Vegan Squad Pod

Can bodybuilding change the way people see veganism? On today's episode of the Vegan Squad Pod, we sit down with Rosie Flores, a vegan bodybuilder four weeks out from her first competition. Rosie walks us through her journey from an athletic background and inconsistent training to structured progressive overload, commitment to competing, and launching her vegan fitness Instagram to document her bo...

What if the way we advocate for veganism matters just as much as the message itself? In this episode of the Vegan Squad Pod, we sit down with UK-born vegan advocate David Ramms to explore his journey from being raised vegetarian to becoming a full-time vegan activist. After moving from the UK to Spain and later Croatia, David found his passion for advocacy through Anonymous for the Voiceless and h...

What if there were a one-stop marketplace where every purchase could align with your values? Today, we’re joined by Jonathan Faran, co-founder of Vegan America, a rapidly growing plant-based marketplace that’s been described as a vegan version of Amazon and Costco. Although the platform launched just last November, it already features hundreds of sellers and tens of thousands of products spanning...

From protein deficiencies to “you can’t be vegan” warnings, plant-based diets are surrounded by persistent myths. Dr. Matthew Nagra - a naturopathic doctor, nutrition science communicator, and vegan of more than 15 years - has spent years examining what the evidence actually shows. In today's episode, Matthew shares how he first adopted a plant-based diet for health and athletic performance before...

Looking to improve your vegan activism? Join us as we discuss effective vegan activism with vegan activist & Vegan Squad Coaching client Sergio Pinedo! Sergio shares how documentaries like Earthlings pushed him from five years vegetarian to vegan, and how attending LA Animal Save vigils changed his perspective by confronting the reality of animal transport and slaughter, documenting animals’ l...

Today we interview Juliet, founder of Viva! Charity, the UK’s largest vegan campaigning organization! Juliet shares about her mission to make the world vegan and Viva!’s four pillars: animal investigations, health, environment, and helping people change through resources like the free Vegan Recipe Club. Juliet recounts Viva!’s Hogwood investigation of a UK mega pig farm, including the horrific con...

Today we are joined by Felicia (Fee) Hanson, owner of Break Free Candy and Sweet Hazel and Co.! Through creating vegan versions of classic candy bars and using food as activism, Fee is a pioneer in the vegan community. Fee shares how seeing a dairy farm video sparked her vegan journey in August 2019, and how she then used her culinary background to recreate vegan versions of typically animal-based...

Today we're joined by James Hoot, an Indonesia-based activist, filmographer, and musician. James discusses running Fauna Films, through which he is creating localized pro-vegan visual media in the Global South, including a four-part Indonesian series hosted by a well-known comedian that highlights naturally plant-based Indonesian foods, colonial influences on animal product consumption, and issues...

Today we're joined by the incredible Jay Yontz, co-founder of Ziggy’s Refuge animal sanctuary, to discuss vegan activism through animal sanctuaries. Jay shares how meeting his wife Kristen and her pet pig, Ziggy, in St. John led him toward veganism, traveling the U.S. in an RV with “Ziggy the Traveling Piggy,” and founding Ziggy’s Refuge Farm Sanctuary in 2016. Jay explains their current work cari...

Today, vegan activist Tiffany recounts her experience taking part in the world’s largest open rescue at Ridglan Farms - a coordinated effort to save beagles from a facility with documented violations. She describes the severe cruelty the dogs endure, including confinement in small cages and invasive procedures such as cherry eye surgery and vocal cord cutting performed without anesthesia. Tiffany...

Today, Ella Magers and Jessica Nieves share their experience on the front lines of the recent Ridgland Farms Beagle rescue effort. They describe the illegal cruelty toward 2,000 beagles bred and sold for research, including claims of non-veterinary procedures, vocal cord cutting without anesthesia, and escalating on-site experimentation tied to profit. Ella and Jess describe their extensive nonvio...

Today we're joined by activist and rapper Jimmy Cashpey (James Aspey), who shares how he went from health-motivated vegetarianism to ethical veganism after learning the realities shown in Earthlings. He recounts taking a year-long vow of silence to raise awareness, traveling across Australia visiting sanctuaries and factory farms, rescuing animals, cycling after his van broke down, and breaking hi...

