Will: Today, I am pleased to share an exclusive interview especially for you who have an interest in health, freedom, compassion, and the World Peace Diet approach to vegan living. My long-time friend and colleague, Robert Cheeke, from Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness, has teamed up with Matt Frazier, from No Meat Athlete, to co-author one of the current bestselling books in America, The Plant-Based Athlete. It is being released nationwide today, June 15th!
Robert has been on this compassionate vegan path with me for more than 25
years, sharing his journey from farm kid to champion vegan bodybuilder. Matt
has developed perhaps the largest plant-based athlete community in the world
at www.nomeatathlete.com, and their beautiful new book (released today!)
shows without a doubt that a plant-based diet supports an active lifestyle,
and even fuels some of the greatest athletes in the world.
Robert and Matt both chose veganism for compassion and ethics, and it never
slowed them down in their athletic endeavors, and in fact, it has helped
enhance their athletic performance, which is what The Plant-Based Athlete is
all about. Their book has already been featured on The Rich Roll Podcast,
Forks Over Knives, Mastering Diabetes, Chef AJ, The Vegan Cruise, and other
platforms, including mainstream media outlets, but I’ve had the opportunity
to learn some behind-the-scenes insights about The Plant-Based Athlete that
I’d like to share with you.
Robert and Matt
Will: Robert, you have been a vegan since 1995, when you
weighed 120 pounds as a farm kid growing up in an agriculture community in
Western Oregon. You later became a champion vegan bodybuilder, weighing more
than 220 pounds, showing without question that a vegan diet can support
athletic goals. Tell us a bit about why you decided to team up with Matt to
write this new book.
Robert: For years, I have wanted to tell the compelling
stories of the world’s greatest plant-based athletes. I’ve spent the past
quarter century in the plant-based athlete community, and I have been
inspired and motivated by many of my colleagues who have achieved amazing
athletic results with a vegan diet. I wanted to tell their stories to
mainstream readers, and as awareness around veganism is at an all-time high,
on the heels of The Game Changers, Seaspiracy, and all the documentaries,
books, individuals, and organizations that contribute to spreading this
compassionate vegan lifestyle, I figured now was the best time to release
this book.
I concluded that Matt was the perfect co-author. We’ve been friends for more
than ten years, and we’ve built two of the largest vegan athlete communities
in the world (Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness and No Meat Athlete). With my
focus on strength sports and his focus on endurance sports, combined with
our years of touring and public speaking, as well as our previous written
work, it seemed like our strengths would complement one another, and we
wanted to write the best book on this subject that has ever been written.
And we truly believe we have done that, after two and a half years working
to bring this book to life.
Furthermore, Matt and I have very similar nutrition philosophies, and
similar mindsets toward fitness, goal setting, and living a compassionate
vegan lifestyle. With Dr. Michael Greger writing the foreword for our book,
and T. Colin Campbell and many others, including John Robbins, endorsing it,
we’re so excited to share The Plant-Based Athlete with the world. And today,
our book release date in every major bookstore in the US and Canada, has
been decades in the making for me, so I’m just feeling incredibly grateful
for this opportunity to share our amazing new book with readers.
Will: Matt, what can readers expect to learn from reading
The Plant-Based Athlete? Is it only for athletes, or can the average fairly
active person find some benefits from your new book too?
Matt: We wrote The Plant-Based Athlete with the weekend
warrior and recreational athlete in mind. It’s actually a how-to book about
becoming a plant-based athlete, covering everything from plant-based
nutrition (nutrient and calorie density, macro- and micronutrients) to meal
plans, supplementation, and even more than 60 recipes. One of the best parts
about this book is that it’s not just one person’s program, perspective, or
advice. We interviewed more than 50 world-class plant-based athletes, and
even shared a sample day in the life routine for dozens of them, including
Olympic gold medalists and world champions. These athlete stories provide
incredible inspiration and motivation, but they also show real world
examples of what elite plant-based athletes eat and how they train, and all
of us can benefit from the examples they’ve set. There truly is something
for everyone in this book, and it is a comprehensive resource, but also a
very entertaining read from the incredible athlete stories that are woven
through the chapters. We believe this book will inspire many people to leave
animals off their plates and lead to a more compassionate future. And we are
so pleased that you received an advance copy and that you’re sharing our
book with your audience.
Will: Robert, what advice do you have for people who want
to promote the vegan lifestyle through athletics?
Robert: To me, the best way to represent veganism in sports
is to lead by example. Being healthy, happy and fit has been one of my
mantras over the years because I have seen how my example has inspired so
many people over the past 25 years. It is precisely the amazing athletic
results that other plant-based athletes have achieved that have inspired me
during my vegan athlete journey too. Our book tells many inspirational
stories, but every single person reading this has the opportunity to tell
their own story too. So, I suggest that you discover whatever athletic
interest you’re more passionate about, and then pursue it with enthusiasm,
and thrive as a plant-based athlete. Others will often take notice, and it
becomes a beautiful way to make vegan activism part of your athletic
lifestyle.
Matt Frazier is the founder and CEO of No Meat Athlete and author of The No Meat Athlete Cookbook. He is a marathoner and ultrarunner, and qualified for the Boston Marathon with the help of a plant-based diet. Matt is the host of the No Meat Athlete podcast. He lives in Asheville, NC, with his family.
Robert Cheeke is the founder of Vegan Bodybuilding and is a two-time natural bodybuilding champion. He is the author of Shred It!, is a public speaker, and has followed a plant-based diet for more than twenty-five years. He lives in Fort Collins, CO with is family.
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