April 6, 2026

DIY vs Pro: When to Call a Residential Painter

A brand new coat of paint can make a room believe new, a porch experience cared for, and a apartment look in a position for the subsequent decade. Most owners can deal with a roller and brush. Some even appreciate it. The difficulty is that portray sits at the intersection of craft, chemistry, and logistics. When it goes excellent, it’s satisfying and easy. When it is going fallacious, the fixes will probably be steeply-priced and time eating. Knowing whilst to roll up your sleeves and whilst to name a residential painter saves money, protects your private home, and preserves your sanity.

I’ve spent years on each aspects of the ladder, in certain cases in a ball cap shopping drop cloths at the hardware save, different occasions in white overalls estimating a Victorian outdoors. I’ve seen weekend wins, like a crisp spare bed room accomplished in an afternoon, and I’ve considered jobs snowball, like the Nineteen Twenties bungalow with peeling lead paint that was a month-lengthy remediation. The line between DIY and hiring a seasoned is not really basically talent, it’s approximately education, scope, protection, and end satisfactory.

What clearly is going right into a paint job

From the exterior, painting appears to be like sensible: decide upon a color, tape a number of edges, and get rolling. In apply, such a lot of the paintings occurs earlier the can is open. Surfaces desire cleansing, sanding, patching, priming, and, in various houses, repairing. Think of paint because the properly veneer that shows every flaw below. If you need glossy partitions and sharp traces, you invest within the groundwork.

Prep is a sequence of judgment calls. Is that hairline crack a cosmetic hassle or a signal of movement? Does the chalky external siding need a bonding primer or a complete removal to naked wood? Will an oil-based mostly primer block that water stain, or is the leak nevertheless lively? Pros make these calls speedy considering the fact that they’ve observed the styles. DIYers could make them too, but it takes greater study and quite often a scan patch or two.

Then there’s product selection. Not all paints disguise the identical, level the similar, or face up to scuffs the similar. Sheen matters as so much as shade. A flat, washable matte may possibly cover curler marks in a dwelling room, at the same time a satin or semi-gloss stands up more advantageous to fingerprints in a hallway. Oil vs water-situated primers, elastomeric coatings on stucco, moisture-cured urethanes on railings, low-VOC traces for nurseries, alkyd enamels for shelves, specialty masonry paints for limewash resultseasily, the choices stack up. A pro painter has manufacturers and techniques they belief for both substrate, which cuts down on trips returned to the shop and issues a month later.

Finally, there’s sequencing and logistics. Interiors frequently run appropriate-down: ceilings, partitions, trim. Exteriors chase the climate and the sun. You do the shady aspects first, then wrap to the sunny faces as easy swings. You plan round dew issues, wind, pollen, and temperature ranges. You degree rooms so a loved ones can maintain dwelling with no stepping over wet thresholds. These facts don’t make for monstrous Instagram, yet they make the big difference between crisp effects and power contact-u.s.a.

When DIY makes sense and feels good

Plenty of painting jobs are smartly throughout the achieve of a careful house owner. If you may have a loose Saturday and a regular hand, painting a small bedroom, office, or powder room is a fulfilling venture. You manipulate the speed and the playlist. You can look at various adventurous hues devoid of convincing a crew. With just a little prep and patience, you get a legitimate end for the money of paint, sundries, and it slow.

Start by means of finding out the basics that punch above their weight. Cut in closely along the ceiling and baseboards with a pretty good angled brush, two to 3 inches according to circulate, then roll into the moist aspect so the wall reads as one discipline when it dries. Load the roller lightly and paintings in viable sections, overlapping by way of approximately a 3rd. If you’re new, perform on the least visual wall first. Let coats dry solely. Most inside partitions need two coats for a uniform appearance, in spite of top rate paints that promise one-coat policy. Those cans get shut if the colour match is tight, but actual walls have joints, patched parts, and textures that present because of.

Surface prep is where DIYers win or lose. Wash walls with a easy degreaser in kitchens and baths. Fix nail pops with screws into studs and a skim of joint compound. Sand patched components feather-delicate, then spot-prime. Caulk gaps at trim joints with a paintable acrylic latex caulk, not silicone. Use light for your advantage. A simple raking gentle, a lamp held near and occasional throughout a wall, will expose ridges and vacations your ceiling lights cover. Address what you notice beforehand you paint, not after.

