10 Modern Day Vegan Bodybuilders Changing The Way People View Meat

By: Educate Inspire Change  One of the biggest questions vegans get asked; is “where do you get your protein?”

Time and time again, this question is asked by people who think it’s impossible to build muscle, and essentially get enough protein to do so, through a solely plant based diet.

In more recent years, studies have been released that show plant-based foods as being healthier for our bodies, whereas meat and other animal products have been linked to higher risks of cancer.

10 Modern Day Vegan Bodybuilders

But even with that being said; what about those who are fitness consciousness, and regularly go to the gym with the primary aim of building more muscle mass? Can they still build muscle on a plant-based diet?

The bodybuilders featured below are proving that yes, in fact, you can!

There are plenty of plant-based foods that contain high enough protein contents to allow optimal muscle growth, and these 10 modern days vegan bodybuilders are living proof:

1. Jon Venus

Jon Venus was one of the first vegan bodybuilders I stumbled upon when researching the subject. Jon is a fitness YouTuber, and online personal trainer, and has not been a vegan for that long of a time.

However, he has had incredible results from switching his diet over to plant based and says that his strength in the gym has also rapidly increased since making the switch.

If you’re interested in learning more about vegan bodybuilding, foods, and recipes, definitely follow Jon’s channel, as he offers incredible advice on all of the above.

2. Brian Turner

Brian Turner is another vegan fitness YouTuber, who was also amazed at the difference becoming vegan made to his overall health. Brian originally decided to make the switch as he was suffering from severe acne, majorly due to drinking a gallon of milk every day and downing protein shakes.

Not only did his new diet completely clear up his acne, but his workout performance improved, and he was still able to build muscle mass without consuming meat or dairy products.

3. Nimai Delgado

Nimai Delgado was raised as a vegetarian by his parents but decided to take his diet one step further several years ago and transitioned to being vegan. Far too many comments on his YouTube channel are by people who think he must eat meat or take steroids to achieve the physique he has.

Nimai is a prime example of vegan bodybuilding, and he’s begun to make people re-think the way they see meat, through his videos.

4. Torre Washington

If you’re a vegan bodybuilder, then you most definitely will have heard about Torre Washington. Torre has been vegan since 1998 and prides himself on being 100% plant based, with ZERO use of supplements.

Torre competes professionally and has been featured in Thrive Magazine, GQ Magazine, VHF, and Forks Over Knives… to name a few.

5. Fraser Bayley

Fraser Bayley is a vegan bodybuilder and the founder of Plant-Strong Fitness. Bayley says that earlier in his life he was diagnosed with depression, social anxiety, ADHD, and bipolar disorder. He also used to smoke and drink a lot of alcohol when he was younger also.

In an effort to clean his diet up and try and reach his full potential, he decided to make the transition towards being vegan. Once the transition was complete, he said his life was transformed in multiple ways.

Fraser is another of the many modern day vegan bodybuilders, proving that you can live much more healthily, and still build muscle mass, on a vegan diet.

6. Arvid Beck

Arvid Beck is a professional bodybuilder from Germany. Unlike many of the other vegan bodybuilders on this list, Arvid became a vegan solely for moral and ethical reasons. Never the less, he agrees that a plant based diet is much better for your body than a diet that contains animal products.

Once again, becoming vegan hasn’t limited Arvid’s training or physique.

7. Ryan Nelson

Ryan Nelson became vegan after watching a few documentaries in 2012, which really enlightened him to the topic. His wife also went vegan before him doing the same, so that was a major influence.

Nelson explains that there are a lot of misconceptions about vegans, including that they are skinny, malnourished, hippies, clueless about nutrition and hate non-vegans.

8. Simone Collins

Simone Collins is a female bodybuilding competitor and made the decision to become vegan several years ago. Before that, she had been a vegetarian since her early teens.

Some might say that it’s a lot easier for female bodybuilders to adopt a vegan lifestyle since they don’t normally need to put on as much mass as men do, but Simone is still a major inspiration for female bodybuilders and bodybuilders in general.

9. Robert Cheeke

Robert Cheeke became vegan purely for his love of farm animals (having grown up on a farm), and over time he developed an appreciation for animals in general.

Robert was only 15 when he went vegan and weighed 120lbs at the time. His entire bodybuilding transformation took place on a plant-based diet, and he managed to gain a whopping 75lbs on this diet. Without a doubt, Cheeke is the biggest living proof that you can transform your body and get huge muscle gains without eating meat.

10. Patrick Reiser

Patrick Reiser is a German professional vegan bodybuilder, has his own clothing line and vegan supplement company. The only downside is that if you want to follow him on his YouTube channel, you’ll need to learn German.

Reiser has almost 150,000 subscribers on YouTube and is another prime example of how you can build an incredibly muscular, ripped physique, on a vegan diet.

Summary

These guys are proof that everything you heard about vegans being skinny and weak is a myth. Hopefully, this article has inspired you to makes changes to your diet, and re-think the way you look at food.


Once again, the top 10 modern day vegan bodybuilders who are challenging stereotypes are:

  • Jon Venus
  • Brian Turner
  • Nimai Delgado
  • Torre Washington
  • Fraser Bayley
  • Arvid Beck
  • Ryan Nelson
  • Simone Collins
  • Robert Cheeke
  • Patrick Reiser

Who’s your favorite vegan bodybuilder?

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