The Aethix Approach Ryan Rakes

Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with the vegan fitness power couple themselves, Dani Taylor and Giacomo Marchese.

Dani and Giacomo have been involved in the vegan fitness space for years now and originally met through the VeganBodybuilding.com message boards around 2008 during a meet-up event.

They started their joint business Vegan Proteins shortly after which was an online storefront for all kinds of vegan protein brands. Over the years, they eventually converted it to a vegan fitness coaching team as the online storefront space became more competitive and have now also started Vegan Strong, which is a similar team consisting of athletes, nutritionists, authors and coaches with a goal of educating others at events about building a strong, healthy and impressive body on a plant based diet. They also started its subsidiary called Plantbuilt, which is a collective of high level, plant based strength and physique athletes who compete at events.

Dani and Giacomo truly walk-the-walk also, and have both competed at high levels in both bodybuilding and other sports themselves.

Dani and Giacomo get into the details of how they met, their reasons for going vegan, what drew them to fitness and competing, how plant based foods have evolved over the years, building muscle and strength on a plant based diet, and so much more.

This was a really great episode with two amazing and influential people in the vegan fitness space and I think you’ll enjoy their stories and commentary just as much as I did!

Dani can be found on Instagram at @veganproteins and Giacomo can be found at @musclesbybrussels . Check out their coaching website at veganproteins.com and their vegan health and fitness collectives at veganstrong.com and plantbuilt.com. They also have a podcast called Muscles by Brussels Radio which can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and more.

Thanks so much again to Dani and Giacomo and without further ado, enjoy the show!

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COACHING: http://aethixfitness.com

MERCH: http://www.aethixfitness.com/shop

TRAINING PROGRAMS: http://www.aethixfitness.com/training

TRUE NUTRITION - My absolute favorite, affordable, customizable vegan protein powder! Use code "AETHIX" at checkout for 5% off anything you order! Using the code helps support me! http://www.truenutrition.com/

JACK AND FRIENDS VEGAN JERKY - Super tasty jackfruit based jerky and a great small business to support! Use code "AETHIX" at checkout for 10% off anything you order! https://www.jackandfriendsjerky.com/

SOCIAL:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/aethixfitness
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/tofustrong
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aethixfitness
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aethixf
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beeflessbros

PODCAST:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0...
Audible: https://www.amazon.com/The-Aethix-App...
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-aet...

Support The Aethix Approach by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-aethix-approach

In this episode, I’m joined by vegan competitive bodybuilder and coach, John Thomas, AKA the bodybuilding vegan on Instagram. John was nice enough to take the time to come on to the podcast just several weeks out from competition which, for any of you who have dieted super hard before know, is a brutal period that often consists of low energy and brain fog. That being said, I have to say that it wasn’t obvious with John at all, as he got into some absolutely amazing points in this chat and I was feeling fired up and motivated right after!

We get into John’s history and what inspired him to go vegetarian and vegan at a young age, how bullying can affect children years down the road, what drew him to pursuing bodybuilding, his experiences with building muscle on a plant based diet and coaching other vegan lifters, why more high level bodybuilders should consider eating plant based, government subsidies for the animal agriculture industry, and a slew of other amazing content. John is currently aiming to become the first ever vegan IFBB pro in the men’s open bodybuilding category and pave the way for a future of vegan competitors.

He can be found on instagram at @TheBodybuildingVegan and for his coaching and more content, check out thebodybuildingvegan.com.

I think you’ll find this episode as inspirational as I did and thanks so much again to John for taking the time to come and chat. Without further ado, on with the show!