Small exteriors additionally make experience. A the front door might possibly be a splendid access-stage task. Remove hardware or tape it rigorously. Sand to scuff the existing end, wipe with mineral spirits if the surface is grimy, and use the proper primer if you happen to’re switching from oil to water-depending. Pick an afternoon with easy temperatures and low wind. Follow the grain with a great tooth. Doors live a not easy lifestyles, so don’t skimp on paint good quality. A quart of stable enamel outlasts two quarts of bargain paint in that utility.

Red flags that level to a professional

Some surfaces and conditions push prior the DIY alleviation sector, now not considering a house owner can’t be taught the steps, however as a result of the menace of a mistake runs excessive or the tools get really good.

Tall exteriors are a most popular example. Anything over a one-tale succeed in most commonly calls for ladders and staging that most householders don’t very own or use occasionally. I’ve met assured DIYers who felt tremendous on a 6-foot step ladder yet iced over on a 28-foot extension ladder whilst it flexed against the siding. There’s no disgrace in that. Professional crews work with stabilizers, planks, fall insurance plan, and years of ladder behavior that avert them secure. They also can go faster in that setting, which concerns whilst the climate shifts.

Old paint provides complexity. Homes constructed earlier than 1978 would contain lead-situated paint. If you sand or scrape it with out suited containment and mask, you menace contaminating your backyard, your air, and your family members. Certified renovator organizations keep on with lead-safe rules for containment, rainy equipment, HEPA vacuums, and cleanup. The setup takes time and tools, but it maintains airborne dirt and dust out of living spaces and soil. If you suspect lead, name a seasoned who's certified to handle it. The payment is greater, but this is not a spot to gamble.

Water spoil and continual staining mean an underlying issue. Paint isn't always a restoration for leaks. If a ceiling spot maintains returning, in finding and cease the resource first. When wood feels comfortable, you’re going through rot, no longer only a conclude element. Repair may suggest epoxy consolidation, dutchman patches, or board alternative beforehand paint ever touches it. A painter with carpentry talents, or a contractor who coordinates the two trades, will collection the restore so it lasts.

Special finishes reside in seasoned territory too. Kitchen cupboards desire a manufacturing unit-like end to survive day-to-day use. That ability degreasing, deglossing, sanding, filling, a bonding primer, and sprayed topcoats in a controlled atmosphere. You can brush and roll cupboards with wonderful effects, however accomplishing that glass-soft teeth, durable against fingernails and cleaners, is a lot less difficult with a sprig setup, a relevant booth or cellular spray tent, and the exact catalyzed merchandise. Stair railings, excessive-gloss trim, and metal feature walls additionally benefit from a pro’s touch.

Texture and substrate topic. Stucco, brick, and cedar shingles each and every pass otherwise with weather. Elastomeric coatings bridge hairline cracks on stucco but can entice moisture if misapplied. Brick needs breathable merchandise, no longer common acrylics that seal it so tight it should’t unlock moisture. Cedar tannins can bleed because of faded colors with no the top primer. A residential painter who works with those resources weekly knows tips to stack the primer, topcoat, and alertness approach so the formulation flexes with the space rather than peeling in sheets a yr later.

The time and can charge math that such a lot property owners miss

A natural motive to DIY is saving fee. Paint is among the many optimal returns on sweat fairness around. Still, evaluate the total snapshot. For a conventional 12-by using-12 bedroom with eight-foot ceilings, determine more or less 350 to 400 square ft of wall vicinity, plus trim and doorways. A careful DIYer may just spend an night moving furnishings and taping, a morning prepping, and a long afternoon making use of two coats. That’s 10 to 14 hours based on pace and ride, now not counting cleanup and a 2nd talk over with for contact-u.s.or a 3rd coat on a robust colour.

Material expenses can run from 60 to two hundred greenbacks in line with room, relying on paint line and the way stocked your software bin is. Add gear like a first rate 2.5-inch sash brush, a roller frame and covers, an extension pole, caulk, spackle, sandpaper, a patch knife, a drop fabric, and tape, and the primary room rates more than a higher. If you’re painting a complete space, the amortized payment per room drops. If you’re handiest doing one room, the overhead looms greater.

