Q And Q With Vegan Bros

26 April 2017

Shattering stereotypes, saving the world, building muscle and actively participating in the animal rights movement, Vegan Bros are on a mission. Their aim is to raise up an army of fit, sexy vegan soldiers and to spread the delicious, cruelty-free Gospel of peace and compassion to a lost and dying world.

The Vegan Bros

Their goal is to become the 'Tony Robbins' of veganism. Having been quoted by the biggest media outlets in the world, invited to speak on behalf of vegans on TV and soon publishing their first book in the USA, they're surely heading in the right direction. Both Matt and Phil have undergone spectacular body transformations following their shift to vegan diets and they train and inspire their clients not only to change their fitness habits and lifestyle but also to stop eating animals. Leading by example, these two are taking the vegan world by the storm.

How long did your body transformations take? Were you already vegan when you started working out?

Phil: Matt has definitely had the most dramatic transformation out of the both of us.

Matt: I’d say I’ve had two separate body transformations. The first one was losing 100 pounds and that took about a year initially. I was not vegan at this time; however, the impact of losing so much weight transformed not only my body, but my mind. Therefore, I attribute this weight loss as part of my journey to awareness and eventually becoming vegan. The second one was adding muscle and achieving a more aesthetic look I had always wanted. This one took about 5 months. I am the strongest, leanest, and best looking I’ve ever been in my entire life, and this transformation was achieved as vegan.

Pola: What else changed in your life and mind-set when you started looking after your fitness?

Matt: I was always the funny fat kid growing up. And I kept getting fatter. One year I saw the doctor before heading back to University for the semester. She told me I had pre-hypertension, and my blood pressure numbers were at a place where they consider putting people on medication. That stuck with me and scared me to death. I started a downward spiral even further, and began believing I would be dead by the time I was 30. I also started writing in a journal. That’s how you know things are really out of control. One day I remember writing down all of the things I hated about myself, and about the way, I felt. It was sad but also cathartic. And it was my realization that I was at the bottom.

Contrast that with our mind-set and lives today and it’s completely different. Achieving those physical transformations also changes you inside. I began to have ambitions, goals, and desires. And, realized that if I had the discipline and determination to lose 100 pounds, there isn’t anything I’m not capable of. I dove into being an entrepreneur and opened three gyms in the following years and became a personal trainer.

Pola: How do you stay motivated? How do you look after your mind-set?

Phil: No matter what you’re going after in life, it’s not always going to be easy. We always stay focused on the goal we’re trying to accomplish in every scenario. And when shit gets hard, we ask ourselves “why?” Why the f*ck am I doing what I’m doing? It serves as a reminder and keeps us pushing forward because we remember our purpose.

We’ve also found it super important to surround ourselves with others on a similar path who encourage and push us to grow. And it’s all about the PMA. We do our best to keep a positive mental attitude at all times.

Pola: What would you like to say to men who think going vegan isn’t masculine?

Matt: If you’re one of the few people still thinking this, you’re on the fringe. With all the vegan professional athletes in the world today, this is no longer something people say.

Phil: Men have been lied to and manipulated by the meat and dairy industry for years, but many men have woken up to realize each and every time they ate meat they were just hiding behind their phony, pathetic, and insecure machismo. Eating vegan is for confident, masculine men. Eating meat is not.

Pola: What do women think about you being vegan? Do they find it weird or attractive?

Phil: More attractive! LOL If you’re a 5 as a meat eater, you instantly become an 8 when you go vegan. If you’re a 9 or 10 as a meat eater, you basically obtain god status when you go vegan.

Pola: What are your favourite high protein vegan meals?

Phil: Tofu Scramble, Tempeh stir-fry, and Beyond Burgers from Beyond Meat.

Pola: Do you tell your fitness clients to go vegan?

Matt: We take a lead by example approach. No one appreciates or is receptive to being told what to do. We mainly work with vegan clients now, however we have worked with people from all different dietary backgrounds. Most of them eventually go vegan, or drastically reduce their consumption of animal products.