Former Lobo running back finds a new passion with dogs

Former University of New Mexico running Daryl Chestnut saw his dream of playing in the NFL come to an end in 2019 after attending rookie camp with the Washington Commanders, a team that went by a different name then, and not making the team.

That stint in Washington birthed a new dream for Chestnut, who calls himself a serial entrepreneur, as a dog breeder.

Fellow rookie Gerron Christian reached out to Chestnut about using his dog as a stud for breeding.

“He actually put my feet inside the dog game by utilizing one of my dogs,” Chestnut said. “The rest is history.”

That led Chestnut to start Frontline Elite LLC, as a breeder of show-caliber French bulldogs. His business has taken off in just a few years and has attracted some high-profile clients, including Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott and Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper.

“Zeke has always been supportive in any way that he can be,” Chestnut said. “I know him, not real personally, but anything I’ve done he’s always supported, shared it, liked it. No matter what it is.”

Both Elliott and Cooper have posted pictures online of Chestnut’s Gorilla Gene Protein, a supplement he created that provides protein without upsetting a dog’s stomach.

“I was using a lot of meat to throw in my dogs’ food, and sometimes they won’t react well to it,” Chestnut said. “So I want an easier solution for it and I just thought about this and I created this. It does them well, it does them right, it adds weight on them, muscle mass. Everything you’ll want for the dog, it adds on.”

Chestnut is based in Albuquerque and has sold dozens of bottles of Gorilla Gene across the state, including several in Rio Rancho. His product, like his dogs, has been sold across the nation and he is in talks to get it on the shelves at some local pet stores.

It’s not just football players who are supporting Frontline Elite; Miami-born rapper and mogul Rick Ross recently reached out on Twitter to tell Chestnut that he wants in on the Frontline Elite business. For Chestnut, who was also born in Miami, that was another dream come true.

“Rick Ross, with him being from Miami and seeing the brand and seeing how I’ve promoted it over some time and him telling me he wants to be a part of it, that was a testament to what I feel like I have done.”

Chestnut has a lifelong love of dogs, but he’s also using Frontline Elite to train local athletes in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.

Chestnut was a three-star recruit coming out of Columbus High School in Miami, a college football recruiting hotbed, and he wants the rest of the country to learn about the talented athletes in New Mexico.

“We have a lot of kids that have a lot of talent and they can play anywhere,” Chestnut said. “So just like this product, I’m into producing the next level, the future and I have the future with training, products and also just many other businesses.”

More information about Frontline Elite can be found on its Instagram.