Famous Vegans - Alexander Dargatz

Alexander Dargatz

He is a German bodybuilder, born in Frankfurt. In 2005, he won the World Champion Body-builder title. He became interested in bodybuilding when he was 16 years old. Since he wasn't good in most sports in school, but among the best doing push-ups, he kept doing that, later adding dumbbells and became hooked. He loves every aspect of bodybuilding. He also enjoys running and martial arts. He wrote an article with training tips, that you can find at this link.

Quotes by Alexander Dargatz:

When asked why he became vegan, he answered:

"For ethical, ecological, spiritual and healthy reasons (in that order)! I read a couple of good books and realized the ethical implications of eating meat and the countless other ways of abusing animals and nature. It made me cry. There simply is no need for us to consume animal products and we cause a lot of harm by doing so; that is the definition of crime. I couldn’t be anything else but vegan after understanding that."

When asked what he likes best about being vegan, he answered:

"Everything! I was the best choice I ever made in my life to become vegan! I enjoy every single meal. I also love the communication with like-minded people, people who are compassionate and optimistic. The atmosphere at vegan gatherings is incredible, so peaceful and energetic."

"Bodybuilding and being vegan, are the two best things in my life. They define who I am, in body and spirit. That doesn’t mean my life is all about my workout and eating, but I find my strength in life in those two aspects. Veganism is about love and respect to your environment, and bodybuilding is about love and respect to yourself."

When asked what motivates him to be a successful vegan bodybuilder, he answered:

"My love to the sport. And I feel the need to prove that vegans are neither frail, nor skinny, nor weak! In every workout I compete against every other bodybuilder on the planet. Meat-eaters and roid-users alike. The former have no advantage on me, the latter I can only pity."

"One popular wrong notion is that vegans are frail and skinny. My power has increased since becoming vegan, especially my endurance, and I almost never get ill anymore. It’s true that I lost some pounds, but to most people that would mean no harm."

"Bodybuilding takes time, you cannot force your muscles to grow. You can’t make them grow twice as fast by eating twice as much, or working out twice as much. It takes time, persistence, dedication and love of what you’re doing."

When asked about his nutrition program, he answered:

"I don’t really have a program anymore! I used to be very strict on my diet before becoming vegan, but now I just eat whatever I can find, as long as it is vegan. I have some guidelines, but no actual "program". I don’t eat industrial foods and try to eat as much organic food as possible. I never eat anything that has artificial flavour, preservatives, hydrogenated fat or flavour enhancer in it. In general, I try to eat fresh and nutritious vegan foods, lots of fruits and veggies, nuts, lentils, seeds and so on, and add protein to it (soy and wheat products). I also enjoy vegan treats, but I try not to eat too many sweets (except self-baked cakes)."

"People imagine their usual meal without the meat, the dairy and the eggs, and wonder what’s left. But there is a whole new world of taste to discover and savor! I really learned to cook, and nobody could say "No" to my girlfriend’s vegan Tiramisu!"

"I believe supplements are overrated. They can never replace a healthy diet and when your diet is healthy, you don’t need them. At the moment I take only a multivitamin/mineral tablet per day, brewer’s yeast and creatine. I’m still not sure about the efficiency of creatine, though. I take it in cycles of 6 weeks."

When asked if he has any advice for people who are thinking about becoming vegan, he answered:

"Don’t think about it, do it. I became vegan from one day to the other, I think it’s the best way. For information, search the internet, join a vegan forum. If you want to, there are tons of good books about veganism. If you know people who are already vegan, maybe you can learn from them. And cooking together is fun."

Quotes are from his bio on the Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness website.