Famous Athletes Who Turn Vegetarian

It is now becoming common knowledge or a trend that athletes going vegan. They are going with the slogan of ” You don’t need animal protein to build and maintain muscle”. As a consequence, plant-based vegan diets in the sporting industry are rising in popularity. From Cricket and football stars to tennis pros, more and more sports celebrities are going Vegan to fuel their sporting success. Here are some of the very Famous Athletes Who Turn Vegan.

1). Venus Williams | Tennis

Venus Williams

Arguably the 2nd most famous American tennis player in the world, Venus Williams is one of the Famous Athletes Who Turn Vegan. She holds four Olympic gold medals and has won the prestigious Wimbledon women’s singles title five times.

Venus decided to go vegan when she was diagnosed with Sjögren’s Syndrome in 2011 and doctors recommended this change to her diet in order to relieve some of her symptoms such as extreme fatigue and joint pain.

2). Lewis Hamilton | F1

Lewis Hamilton

Second on our Famous Athletes Who Turn Vegan list is, F1 ace racer Lewis Hamilton. Lewis is one of the best-known vegan athletes. He’s considered the best racing driver of his generation, being a four-time Formula One World Champion for Mercedes AMG Petronas.

The F1 champion recently shared a social media post where he was urging his fans to go vegan, like him. The athlete posted a video containing slaughterhouse footage with the caption

#3 : Virat Kohli : Cricket

Virat Kohli

Form the world of cricket, Virat Kohli is among the Famous Athletes Who Turn Vegan. The Men’s Cricketer of the Last decade, Virat Kohli went full vegetarian during the 2019 World Cup story. The Superstar of Cricket has done indeed to improve his game. Virat Kohli is a big name in Cricket.

His Turning vegan inspires a lot of his fans. He became vegan with his Wife Anushka Sharma. He has 3rd most number centuries in International cricket,70. Virat was the only cricketer on Forbes’s richest athletes list.

#4 : Tom Brady | NFL

Tom Brady

American football quarterback Tom Brady and his model wife Gisele Bündchen are both committed to saving the planet by following a plant-based diet. Brady is leading a vegan movement within his league, encouraging his colleagues to follow a plant-based diet. He even teamed up with vegan meal delivery service Purple Carrot to create his own range of meatless, dairy-free meals.

#5 : DeAndre Jordan | Basketball

NBA star and Olympic gold medalist DeAndre Jordan believes in veganism so much that he invested in plant-based meat company Beyond Meat. DeAndre Jordan went vegan in 2018 and said he did it to help save the environment. The pro baller was spotted in Manhattan to help promote the launch of the Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich.

During the appearance, Jordan said, My body is feeling awesome. I’ve never been healthier. I’ve converted a lot of my family and friends over, and slowly but surely they’re converting.

Jordan even hosted his own vegan cooking show called “Cooking Clean,” which debuted in June on the athlete-owned network PlayersTV. 

6). Javale McGee | Basketball

Plant-powered on the court, professional basketball player Javale McGee went vegan in order to drop weight and reduce stress on his legs. Three-time NBA champion Javale McGee switched to a vegan diet in 2016. The 33-year-old former center said he initially did it as a short-term weight-loss method

He then began to do it on and off when he wanted to lose weight before adopting the lifestyle as his new normal, he told GQ. You just feel really good, lighter. And there is a lot more energy you have throughout the day, he told GQ.

7). Tia Blanco | Surfing

Vegan surfer Tia Blanco has an extensive collection of victories to her name. Tia Blanco’s sporting career changed for the better after switching to a purely plant-based diet in 2013. In 2016, she became the first surfer to win back-to-back gold medals post-1996. The plant-based athlete scored her first gold medal in 2015, followed by her second the following year.

Blanco just celebrated her “veganniversary.” She wrote on Instagram: “Officially seven years vegan and I’m loving this lifestyle now, more than ever before.”

8). Scott Jurek | Ultramarathon Running

Vegan ultramarathon runner Scott Jurek is proof you don’t need meat or dairy products to excel in athletic performance.

He ran the entire length of the Appalachian Trail in a record-setting 46 days, eight hours, and seven minutes. He’s also won the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon, the “world’s toughest foot race,” twice. And the 153-mile long Spartathlon in Greece three consecutive times.

Jurek told ‘No Meat Athlete’ that: going vegan has greatly improved his body composition. He said A lot of people assume that one needs to eat animal products to gain a lot of muscle mass or sufficient muscle mass for even power sports, and that’s definitely been proved false time and time again.

