Devon Dabney Swan of Buckhead on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Devon Dabney Swan shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Devon, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What is a normal day like for you right now?
Let’s take a Monday!

I wake up at 5:15am to swim from 5:45-7am. Come home make breakfast, and work from about 8-4pm. Mondays are always my busiest day at work so I work remotely! At 4pm, I hop off for my break and do my 2 hour indoor bike I have every Monday. Then I make my husband and I dinner and we turn on our current favorite show! We always end the night with a yogurt bowl.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi! My name is Devon Dabney Swan. I work full-time in Operations for Wahoo Fitness, an incredible sports tech company based in Atlanta, and I’m also a full-time coach for my husband’s and my team, DR Performance. We are an Atlanta-based endurance team that supports athletes across the U.S. in reaching their potential. I swam in college at LSU and have raced in both short-course and long-course triathlon racing. I’ve been so fortunate to have some incredible experiences that I now draw on in my day-to-day coaching life.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
A moment that truly changed me was when I crossed the finish line of my very first Ironman at 24 years old. I had just graduated from LSU, where I had the privilege of swimming for all four years, and moved back home to work a 9–5. I completely lost my sense of purpose. I lost faith, hope, and honestly even my self-dignity. I let instant gratification, others’ opinions, and peer pressure define me. I remember feeling so lost in the world.

But once I crossed the line at IM Wisconsin in 2019, I found myself again. I knew my calling had just begun. I’m so grateful for that day. That day almost broke me, but instead, it truly healed me.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
Pretty recently actually! I’ve been dealing with a series of unfortunate injuries and health issues. It all started when I had labrum surgery on my right hip. I thought it would be an easy recovery and I’d be back racing in 6 months. I posted about it online often and was very open with my recovery, which invited many people in, who truly cared.

However, my hip only began to get worse and no one knew why. I was constantly being asked for updates on my process, when would I race again, am I back running yet? The questions, that came from a place of genuine care, began to cause me to spiral. So instead of telling people I was in significant pain and worried the surgery didn’t work, I lied and said I was taking a step back from racing. But if you know me, you know I love to race.

A year later I came to find a tear in my glute which required yet again another surgery. This surgery’s recovery was 3x as long and extremely harder. I was embarrassed. Embarrassed I allowed my injury to get so bad. I felt so alone in my recovery. Watching everyone around me race. Missing out on yet another season in my “prime” years. I had no intention of telling anyone of my surgery. But then something came over me, a week after my surgery, and I posted about it on instagram. Just a vulnerable post of how hard my last year had been. It blew up. It went viral with 400,000 views and almost 500-1000 new followers. Just because I was vulnerable and authentic. I allowed people in. The outreach I received was moving.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
Getting more women involved in the sport. This is a project / movement that has been going on for a very long time. The industry is very male dominant. My husband and I do our best to support any females coming into triathlons. We have at times sponsored younger female athletes by paying for their race entries, paying for their travel / accommodations to races or provide gear just to get them in the sport and get the experience. It’s a true passion of ours to make sure there is equality.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. When have you had to bet the company?
We had to take a big risk starting it. There were already some very established teams in Atlanta. We had a vision and saw a gap in the market and took a leap. Many people warned me we wouldn’t last longer than a year. That the hype around a new team would fade. But this year we reached our biggest roster to date. We aren’t sure how long DR will be around but for now, we give it our all every single day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.devonandrobertperformance.com/
• Instagram: devonandrobert_tri