Professional prices vary by vicinity. Interior pricing continuously lands between 2 to 5 bucks consistent with rectangular foot of wall and ceiling zone for exertions and parts, better for targeted trim, upkeep, or distinctiveness finishes. A user-friendly bed room might quote at four hundred to 900 cash, back depending on scope and market. The professional brings ladders, plastic, paper, a protecting gadget, mud extractors, and a truck loaded with sundries you didn’t think to shop. They end in an afternoon when you cross about your life. Opportunity charge issues. If your weekends are tight and your evenings already full, the importance of speed and absence of drawback is factual.

Exterior pricing swings wider on account that prep drives the cost. Power washing, scraping, sanding, spot-priming, caulking, and upkeep can take days. Siding form, quantity of stories, and get admission to make a mammoth big difference. A unmarried-tale ranch with sound paint and undeniable trim perhaps within the low 1000s. A two-tale with peeling paint and targeted cornices should be would becould very well be numerous times that. If your home borders commercial corridors with greater crew availability, you infrequently see off-season coupon codes. If you dwell in a tight exertions marketplace, schedule early to avert height season premiums.

The first-class curve and what end stage you if truth be told need

I’ve met owners who demand museum-grade partitions in a kinfolk room that serves pizza and homework. I’ve also met of us content material with noticeable curler lines in a proper eating room simply because the coloration felt suitable. There’s no single average that matches each and every space. The trick is matching the end point to how the room lives.

Bedrooms and abode offices veritably choose a easy, quiet end that hides minor imperfections and takes notes on the wall with no complaint. A first-rate matte or washable flat works. Hallways and young children’ rooms beg for greater scrub resistance, so an eggshell or low-sheen satin reads clever. Kitchens and baths stay with grease and steam. Higher-sheen, moisture-resistant paints participate in superior, and thorough prep counts extra. Trim needs a more difficult finish, so semi-gloss or a urethane-modified enamel levels well and resists scuffs.

Pros provide consistency. They use the equal drive at the curler, maintain wet edges throughout a wall, and pull tape at the suitable moment to stay away from tearing the film. They additionally correct for lights. A wall that looks perfect beneath overhead cans can teach vacations in natural morning faded. A veteran painter will stroll a room at specific occasions or use transient mission lighting fixtures to trap the ones flaws sooner than breaking down the setup. If you savour that point of fuss, DIY can get you there. If now not, pay for it wherein it topics so much, like entry parts and open-plan spaces that seize each and every traveler’s eye.

Safety, air flow, and the chemistry you smell

Modern water-situated paints and primers are lots stronger than they had been a decade or two ago. Low-VOC lines exist for so much programs, and scent-free claims should not simply advertising fluff. Even so, appropriate air flow and personal maintenance count. Sanding joint compound or previous paint kicks quality dirt into the air. Wear a dirt mask or, greater, a respirator rated for particulates. If you’re running with oil-founded primers or uniqueness coatings, use an natural and organic vapor cartridge and open windows with enthusiasts drawing air out, now not blowing dust in.

Flammable vapors, pilot lighting, and paint thinners do not combine. Be mindful in utility rooms and basements. Store rags used with oils and solvents in a metallic box with a tight lid or lay them flat to dry utterly outdoors. Oily rags can self-warmness and ignite. That probability seriously isn't theoretical. I’ve viewed a charred trash can that, fortunately, merely smoked and trigger off a detector before doing actual destroy.

Ladders deserve respect. Follow the four-to-1 rule for extension ladders, with the bottom one foot out for each and every 4 toes up, and continually 3 elements of contact even though mountain climbing. Do now not lean to the aspect to succeed in that ultimate inch. Climb down, flow the ladder, and climb back up. If the process requires running over stairs or attaining two-tale gables, that’s an additional nudge towards hiring a professional.

Where commercial ways aid residential work

Commercial painters ceaselessly deliver tactics and equipment that can carry residential work. Airless sprayers, for instance, lay down trim teeth easily and rapid whilst masked effectively. If you’ve ever prominent a door with a near-manufacturing unit gloss in a pal’s homestead, there’s an efficient Portland residential painters possibility it became sprayed. Electrostatic sprayers teach up on metal railings and industrial doorways, giving even insurance plan and minimizing overspray. Epoxy coatings line floors in industrial kitchens and garages, resisting sizzling tire pickup and spills. In a homestead atmosphere, a two-component epoxy or polyaspartic formula can turn a storage into a easy workspace that hoses down actual.

