-site out of his food truck. But losing access to the Rio’s facilities and infrastructure made the operation increasingly difficult.

In 2021, he lost his contract with the casino.

Then came another loss.

During the World Series of Poker main event that year, Swanson’s father died.

“He was my best friend,” he said.

The business eventually went bankrupt, and the collapse affected customers who had unused meal-plan credits from previous purchases.

“I contacted every one of my customers that had a rollover balance and said, ‘Hey, what can I do? We’re busted. We’re bankrupt. The company is going under,’” he said. “I gave away blenders, beef, and protein powder.”

Swanson said many longtime customers understood what happened, but criticism from others spread online and damaged his reputation within parts of the poker community.

“It was the worst year of my life,” he said.

In early 2022, he moved back to Oregon with his family, living in an RV while working construction and assisting a family with various jobs.

But the dream of restarting his brand never went away.

“I knew I had built something really special,” he said. “If I let this horrible situation just end me and not try, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

So how’d he end up here?

Swanson had stayed close with Esfandiari, who had been visiting Mammoth with his family to snowboard. Eventually, Esfandiari bought a home in town and encouraged Swanson to consider moving.

Another former Vegas client, Tom Cage, offered him a place to park his food truck.

Last summer, Swanson took the chance.

The food truck opened in late 2025, and earlier this year he expanded into the Snowcreek bistro area.

For Swanson, Mammoth fits the larger vision he has always had, which is a place where healthy food, fitness and outdoor adventure intersect.

“I’m not in this business because it’s the best financial business,” he said. “I’m in it because it matters.”

Today, Swanson is once again offering meal plans, including many of the same dishes that built his reputation in Las Vegas. The business is still young, but he believes in the concept.

“If I can pay my staff, pay my bills and make a dollar, that makes me successful,” he said. “Because this matters.”