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Episode preview with John
00:30 - Intro to Podcast
01:00 - Intro to John Thomas
2:30 - Podcast episode start and intro
3:15 - John's contest prep update
4:45 - Who IS John Thomas?
6:45 - Vegan activism, forcing yourself out of your comfort zone, why vegan, being a good exmaple
10:30 - Being understanding and empathetic towards people who aren't vegan yet
15:15 - Why did John go vegetarian/vegan at first?
20:30 - Cognitive dissonance and personal experiences with animal sentience, fishing
25:00 - Meat and masculinity
28:00 - Government subsidies for animal agriculture industry
31:30 - The sugar tax and how big money influences the food industry
34:45 - What got John into bodybuilding?
37:30 - John's goals with bodybuilding
42:15 - Plant based diets for building muscle and strength
46:15 - High fiber and legumes on a high calorie, bodybuilding diet, managing digestion during a mass gain phase, carbs
50:15 - Plant based protein sources, getting enough protein is easy as a vegan
52:00 - Post competition diet plans, cravings, diet fatigue, John's mentality shift
54:30 - Closing statement from John, do what you want!
55:20 - Where to find John on social media, closing
57:00 - Episode outro


COACHING: http://aethixfitness.com

MERCH: http://www.aethixfitness.com/shop

TRAINING PROGRAMS: http://www.aethixfitness.com/training

TRUE NUTRITION - My absolute favorite, affordable, customizable vegan protein powder! Use code "AETHIX" at checkout for 5% off anything you order! Using the code helps support me! http://www.truenutrition.com/

JACK AND FRIENDS VEGAN JERKY - Super tasty jackfruit based jerky and a great small business to support! Use code "AETHIX" at checkout for 10% off anything you order! https://www.jackandfriendsjerky.com/

SOCIAL:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/aethixfitness
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/tofustrong
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aethixfitness
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aethixf
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beeflessbros

PODCAST:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0...
Audible: https://www.amazon.com/The-Aethix-App...
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-aet...

Support The Aethix Approach by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-aethix-approach

In this episode, I’m joined by the one and only Dr. Eric Trexler. Eric has a PHD in Human Movement Science, earned his pro card as a natural bodybuilder, has been a coach since 2009, and is currently a metabolism researcher at Duke University in North Carolina. Eric is also co-owner of the MASS research review, which if you didn’t know, is a monthly newsletter that breaks down the most recent nutrition and exercise related research into easy to digest content. Eric has also published dozens of his own peer-reviewed research papers on exercise and sports nutrition related strategies and is at the forefront of the evidence based fitness community.

I’ve personally been a follower of Eric’s content for years - probably since around 2015 - and have the utmost respect for the unbiased, high quality information he puts out which is why I was excited to find out Eric went vegan for ethical purposes in 2020 during his studies into Buddhism and spirituality.

and I delve into why exactly he chose to follow a vegan lifestyle, how his experience has been so far both personally and within the fitness industry, the research on plant vs. animal protein, the health benefits of a plant based diet and general healthy diet practices, dietary nitrates, supplementation and so much more. We packed a lot of great content into this episode and I’m excited to share with you all. Eric can be found on Instagram at Trexler Fitness and at trexlerfitness.com and I definitely recommend checking out MASS and massresearchreview.com.

Thanks so much to Eric for taking the time to drop the knowledge bombs this episode and without further ado, on with the show!

