- The long held myth that we need meat to build muscle
is slowly but surely shattering
as an ever growing number of bodybuilders
in the best shape of their life eating only plants.
Here's just a few examples of those
that destroy stereotypes anywhere they go.
Hope you enjoy.
Coming in at number seven, Massimo Brunaccioni.
Massimo is an athlete, trainer, nutrition coach
and World Champion in natural bodybuilding.
He's even released his own training
and cookbook "Vegan Coach"
As a proud vegan, Massimo wants to lead by example
and show you people that fully plant based diet
isn't just healthy and ethical,
but also the best for the planet.
Coming in at number six, Jehina Malik.
Vegan from birth,
Jehina is a multiple bodybuilding champion.
She's an inspiration to many
and has overcome serious injuries
that she suffered three years ago when she was hit by car.
She's on top form again
and said it was thanks to a vegan diet
that she was able to bounce back so quickly.
- A front door bouquet for you guys?
- [Woman] Yeah.
- [Woman] Whoa
- [Camera Woman] Look harder than this so...
- [Woman] Look at this, this is vegan muscle being.
- Coming in at number five, Frank Medrano.
Frank is a calisthenics expert, trainer and pro athlete.
throughout his career he's inspired millions of people
to change their lifestyle
and giving them the tools to do it.
His superhuman physique leaves no doubts about plans
to being the best fuel fast.
- When I figured out what to eat as a vegan
and I was eating the right stuff,
that's when my training and nutrition went
to a different level.
- [Klaus] Coming in at number four, Vanessa Espinoza.
Vanessa is a professional bodybuilder,
strength athlete, and coach.
She's also a multiple boxing champion
and basketball coach.
She credits much of her success to plant based nutrition
and has been vegan for over 14 years.
- When I went vegan for the animals,
yes, but then I realized, oh my gosh,
it's so much better for my health.
- Right. - I'm feeling better
and I wanted that edge over other athletes.
What can I do to be better than my competition
and sure enough this was it.
- Vanessa said becoming plant based,
boosted the energy levels,
sped up her recovery times
and allowed her to put on more muscle than ever before.
Coming in at number three, Derek Tresize.
Derek is a professional bodybuilder.
He won many championships.
He's also a personal trainer
and coauthor of "Vegan Muscle and Fitness" magazine.
He's been vegan for more than a decade,
and owns his own Fitness Studio called Brute force.
- I remember when I started competing
just three or four years ago, we'd go backstage,
and I'd wear my vegan shirts, of course,
and people would be like, really?
Really, how on earth do you do that?
What, do you eat salad?
And as a matter of a few years, it's totally changed
and now of course, we have a whole team of vegans
that are representing what we do,
and really changing the image of fitness.
- [Klaus] Coming in at number two, Nimai Delgado.
Vegetarian from birth, Nimai went vegan many years ago,
and it's demolishing all stereotypes about masculinity
and meat eating.
He's a multiple bodybuilding champion
and a vocal proponent of whole food plant based diets.
- It's gonna make you work out harder.
You can workout more frequently,
you can build muscle faster,
you can lose fat faster.
So, I mean, it's a win-win for me.
So I tell people all the time,
I have the best kept secret in bodybuilding.
Everybody's like, oh,
it must be a disadvantage for you to be a vegan bodybuilder
because you're so restricted.
I'm like, I'm not restricted.
I was like, you guys are the one that are restricted
because you're putting these things into your body,
your body is operating less efficiently.
You're recovering slower.
And me on the other hand, I'm recovering faster.
- ]Klaus] Coming in at number one Torre Washington.
We couldn't not include Torre Washington.
He's a professional bodybuilder, multiple champion
and personal trainer.
He's been vegan for over 20 years
and is a true expert when it comes to bodybuilding
strong and healthy bodies.
Torre has his own training and nutrition program
to help people kickstart that body transformation.
- For me when people ask me what I get my protein.
One thing I like to say
I get my protein from the same place
that the animal you're eating gets it's protein.
Which is from the earth.
- There are many more plant based bodybuilders
that we have mentioned in this video
and an increasing number of athletes
and people in general, changing their lifestyles.
Plant based nutrition is literally
sweeping over the world of fitness
and becoming the new norm.
All these athletes are showing the world
just how amazing a vegan diet is for us
and how it helps helps us thrive.