You don’t want these tools for every process, however a residential painter who attracts on advertisement painting trip every now and then solves trouble that undemanding brush and curler techniques can’t. For example, whilst a historic plaster ceiling had a long time of nicotine staining that bled by means of ordinary primers, I switched to a shellac-founded primer, to come back-rolled it for adhesion, then sprayed a flat topcoat to cut texture telegraphing. That combo came from business fireplace recuperation playbooks. It labored because it addressed both staining and surface uniformity.

Managing scope creep and atmosphere expectations

Painting projects have a habit of expanding. Once partitions look clean, the baseboards seem dingy. After the baseboards, the doors need recognition. Then the stair spindles, which you immediately word are nicked each and every six inches. Decide in advance how some distance you would like to head. There’s common sense to portray ceilings before walls given that drips fall. There’s also logic to painting trim after partitions so you can smooth up part strains with a broom. Either route works, yet you won't do equally on the related time in the comparable room without chaos. Sequence rooms and finishes so traffic can stream and domestic existence continues shifting.

If you hire a painter, write scope into the settlement in plain language. List the rooms, surfaces, and range of coats. Call out upkeep which might be integrated and people that are time and elements. Specify company and product line, now not simply “top class paint.” Agree on coloration names and sheens in writing, with samples on the wall. Ask how fixtures will be covered, how grime would be controlled, and the place cleanup water goes. A transparent settlement prevents mismatched expectancies that bitter in any other case first rate paintings.

Color choice slows initiatives. Samples on a swatch appearance distinct on a complete wall. Light shifts morning to night time. Test a minimum of two colorations you're keen on, preferably on two walls within the related room. Live with them for an afternoon. Some painters include a coloration consultation. Many paint marketers have crew who can help navigate undertones and the way they play with flooring and shelves. If you’re overwhelmed, spend a touch on a color pro. It will pay for itself by way of warding off repaints.

A home-owner’s listing for determining DIY vs pro

Use this instant gut test sooner than you soar moving furnishings. Keep it short and honest.

  • Surface and scope: Is the activity one to three rooms with intact walls, or does it involve prime ceilings, exterior ladders, lead paint, or cabinet refinishing?
  • Time and tolerance: Do you have got two or 3 uninterrupted blocks of time, and do you revel in repetitive, cautious work?
  • Tools and setup: Do you already possess satisfactory brushes, rollers, drops, and sanders, or are you budgeting to buy and read them now?
  • Repairs and threat: Are there stains, cracks, rot, or leaks that imply underlying problems, or is it truthfully a color refresh?
  • Finish expectations: Do you desire a showroom conclude in a focal house, or will a cast, tidy DIY result fulfill you?

If such a lot answers land within the effortless, on hand, and coffee-hazard column, DIY will in all likelihood serve you well. If you’re checking a number of packing containers on excessive, intricate, or disturbing, call a residential painter and get a number of bids.

How to employ properly and work properly together

Finding a great painter is absolutely not approximately scrolling to the first subsidized checklist. Start with referrals from pals and company whose residences resemble yours. Walk their halls. Look at the minimize strains at ceilings and around outlets. Ask how the team blanketed floors, handled surprises, and communicated schedule variations.

When you name for estimates, are expecting questions about square footage, ceiling heights, substrate kind, and existing stipulations. A thorough painter will favor to peer the distance. They would degree, poke at comfortable spots, and scrape a blister to see what layers do. Take that as a fantastic sign. If bids fluctuate extensively, ask each one contractor to explain their prep technique. The least expensive range on the whole skimps there, which suggests scale down prematurely settlement and greater odds of failure in a number of seasons.

Insurance and licensing be counted. Request evidence of legal responsibility and worker's’ comp in which proper. If a painter falls or a ladder hits a window, you desire insurance policy clear and modern. Reputable businesses supply it devoid of fuss. If your undertaking touches doable lead paint, ask for EPA certification. For exteriors on multi-unit structures or mixed-use houses that blend residential and commercial areas, be certain expertise with both settings, considering the fact that rules and logistics differ.