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Episode preview with Eric
00:30 - Intro to Podcast
01:05 - Intro to Eric Trexler
2:45 - Podcast episode start and intro
4:45 - What got Eric into fitness and nutrition?
7:05 - Eric's experience with bodybuilding
7:45 - Eric's injury and working around it
9:45 - What led Eric to going vegan? His experience with spirituality, religion and morality
17:30 - Did Eric have any expectations going on a plant based diet at first? Pervasive myths
18:45 - Differences in plant and animal protein and muscle building
20:00 - When did Eric go plant based and the research then vs. now
23:30 - Powerlifting numbers in the past vs now
24:30 - Advantages or disavantages of plant based diet for health
26:45 - Three diets that have the most evidence as being most health promoting
28:30 - Challenges of a plant based diet
29:45 - Lower threshholds of plant based protein vs. animal protein for building muscle and how to calculate a cutoff number
32:45 - Protein inconveniency
33:45 - Micronutrients of plant based foods and supplementation recommendations
36:15 - Antinutrients
37:05 - Do benefits of plant based diets seem to be more with restricting animal products OR including more plant based foods?
40:45 - Example of why some people have bad experiences with plant based diets
42:15 - Advantages or disadvantages of a plant based diet on sports performance?
45:45 - Dietary nitrates and benefits of increased nitric oxide/blood flow
48:30 - The potentially beneficial compounds in the matrix of specific plant based foods and how they interact with each other in complicated ways
51:15 - Do nitric oxide boosting supplements have beneficial effects? Quality control in supplements
55:00 - Citrulline malate, efficacy, risk profile and taste
58:00 - What supplements would Eric recommend for plant based athletes for performance and/or health?
1:04:30 - Is creatine supplementation a higher priority for vegans?
1:06:45 - Closing statement, encouragement for being a good ambassador for veganism
1:09:45 - Where can Eric be found on social media? Mass Research Review, coaching, instagram
1:12:05 - Episode outro

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COACHING: http://aethixfitness.com

MERCH: http://www.aethixfitness.com/shop

TRAINING PROGRAMS: http://www.aethixfitness.com/training

TRUE NUTRITION - My absolute favorite, affordable, customiz

In this episode, I’m joined by plant based body recomposition coach Maxime Sigouin who runs the fit vegan coaching program. Maxime has a very interesting life story about what led him to pursue fitness coaching and a plant based diet.

As he shares in this episode, he’s experienced a lot in his life so far including caring for his partner who was going through cancer treatments, training seriously for cycling and ironman and using that as a form of fundraising for cancer patients, working as a high fashion model, pursuing natural bodybuilding, working with a mentor who is quite famous in the YouTube fitness industry and eventually starting his own business endeavors to help others get in their best shape on a plant based diet. I particularly found his story about why he adopted a plant based to be very interesting and contrarian to why most people initially do.

All of Maxime’s social media accounts and services can be found on his fitness coaching website at fitvegan.ca if you’re interested in connecting and thanks again to Maxime for coming on and being so transparent with everything! I hope you enjoy this episode and without further ado, on with the show!




COACHING: http://aethixfitness.com/coaching

MERCH: http://www.aethixfitness.com/shop

TRAINING PROGRAMS: http://www.aethixfitness.com/training

TRUE NUTRITION - My absolute favorite, affordable, customizable vegan protein powder! Use code "AETHIX" at checkout for 5% off anything you order! Using the code helps support me! http://www.truenutrition.com/

JACK AND FRIENDS VEGAN JERKY - Super tasty jackfruit based jerky and a great small business to support! Use code "AETHIX" at checkout for 10% off anything you order! https://www.jackandfriendsjerky.com/

SOCIAL:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/aethixfitness

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/tofustrong

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aethixfitness

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aethixf

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beeflessbros

PODCAST:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3bvKpJg...

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9waW5lY2FzdC5jb20vZmVlZC90aGUtYWV0aGl4LWFwcHJvYWNo?sa=X&ved=0CAIQ9sEGahgKEwjg4ejxiPr_AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQ0QE

Audible: https://a.co/d/is5LyHC

Support The Aethix Approach by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-aethix-approach

So this episode is going to be a bit of departure from what we’ve done before on the podcast but I think it’s a lot of fun.

Eddie Baumgartner, a vegan powerlifter who was on the podcast in season 1, joins me again for this one but instead of the normal interview style that we’ve done before - we actually did a version of the hot ones challenge for this one. For those who aren’t familiar, the hot ones challenge is a challenge where celebrities are asked 10 questions and they eat a buffalo wing that gets increasingly hotter for each question - as the questions also get more heated.

