Friday Vegan Spotlight: Mac Danzig

File this one under: “vegans that can kick your ass.”

Mac Danzig is a mixed martial artist, Ultimate Fighter, photographer, and dedicated vegan since 2004.  Danzig adheres to vegan diet because he believes it helps him perform better, avoid gaining excess fat, and he has compassion for animals.  Danzig smashes the stereotype of the weak and fragile vegan and proves that not all vegans are pacifists.

Everyone used to tell Danzig about the “benefits” of eating meat and warn him of the harm it would do if he stopped eating animal products altogether.  He said recently:

“I use to think that I needed chicken and fish as a source of protein in order to train properly.  I subscribed to that theory for a while and then when I finally decided to cut everything out and I was doing it right, it felt really good and I didn’t lose any strength at all–I feel like I recover quicker so it’s been good.”

For Danzig, being vegan is not just about looking good, feeling better, and fighting incredibly well, he also cares about animals:

“In this day and age I don’t see any reason to contributing to a really awful industry that causes too many problems. It’s horrible what the animals have to go through on a daily basis, it’s just awful–they’re born and raised in really nasty conditions and it’s better not to contribute to that whole thing.”

Mac Danzig deserves a lot of credit for making his own path to success and not listening to the meat myths.  Mac Danzig is, simultaneously, one of the scariest and coolest vegans you’ll ever meet.  He is also the most successful vegan mixed martial artist ever! This man is intensely passionate about veganism.  Heck, even his photography is intense.