Once employed, set a jump date, anticipated length, and every day hours. Discuss parking, pets, and in which the workforce can wash brushes and sparkling sprayers. Some clientele want a transportable wash station to stay residue out of the yard. Others are secure with a laundry sink. Agree upfront. Ask how punch lists are handled and while the closing walkthrough happens. Good crews welcome punch lists. It’s a probability to ascertain facts are appropriate sooner than the ladder leaves the driveway.

Care after the closing coat

Fresh paint desires time to healing. Touch-dry does now not imply difficult-dry. Most latex paints achieve maximum in their hardness in about two weeks and maintain to medication for up to 30 days. In that window, be tender. Avoid scrubbing walls aggressively. If fingerprints express, a damp microfiber material and a gentle cleaning soap usually do the trick. For scuffs that withstand, attempt a magic eraser in an not noticeable spot, as it is able to burnish certain sheens.

Keep leftover paint classified by using room, sheen, and date. Store it in a temperate vicinity, now not the garage in freezing climates. It will last more than one years if sealed effectively. A small touch-up package with a tight brush, a mini curler, and a little blue tape solves maximum scuffs with no reopening great setups. If your painter leaves a labeled quart, that’s a signal of a professional who expects to stand by means of their paintings and makes it handy in order to preserve it.

Exteriors receive advantages from a soft wash every year. Pollen, dirt, and mildew shorten paint lifestyles. A backyard hose, a tender brush, and a slight condo wash resolution retailer coatings sparkling. Skip aggressive stress on picket and older siding. Too a great deal power forces water wherein it doesn’t belong and increases grain. If mildew seems lower than eaves or on north faces, sparkling it early. Letting it bake in makes removal tougher later.

Stories from the sector: 3 projects, three outcomes

A couple in a brick townhouse desired a warmer residing room and a new colour for their trim. They either labored full time and had relations arriving in ten days. They tried to cram nights and a weekend into the undertaking, yet after portray the ceiling and one wall, they saw lap marks by way of sunlight hours and discovered their roller nap turned into incorrect for the faded orange peel texture. They referred to as me on a Monday. We scheduled for Wednesday, included fixtures, sanded the offending wall calmly to knock down ridges, and complete partitions and trim by means of Friday. The alleviation on their faces became really worth the call. Their DIY leap kept them payment on particular rooms later, but the living room got the professional reset it vital underneath a deadline.

A retiree determined to repaint her kitchen cabinets. She watched films, cleaned, sanded flippantly, and brushed on a bonding primer and two coats of latex the teeth. They looked first-class for a month. Then, around the handles, she seen tackiness and prints that didn’t extremely fade. The primer had adhered, but the latex didn’t remedy laborious enough for the consistent touch in a sunny, warm space. We set up a portable spray booth in her garage, degreased, scuff-sanded, and sprayed a waterborne alkyd tooth that healing procedures to a tougher end. It took 4 days door to door. She instructed me she nevertheless likes a brush for partitions, however for cupboards she’d not ever cross returned.

On a 1915 craftsman, the south gable paint peeled in sheets. A handyman had carried out a thick coat two summers prior to, seeking to bury alligatoring. Heat cooked the peak coat, and the weak bond failed. We examined for lead and determined it existing. The home owner chose to hire a lead-secure workforce. We contained, scraped to sound layers, sanded, spot-primed with oil, and topcoated with a quality exterior acrylic. The siding stopped dropping. The proprietor now washes the south face each and every spring and plans to repaint on a 7 to ten year cycle instead of patching yearly. The prematurely expense changed into authentic, but the long-term payment dropped.

The desire that respects your own home and your time

Painting does extra than shift color. It seals out weather, protects surfaces, and changes how a room feels to are living in. The DIY course provides you control and pride, and it might appear impressive on hassle-free interior partitions, small trim initiatives, accent doorways, and contact-ups. Call a residential painter while protection, substrates, or conclude needs make the stakes greater. That consists of tall exteriors, practicable lead, cabinets, critical prep, and any task in which timing and a risk-free time table depend.

If your place overlaps with industrial areas or sits in a mixed-use constructing, lean closer to professionals at ease in each residential and commercial portray. They have an understanding of get right of entry to hours, elevator insurance plan, and shared air platforms, all of which affect how a process runs easily devoid of irritating acquaintances or property managers.