Eddie and I, two of your favorite celebrities, of course, did our vegan take on this. We both had a plate of five Gardein Ultimate tenders, which - side note - if you haven’t had yet, are absolutely delicious, and we picked 5 hot sauces that increase in scoville rating from 1,700 to apparently, possibly over 2.5 MILLION, although not OFFICIALLY confirmed. Needless to say, Eddie and I were goin’ through it here. After coating each tender in sauce, we went back and forth and asked each other an increasingly more complex question following the theme of controversial vegan opinions. So in our flustered, adrenaline fueled state post-bite, we’d have to answer our opinion on a controversial vegan topic which I think you guys will find very entertaining.

To make things worse, we also didn’t allow ourselves any water, almond milk, or WHATEVER during the whole length of the challenge.

This is one that I recommend watching in video form but if not, the audio recording alone is pretty damn entertaining, I’d say.

You can find Eddie at @eddie.baumgartner on Instagram and YouTube and @theagentbaum on Twitch.

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy our oncoming ridiculousness and suffering!

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COACHING: http://aethixfitness.com

MERCH: http://www.aethixfitness.com/shop

TRAINING PROGRAMS: http://www.aethixfitness.com/training

TRUE NUTRITION - My absolute favorite, affordable, customizable vegan protein powder! Use code "AETHIX" at checkout for 5% off anything you order! Using the code helps support me! http://www.truenutrition.com/

JACK AND FRIENDS VEGAN JERKY - Super tasty jackfruit based jerky and a great small business to support! Use code "AETHIX" at checkout for 10% off anything you order! https://www.jackandfriendsjerky.com/

SOCIAL:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/aethixfitness
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/tofustrong
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aethixfitness
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aethixf
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beeflessbros

PODCAST:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0...
Audible: https://www.amazon.com/The-Aethix-App...
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-aet...

Support The Aethix Approach by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-aethix-approach

In this episode, I’m joined by none other than Robert Cheeke, the godfather of vegan bodybuilding, activist, motivational speaker, founder of veganbodybuilding.com, and best selling author. Robert was the first person I personally ever heard of competing in bodybuilding as a natural athlete on a completely plant based diet and he has done SO much over the years to promote veganism and eating a healthy, sustainable plant based diet. Robert won the title of INBA Northwestern USA Natural Bodybuilding Overall Novice Champion in 2005, placed competitively in the 2006 Natural Bodybuilding World Championships and won his class in the 2009 Northwestern USA Natural Bodybuilding Championships. Robert has written several books including the New York Times Best Seller “The Plant Based Athlete” published in 2021, “Plant Based Muscle” in 2017, “Shred It” in 2014, and “Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness” in 2010. During our chat, Robert walks us through his early life and reasons for going vegan, how he bulked up over 100 lbs on a plant based diet, the reasons people should want to go vegan, tips on getting the most out of your plant based diet as an athlete, his favorite meals and restaurants and TONS more. Robert is very knowledgeable, experienced and well-spoken which makes him an exceptional advocate for veganism and a big inspiration for me personally when I first decided to go vegan in early 2016 and to this day. I absolutely LOVED the discussion we had and I’m sure you will too so without further ado, on with the show!

-

COACHING: http://aethixfitness.com

MERCH: http://www.aethixfitness.com/shop

TRAINING PROGRAMS: http://www.aethixfitness.com/training

TRUE NUTRITION - My absolute favorite, affordable, customizable vegan protein powder! Use code "AETHIX" at checkout for 5% off anything you order! Using the code helps support me! http://www.truenutrition.com/

JACK AND FRIENDS VEGAN JERKY - Super tasty jackfruit based jerky and a great small business to support! Use code "AETHIX" at checkout for 10% off anything you order! https://www.jackandfriendsjerky.com/

SOCIAL:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/aethixfitness
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/tofustrong
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aethixfitness
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aethixf
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beeflessbros

PODCAST:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0...
Audible: https://www.amazon.com/The-Aethix-App...
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-aet...

Support The Aethix Approach by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-aethix-approach