Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 519 is my conversation with Mike Counihan, the New York police officer known online as NoDonutsHere. Mike works a demanding cop's schedule, gets up at 3:30 in the morning, and still protects his training and his time on the water. We talk about how he stays fit when the job tries to eat every hour, why he fishes alone at night far from sirens and noise, and the gratitude he finds out there under the stars.
▶ Watch on YouTube · 🎧 Listen now
Mike Counihan is a New York police officer who built an online following under the name NoDonutsHere, centered on fitness and the outdoors. He works a demanding patrol schedule, prioritizes training and fishing around it, and plays on the donut-eating cop stereotype with a handle that signals his commitment to staying in shape on the job.
Mike says night fishing is an outlet to get away. When he fishes it is typically far from everyone, with no sirens, no people complaining, and no one yelling at him — a stark contrast to his job. He describes appreciating the setting, the scenery, the shooting stars and the moon, and using the quiet to relax and reflect on how grateful he is. Many of the fish he targets are most active at night anyway.
Mike protects his training by getting it done before he goes home. His days start around 3:30 in the morning to be at work by five, and he faces an hour commute home, so he goes straight to the gym after work rather than home first — because he knows if he goes home, he will not make it back to the gym. He is also building a home gym to make training even harder to skip.
Mike is a police officer in New York and lives about an hour north of the city. He has chosen to live closer to home rather than closer to work, which means a longer commute but lets him get the drive out of the way, hit the gym, and then go home — a routine he says keeps his training consistent.
NoDonutsHere is Mike Counihan's online handle, a play on the old stereotype of police officers and donuts. It signals his focus on fitness and discipline as a cop who prioritizes training, clean habits, and time outdoors over the lazy stereotype the name pokes fun at.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 519 with Mike Counihan, NoDonutsHere, is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
I have a lot of respect for people who do a hard job and still refuse to let it flatten them. Mike works a brutal police schedule — up at 3:30, long shifts, a long commute — and he still protects his training and his time on the water. The NoDonutsHere thing is funny, but underneath it is real discipline. I wanted to know how he actually pulls it off, and why fishing alone at night means so much to a guy who spends his days surrounded by chaos.
Mike's day starts before most people's alarms — up at 3:30, at work by five, an hour home. He explains the one rule that keeps his training alive: hit the gym before you go home, because once you are home, it is over. The simplicity of his system is the point. Press play to hear how he protects it.
For Mike, night fishing is an escape from a job full of sirens and people yelling. He describes being far from everyone, under shooting stars and the moon, just relaxing and feeling grateful. After hearing what his days are like, it makes complete sense. Watch the YouTube player above for that part.
Mike made a deliberate choice to live closer to home and eat the longer commute, because it lets him get the drive done, train, and then go home in a sequence that actually works. He talks through the logic. It is a small decision that protects everything else. Hear it in the episode.
▶ Watch the full conversation on YouTube · 🎧 Listen now
The handle is a joke about the cop-and-donut stereotype, but Mike uses it to stand for the opposite — discipline, fitness, and clean habits on a job that makes all of that hard. He talks about building a following around that identity. Watch the player above for the story.
The day after talking to Mike, the thing that stuck was his one rule: never go home first. It is such a small hinge, and his entire fitness life swings on it. Most discipline is like that — one decision repeated.
And the night-fishing piece moved me. A guy who spends his days in noise and conflict drives out alone to sit under the stars and feel grateful. That is not a hobby, that is how he stays whole.
▶ Watch the full conversation on YouTube · 🎧 Listen now
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Mike Counihan is a New York police officer who built an online following as NoDonutsHere, focused on fitness and the outdoors. Working a demanding patrol schedule that starts at 3:30 in the morning, he protects his training and his time on the water with a disciplined routine, fishing alone at night far from the noise of the job. His handle is a deliberate jab at the donut-eating cop stereotype he refuses to live up to.
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