Photo: Courtesy of torrewashington.com
In preparation of 10-day Jay festival, which begins on October 16, we’ve been finding inspiration in vegans who prove that plants can give you all the nutrition you need and then some. From F1 world champs to pro surfers and bulging bodybuilders, here are a few athletes who swear by the vegan lifestyle and whom you should start following on Instagram immediately.
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Perhaps the vegan athlete at the top of anyone’s minds these days is six-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton. The 35-year-old British racecar driver went vegan in 2017 after watching the documentary What The Health and has been a voice for animals ever since. Besides winning world racing titles, he’s also a vegan entrepreneur, collaborating with Tommy Hilfiger to create sustainable fashion and investing in a vegan burger restaurant called Neat Burger, which just opened its second branch in London this year.
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But if there’s one vegan athlete who can blow the myth of meat as the source of power out of the water it’s bodybuilder Torre Washington. Let his Instagram pics do all the talking. Vegan for 21 years and counting, Torre went vegan in 1998, embracing his Ital Rastafarian roots of living off the land and respecting nature. He started competing in his first bodybuilding competitions a decade later and the rest is history.
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Catch this vegan pro surfer’s incredible moves on her Instagram and get inspired. Still very young at 23 years old, Tia was won the International Surfing Association’s Open Women’s World Surfing Championship two years in a row back in 2015 and 2016. Having been raised vegetarian due to her mother’s ethical stance, Tia decided to go vegan in 2013, and it’s clear she loves being so. To see exactly what she eats, follow Tia’s second Instagram account, @tiasvegankitchen, which is dedicated to her scrumptious vegan recipes.
See also: 10 Reasons To Stay Calm And Watch ‘My Octopus Teacher’
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Veganism is not a competition, but if it were, British distance runner Fiona Oakes would certainly be a winner. Vegan for almost her entire life, the now 51-year-old is proudly the “fastest female to run a marathon on each continent and the North Pole”. She holds a total of four Guinness World Records, all of which have the word “fastest” in them.
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Known for his activism against police brutality and racial inequality in America, American footballer Colin Kaepernick is also championing the rights of animals as an ethical vegan. The San Francisco 49er quarterback has stated that he’s against any form of oppression, whether it’s of humans or animals.
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One of the athletes featured in popular Netflix doco Game Changers, this Australian sprinter noticed significant improvements in her stamina and overall health after going vegan in 2014 for ethical reasons. In 2016, at the age of 21, she represented Australia in the 2016 Summer Olympics in the Women’s 400-metre dash. Currently, she is focusing on her 800-metre times and spreading positivity on her IG feed.
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