Today we interview incredible vegan activist Jamie Logan!! Jamie shares a pivotal childhood moment of seeing pigs in a livestock truck, her gradual transition from avoiding pork to pescatarian to vegetarian, and finally going vegan on January 1, 2018 after learning about the dairy and egg industries. She explains how her activism began through Anonymous for the Voiceless cubes, then expanded to fu...

Today we interview Vegan Squad Coach Alexis Nee on her journey from a miserable corporate finance career and abusive relationship to veganism, coaching, and brand strategy. Alexis shares severe health issues she improved within months of going vegan, and describes a pivotal moment after her dog Baby’s cancer diagnosis leading her from pescatarian to fully vegan, 10 years ago. She explains how pers...

On today's episode, Alex is joined by Vegan Squad Coach Alexis Nee to interview John about his vegan journey, bodybuilding career, and experience with activism. John shares his early experiences with fishing and hunting, becoming vegetarian at 10 after realizing that meat requires killing animals, and going vegan at 13 after reading a PETA magazine about dairy and egg industry exploitation. He des...

Today we are joined by the amazing Nemanja Golubovic (aka @ KaleMyName ”)! We discuss activist burnout, living in a vegan bubble, and why diverse approaches - from lively vegan restaurants restaurants to confrontational street action - are ALL needed. Nemanja describes going vegetarian then vegan after learning it wasn’t necessary to eat animals, despite growing up in meat-heavy Montenegro with li...

Today we're joined by the incredible Ella Magers, longtime vegan activist and fitness coach. Ella shares her journey of going vegetarian at age 7 after connecting meat to animals, later learning about dairy, animal testing, and exploitation, becoming vegan at 15, and doing direct activism with PETA materials, protests, and leafleting. She discusses the pain of awakening, the need for tools and com...

Today we interview UK animal rights activist Cliff Grant, who shares how childhood experiences on farms and witnessing animal cruelty led him to stop drinking milk at 5, gradually drop animal products, become a strict vegetarian at 19, and fully go vegan around 2013 after seeing Gary Yourofsky’s speech. Grant describes starting activism almost immediately, moving from leafleting to filming street...

Join The Vegan Squad and vegan activist Jack Higgs as we discuss effective activism strategies and tools for staying grounded. Jack shares his journey of going vegan in high school after watching documentaries and James Aspey’s speech, joining Cube of Truth outreach, later partnering with activist Tash Peterson, and then filming in viral protest content. He explains his character-based activism (l...

Today we sit down with special guest, Bill Muir (AKA Sergeant Vegan). Bill shares his vegan journey - becoming vegetarian in 1992 after giving up meat for Lent, then going vegan after learning via PETA materials about the dairy industry's link to slaughter, and being influenced by punk/hardcore culture and bands like Earth Crisis. Our conversation covers vegan community growth from pre-internet da...

Today, we are joined by the incredible Nina Bergman! Nina shares her vegan journey of first becoming ethically aware at age 7 after being asked to kill a fish, then later working undercover in slaughterhouses and dairy farms and witnessing extreme cruelty that led to severe trauma and burnout. She explains why she shifted from anger-driven tactics to a more sustainable, strategic approach focused...

On today's episode of the Vegan Squad Pod, we sit down with longtime animal liberation activist Gary Yourofsky for an unfiltered conversation on what effective vegan activism actually looks like. Gary shares the story behind his 1997 mink liberation at an Ontario fur farm, the resulting arrest, 77 days in jail, deportation, and lifelong ban from Canada—and how that moment helped launch his public...

On today's episode of the Vegan Squad Pod, we discuss how vegans can help “save the world” through practical activism, collaboration, and community. With the plan to unite influential vegan leaders in a “mastermind” to share strategies, we emphasize that real impact comes from empowering more vegans to speak up rather than staying silent. Jordan shares how he first went plant-based for heart healt...

Welcome to The Vegan Squad Pod!! Today your hosts John Thomas (aka @TheBodybuildingVegan), Alex Nerus (@YourVeganMentor1) and Jordan Siegel (@StrengthAfterCancer), discuss their personal journeys to veganism, emphasizing the power of speaking aspirations into existence and the impact of making conscious, compassionate choices. John shares his success story, starting with humble beginnings and grow...