Why The Strongest Man On Earth Decided To Go Vegan

I love to read stories such like this one: Patrik Baboumian, probably the strongest man on earth, decided to become vegetarian in 2005 before he finally went vegan in 2011. In fact, he assumed that his strength might suffer after becoming vegetarian in 2005. However, being loyal to his philosophy that his strength is his compassion, especially for animals, made him take this decision. Then the opposite happened as his energy and weight-lifting power even increased after this decision which made him go one step further and become vegan. His story is really inspiring and the philosophy behind it even more!

“Strength must build up, not destroy. It should outdo itself, not others who are weaker. Used without responsibility, it causes nothing but harm and death. I can lift the heaviest weights, but I cannot take the responsibility off my shoulders. Because the way we use our strength defines our fate. What traces will I leave on my path into the future? Do we really have to kill in order to live? My true strength lies in not seeing weakness as weakness. My strength needs no victims. My strength is my compassion.”

Strength isn’t just about physical prowess. Strength is about character.

By this definition, vegan strongman Patrik Baboumian is perhaps the strongest man on Earth.

Born in 1979 to Armenian parents in Abadan, Iran, Patrik and his family fled the Iranian revolution when he was seven and emigrated to central Germany. By the age of nine, he fell in love with wrestling on TV and soon developed an interest in weight training. As a young teen, he got into power lifting and bodybuilding, rising quickly through the ranks to become Germany’s national junior bodybuilding champion.

For ethical reasons, in 2005 Patrik went vegetarian, accepting that this would likely undermine his performance goals. Instead, his improvement steadily escalated. So in 2011, he went completely vegan. And that’s when things really blew up for the guy they call the Armenian Viking.

https://youtu.be/cFpip6rxcYY

100% Plantpowered, over the last 4 years Patrik has been awarded the title of Germany’s Strongest Man, racked up multiple victories at the European Powerlifting Championships and set four Guinness World Records in various strength disciplines.

We’re talking about a guy who can Bench 463 lbs. Squat 794 lbs. And Deadlift 794 lbs.

This is a long way of saying that Patrik Baboumian is stronger than you are. And believe it or not, he has accomplished all of these extraordinary, superhuman feats without the one thing long-held conventional wisdom dictates is absolutely necessary to optimally perform as an elite strength athlete: animal protein.

I first met Patrik at the 2013 at the Toronto VegFest, where I stood on the WestJet Stage at Harbourfront Centre before a crowd 1,000 deep to cheer him towards a Guinness World Record setting yoke walk — a feat that entailed carrying 1,216 pounds (550kilos) a distance of 10 meters in less than 60 seconds (which he recently bettered to a current 560kg world record, completed in just 28 seconds). Spontaneously grabbing for my GoPro, I shot this little video documenting the astounding accomplishment.”