9). Meagan Duhamel | Figure Skating

Canadian figure skater Meagan Duhamel has three Olympic medals to her name. She transitioned to a vegan diet in 2008 after reading the diet book “Skinny Bitch.”

Duhamel said she experienced increased energy levels and clear skin after removing meat and dairy from her diet. “It’s simply healthier. Vegans eat more fiber, fruits, and vegetables, therefore getting more vitamins and minerals into their bodies. Vegans also don’t eat saturated fat and their protein comes from clean sources, free of antibiotics and chemicals,” she wrote on her blog, Lutz of Greens.

10). Dotsie Bausch | Cycling

Pro cyclist Dotsie Bausch, who is also featured in “Game Changers,” went vegan in 2009. Although she ditched meat and dairy in order to be a better advocate for animals, her dietary switch may have helped to increase her athletic performance. Bausch went on to win a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics.

Throughout her career, she also achieved eight US national championships, two Pan American gold medals, and a world record. After retiring from competitive sport, she founded Switch4Good – a non-profit ‘rattling accepted norms around dairy and health.

11). Nate Diaz | MMA

Nate Diaz was one of the UFC’s first fighters to embrace a plant-based lifestyle. The 32-year-old welterweight fighter said he cut all meat out of his diet when he was 18 years old. while he eats fish during his off time when he is training for fights he exclusively eats vegan.

Diaz believes that eating meat would slow him down and believes he is at an advantage over other fighters that don’t follow plant-based eating. 

12). Kyrie Irving | Basketball

Pro NBA star Kyrie Irving says a vegan diet makes him a stronger player. Kyrie Irving switched to a strict vegan lifestyle in 2017 when he was with the Boston Celtics.

In an interview with NBA Countdown, Irving revealed he has been on more of a plant-based diet, getting away from the animals and all that.

Irving said the switch led to him feeling more energetic both during games and in everyday life, and led to improvements in his mood. 

14 : Colin Kaepernick | NFL

Activist and athlete Colin Kaepernick regularly speak out against racial injustices. The professional football player made headlines after kneeling to protest police brutality during the U.S. national anthem.

Kaepernick made the connection between human suffering and animal suffering. A few years ago, he went vegan after realizing he couldn’t support any forms of oppression, whether that be to humans or non-humans.

15 : Heather Mitts | Football

Three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and professional Football player Heather Mitts went vegan three years ago. She made the switch after watching the 2017 plant-based documentary “What the Health.”

After ditching meat and dairy, she noticed major improvements in her overall quality of life. She wrote on Instagram, The more I learned about veganism the more I was convinced that it was the right lifestyle to lead. The only regret I have is that I didn’t do it sooner.

16). Alex Morgan | Football

US Women’s National Football Team star Alex Morgan gave up meat and dairy back in 2017 to adopt a fully vegan lifestyle.

She told Reuters she went vegan because it didn’t feel fair to have a dog, and yet eat meat all the time. The 32-year-old striker said the diet helps her recover faster from intense training sessions and feel less fatigued. She’s become leaner and fitter than ever.

17). Patrik Baboumian | Strongman & Bodybuilding

Retired strongman and former bodybuilder Patrik Baboumian is an ardent advocate of a vegan diet. In 2011, he became Germany’s strongest man, the first-ever vegan to do so. He also won the 2012 European Powerlifting Championships in Finland, beating strongmen from across the continent. After years of being vegetarian, Baboumian went vegan in 2011. 

18). Fiona Oakes | Marathon Runner

Outpacing her competitors while powered by plants, Fiona Oakes is a world record marathon runner and the subject of the 2018 sports documentary “Running for Good.” The film follows Oakes on her mission to set a new world record in endurance racing, despite losing a kneecap from an illness when she was 17.

The runner went vegan at the age of six. On an episode of Switch4Good Podcast.

”I didn’t realize the personal health benefits of being vegan, the positive impact on the planet, and the injustice of the unfair distribution of resources to other humans by feeding their grain to animals. I just didn’t want to be a party to the harming of these beautiful creatures,”

19). Derrick Morgan | NFL

Pro NFL player Derrick Morgan ditched meat and dairy in 2017 after researching ways he could improve his recovery times. Former Tennessee Titans linebacker Derrick Morgan switched to a vegan diet in 2017. Morgan was able to adopt a plant-based diet when his wife, chef Charity Morgan, began preparing vegan meals for him and some of his teammates.

The linebacker even inspired his culinary-trained wife, Charity Morgan, to go vegan. She’s now a plant-based chef. The duo helped transform the Tennessee Titans’ diet.

Note: These are the Famous Athletes Who Turn Vegan. There is a number of athletes who turn vegan/vegetarian as well.