Mac Danzig is an ultimate fighter. He’s also a vegan.

“Mac Danzig took a diet risk four years ago. The 28-year-old mixed martial-arts fighter had long wanted to spare animals by going vegan. But he was afraid his trainers were right: that he’d lose to stronger opponents. Last month, on a diet of brown-rice protein, beans, soy, nuts and vegetables, Mr. Danzig defeated the last of his challengers in Spike TV’s ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ Kim Barnouin, co-author of the vegan best-seller ‘Skinny Bitch,’ says she loves the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ show and cheered Mr. Danzig’s win. When fight fans learned Mr. Danzig was a vegan, some said they didn’t think he’d have the strength, or the stomach, to conquer the ultra-violent sport, which combines kick-boxing and wrestling. ‘It’s about animal rights,’ Mr. Danzig says, ‘not human rights.’” from Wall Street Journal.

An interview with Danzig explains how he went vegan:

“Ever since I can remember, I’ve always had a profound respect and interest in nature and animals. I guess it’s just in my blood. I grew up poor by American standards and was raised to eat whatever we could afford. I remember being 13 and seeing a truck on the interstate filled with pigs all headed to the slaughterhouse. One of them made eye contact with me for a while. It was one of the saddest moments I can remember. There was so much intelligence and spirit in him, and here he was, being sent to an awful death. …

“It wasn’t until I was 20 and I got a job working at an animal sanctuary in Pennsylvania called Ooh-Mah-Nee Farm that I was able to meet people who were vegan and realize how strongly some people felt about it and how many healthy alternatives to animal products there were. I experimented with a vegan diet for about a year, but once I started training full-time for fighting, I believed what certain people said and started eating chicken again because I thought that I had to have some kind of animal protein in order to be a successful athlete. It was crazy because my diet was still pretty much vegan, except for chicken about three times a week. It never sat right with me. … I would still go through spells where I just couldn’t eat it, and about 2 years ago, I read a Mike Mahler article on an animal rights Web site where he explained his vegan diet for training in detail, and I said, “That’s it—I can do it too,” and I started 100 percent vegan again for life and I’ve never looked back. I feel great.”

Visit Mac Danzig’s official website here: http://www.macdanzig.net/

Read Mike Mahler’s article on the vegan diet for strength training here: http://www.mikemahler.com/articles/vegan_diet.html

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