Dwyane Wade on trying to be 'present' as the 'protector of my family': 'I want to make sure they feel safe'

The Unwind is Yahoo Life's well-being series in which experts, influencers and celebrities share their approaches to wellness and mental health, from self-care rituals to setting healthy boundaries to the mantras that keep them afloat.

Since retiring from the NBA in 2019, Dwyane Wade has been focused on the next chapter of his life, one that involves new challenges and business ventures, the kind of activism and philanthropy that landed him on the Time 100 list in 2020 and, most importantly, further settling into the role of family man. It's little surprise then, that the thing that keeps him up at night is making sure that his nearest and dearest — including wife Gabrielle Union and model daughter Zaya Wade — are safe and sound.

"I'm a protector of my family," the former Miami Heat star tells Yahoo Life. "I want to make sure they feel safe. I want to make sure they're provided for — and not just provided for monetarily ... provided for all the things that they need from me. I can't give them everything, but I can give them what they need from me as a male figure in their lives. And so I try to do that to all my kids, and I'm sure sometimes I miss it because I'm up here in the clouds somewhere. But whenever I get a chance to, I try to be present."

Wade's also focusing on making room in his jam-packed schedule to focus on his own needs, too.

"I've started to now understand the importance of taking care of me and putting my mask on first, and then giving what needs to be given," he says.

Prioritizing himself also means making sure he's in peak physical and mental shape — something's hew now learning to figure out on his own and without the backing of a major NBA franchise.

"My health at the age of 41 has become so much more important to me than it ever has been, because now I have to go find my own information," he shares. "I don't have a team, I don't have doctors behind me like I did when I was playing in the NBA to just give me the information or give me the pills, and I just go take 'em and I feel better. Like now I've got to actually learn what it is in my body and why I need to take these things."

It's been handy, then, to share a household with Gabrielle Union, who has a passion for health and wellness.

"My wife is 50 years old, right?" he says with awe. "My wife is nine years older than me. And so, damn right I'm gonna look at a lot of things she do to keep herself from aging." He laughs. "Like, how do you do it? Give me the secret! I want the secrets too — like, don't hold 'em for yourself."

As it happens, one of Union's secrets was Thorne, which offers health testing and supplements customized to individuals' unique health and wellness goals. The actress introduced Thorne's products to their home a couple of years ago, which led to Wade trying them for himself. In April, both he and his son, Basketball Africa League star Zaire Wade, announced their partnerships with Thorne.

"I've been able to talk to the professionals of Thorne and been able to sit down and customize how my body feels and what I need," says Wade, who admits he's become "a little nerdish" about learning what ingredients are going in his Daily Greens Plus and how they help him.

The partnership has Wade laser-focused on his longevity. That's a term that can mean different things to different people, but in his case, it's about optimizing how he feels from the inside out.

"It's physically how you feel, more than how you look," he says. "It's mentally how you feel. We're living in a time where we understand the importance of mental health now more than ever." He cites past surgeries from his time as an athlete, along with liver issues, joint pain and other ailments he's dealt with over the years, and how they've affected him both physically and mentally. "If I don't find my edge, if I don't find these little things that help me feel better both here [points to head] and physically, then I'm riding with flat tires."

He's also supporting son Zaire in his own wellness journey and career, though the proud dad isn't one to meddle too much.

"I try not to give him everything at once," he says of sharing advice. "It doesn't matter if you get information — if you're not ready to receive it, then what's the point of getting it right? You're not going to understand it. And so I try to watch my son and see when I feel like he's ready to receive certain things. But I do know [there are] certain things that are just pillars. Like, put in the work. You want to accomplish something — this is your dream, this is something you want to do? Put in the work. Don't be satisfied; aim higher. Let's go; let's keep leveling up."

That's advice he applies to himself, too. His daily routine is all about "putting in the work," whether that means making the effort to squeeze in a workout even when he's traveling or carving out time every day to recharge and check in with himself.

"To have a routine, it's so much work," he admits with a laugh. "Like, it's so easy to be like, man, I'm not doing that today." He wouldn't have it any other way.

"I personally set a standard for myself," Wade says. "Even [when] I travel and when I check out of hotel rooms, I'm going to clean up my room to the best of my ability. I will not leave it a mess, right? It's a standard that I have for myself. ... I hold my own self to a higher standard and it's a lot that comes with that."

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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