Twitter Is Losing It Over How Ripped Former White House Chef Andre Rush Is
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The culinarily-inclined Twittersphere has found a new subject to fixate on this week after photos of uber-muscular former White House chef Andre Rush took the social media platform by storm. Rush, who worked as a chef under the Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, has received widespread attention for his formidable physique, that looks like it would be more befitting of a secret service agent than a cook.
In a recent and now viral tweet, one Twitter user posted a pair of images of the jacked chef with the caption, "This is White House executive chef Andre Rush, and by executive chef I mean he's definitely an undercover SEAL Team member there to thwart a terrorist attack later in the movie, right?" Soon, a tidal wave Tweets about the muscular chef took over the trending page, many of which mused on the concept of an action movie based on Rush's life, and the fact that, in the plot, no one would ever dare complain about the chef's cooking.
While Twitter users may be just now taking note of the bodybuilding chef, Rush has already carved out a large online following. His Instagram account, which contains photos and videos of Rush working out his ample muscles alongside motivational quotes, has more than 233,000 followers.
In addition to his culinary career, though, Rush is also a combat veteran who fought in Iraq; he's also a motivational speaker and mental health advocate that uses his large platform to raise awareness for suicide prevention and advocate for fellow veterans and service members.
Chef Rush maintains his physique with a 10,000-calorie daily diet
According to Insider, to maintain his impressive physique, Rush consumes between 6,000 to 10,000 calories a day via a protein-rich diet that frequently includes 24 eggs and four whole chickens. The 47-year-old chef, who weighs in at around 275 pounds, estimates his daily diet consists of about 60% protein to aid in his bodybuilding.
Surprisingly, Rush isn't too stringent about his diet — the chef doesn't track his daily calories or micronutrients, and enjoys a balanced diet consisting of a mix of healthy and indulgent meals. Rush notes that he enjoys pizza and frequently eating meals out, stating, "There's no such thing as a cheat meal to me." Of his ability to eat a large amount of calories daily and stay fit, he also says, "I'm an endurance trainer, even now at my age and at my size, my body still burns weight like crazy."
One of the ways Rush burns off those calories is by completing his daily "2,222 push-ups a day for suicide awareness," a campaign that aims to raise awareness for the estimated 22 military veterans who die by suicide each day, per Insider.
Rush's forthcoming memoir, "Call Me Chef, Dammit!: A Veteran's Journey from the Rural South to the White House," which will recount his journey from growing up in a Mississippi housing project to becoming a presidential chef, is available for pre-order on Amazon now and will be released in March 2022.