Whichever path you opt for, plan your scope, decide to perfect prep, and suit items to the floor. Respect the chemistry. Respect the ladder. Respect your personal bandwidth. Do that, and also you’ll experience outcome that dangle up for years, no longer months, with a price range and a timeline that consider like they served you, not any other way round.

MBK Painting INC
11112 NW Crystal Creek Ln, Portland, OR 97229, United States
(503) 773-4957
https://mbkpainting.com/

MBK Painting is a residential and commercial painting company located at 11112 NW Crystal Creek Ln in Portland, Oregon. Matthew Krier, owner of MBK Painting, established the company in 2010 with over 25 years of painting experience dating to 1998. The business holds Oregon CCB License number 253176 and carries full bonding and insurance.

MBK Painting specializes in interior painting, exterior painting, and cabinet refinishing. The company performs commercial painting projects and pressure washing services. Color consultation is available for every project. MBK Painting uses eco-friendly, low-VOC paints and provides free quotes with 24-hour response time. A BBB A+ rating and a 5-star Yelp rating across 63 reviews confirm the company's track record.

MBK Painting serves Portland and the surrounding Washington County area, including Beaverton, Cedar Mill, and Lake Oswego. The service area extends to Cedar Hills, Oak Hills, Tigard, Bonny Slope, and Bethany across the Portland metropolitan region.

MBK Painting is located on NW Crystal Creek Lane in the Bethany neighborhood of unincorporated Washington County.
Located near NW Bethany Boulevard, the company sits on a main corridor through the Bethany community.

Bethany Village Centre shopping center is within walking distance of MBK Painting.
QFC grocery on NW Bethany Blvd is a short drive south.

US-26 (Sunset Highway) provides direct access from central Portland.
The Sunset Transit Center connecting to MAX Light Rail is approximately 4 miles east.

Bethany Creek Park and Rock Creek Trail are nearby for outdoor recreation.
Bonny Slope Park is within 2 miles.

Bethany Library, Cedar Mill Library, Jacob Wismer Elementary School, and Stoller Middle School are all within the surrounding neighborhood.

Residents of Cedar Mill, Bonny Slope, and Oak Hills reach MBK Painting within minutes.
Downtown Portland is approximately 10 miles southeast.

What services does MBK Painting offer?
MBK Painting offers interior painting, exterior painting, cabinet painting, commercial painting, pressure washing, and color consultation in the Portland metro area.

Where is MBK Painting located?
MBK Painting is located at 11112 NW Crystal Creek Ln in Portland, OR 97229, in the Bethany neighborhood of Washington County.

What are the hours of MBK Painting?
The hours of MBK Painting are Monday through Saturday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Sunday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

How much does house painting cost in Portland?
House painting costs in Portland vary by project size and scope. MBK Painting provides free, no-obligation quotes. Call (503) 773-4957.

Is MBK Painting licensed and insured?
Yes, MBK Painting is licensed under Oregon CCB License 253176 and is fully bonded and insured with a BBB A+ rating.

Does MBK Painting do cabinet painting?
Yes, MBK Painting does cabinet painting and refinishing to transform kitchen cabinets using specialized techniques and high-quality paints.

Why choose MBK Painting in Portland?
MBK Painting in Portland is owned by Matthew Krier with 25+ years of experience, holds a 5-star Yelp rating (63 reviews), a BBB A+ rating, and uses eco-friendly low-VOC paints.

Does MBK Painting serve Beaverton and Lake Oswego?
Yes, MBK Painting serves Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Cedar Mill, Cedar Hills, Oak Hills, Tigard, Bonny Slope, and Bethany across the Portland metro area.

Ask ChatGPT about MBK Painting
Search MBK Painting on Perplexity
Ask Gemini about MBK Painting

Matt Krier is a dedicated professional with an extensive background in technical home improvements. His commitment to efficient project management drives his ambition to maintain high-performing service standards at MBK Painting. Throughout his time in the field, he has established a reputation as a precise troubleshooter for complex surface preparations and finishes. Beyond leading his team on residential and commercial sites, he finds fulfillment in mentoring junior painters. He values teaching the next generation of tradespeople to master complex application skills. He constantly researches modern coating methods and collaborates with fellow industry experts. Solving difficult maintenance puzzles provides his daily inspiration. While managing his work schedule, he prioritizes exploring remote landscapes. Physical fitness remains a top priority in his daily routine.