celebrity profile
what does it do in nature? It makes a
tiny cow into a big cow. Do you want to be
a big cow?’ They’re like, ‘No, I don’t want
to be a big cow’. ‘Oh well, try some of this- I like soy milk, I like almond milk.’
That’s what you’re going to get from me
if you come to me for personal training.
‘Vegan’ is a hot word at the moment. It’s
kind of like feminism. Is feminism good?
Yes. Has the word ‘feminism’ been taken
over by maybe some people who are
rubbing people the wrong way? Yes it is.
‘So, you like women’s rights, equal rights?’
‘Yes.’ ‘Feminism?’ They’re going to clam
up, arms up, guards up, ‘I’m not about that’.
And the same thing goes with veganism.
‘Would you like to eat food that maybe
doesn’t have any death, destruction, that
tastes really good, that’s going to make
you feel good, do good things to your body
and the planet?’ ‘Yeah, that sounds good.’
‘Want to go vegan?’ ‘Whoa, no, no I don’t.’
Every suggestion that you’re going to
get from me is going to be plant-based
wholefoods. If they ask me what I eat I tell
them: ‘I eat fruits and vegetables, that’s
what I eat. ‘Why do you eat that way?’
Then I start telling them. I tell them what
I’ve accomplished athletically, my weight
loss. And then it’s, this is how I did that. If
you have results, good information and you
have some proof and some evidence, then
you can’t really go wrong. You’ve got to be
healthy; you’ve got to be looking after
yourself. If you’re not going to eat enough
calories and you’re going to get sick and
pasty and always looking malnourished,
I don’t want you to tell people that you’re
vegan, I just don’t. No one wants to be
emaciated. It doesn’t mean that you have
to be jacked or super fit or anything like
that. I am within a healthy weight range
for an adult male. Those are good things
to work towards. Is everybody’s body the
same? No. But for the majority of people
in our population we have indicators of
health.
Do you write about veganism in your
lyrics?
Yeah. The first track on the new record is
called Species; it’s all about speciesism.
It’s a pretty angry song. It’s loud and it’s
fast. I do put it in there. It’s something
that I talk about on stage, something I
share with the band mates. Two of us in
the band are vegan, so it definitely comes
up. We get the guys eating a lot more
vegan food when we’re travelling especially.
If we cook, or if we do the groceries, they
end up with vegan food.We just try to get as much of it going on for
the guys as possible. And it’s something
that’s always being spoken about. And
some of the guys, they’re just not on
board at all. But they get that we’re really
passionate about it and they’re happy to
have it in the music because we’re all
friends, we love each other and that’s cool.What’s your advice to young vegans who
may be struggling with family or peers?
Your parents are just worried about you.
That’s it. They don’t hate you; they’re not
trying to ruin all your dreams and destroy
everything, they just want what’s best
for you. So, when they hear something
different, that’s different to what they know
and what they think, they’re going to get
a little freaked out. They’re going to think,
‘My kid’s trying to hurt himself; my kid’s
got an eating disorder’. You need to help
educate them. You know what changed my
parent’s mind? It was when I got on a bike
and I rode that bike from Tokyo to Osaka,
or I got on a bike and I rode it from
Wellington to Auckland. I did it unassisted,
solo, on my own. Or when I lost 20 kilos
and started doing half ironman triathlons.
We are the minority; we’ve got to prove
it. You’ve got to prove what’s going on. If
your parents are worried about you and
you’re not eating, and you’re all pasty
and they’re taking you to the doctor every
second day, they’re just not going to get
on board. It doesn’t mean that health and
fitness takes over your life, but you need
to not worry them. Don’t freak them out.
Show them that you’re healthy; show them
that you’re doing well and show them other
people.
If your parents are in their 40s or their
50s show them Rich Roll, ‘Here’s a dude
that turned 50 and became the fittest man
on earth. Here’s a dude that was 40, over-
weight, a lawyer, and he got on the plants’.
Show them people [like] Jim Morris [vegan
bodybuilder who died at 80 last year]. I
met him at a vegan festival in Sydney, and
he was in awesome shape.
Show them people they can look at.
‘Here’s a list of famous people; here’s a
quote from Albert Einstein; here’s a quote
from Gandhi.’ You’ve got to show people
examples. I think that the only thing you
can’t argue with is when it’s right in front
of you and it’s real. And if your parents are
like, ‘Look I’m not on board’, you can say,
‘Alright, I’ll go get a health check up’. Don’t
argue, don’t fight. ‘Just take me to our
family GP, I’ll get a check up. Every six
months I’ll get a check up.’ Just work withthem. If you just fight them and shove
things off your plate and try and start the
revolution in your lounge room, it’s not
going to work.
But if you make a deal with your
parents, ‘Look I’m healthy, I’m still playing
sport, I’m still studying, I’m still doing what
I’m meant to be doing. If you see any of
that start to slip, let’s talk about it.’ I don’t
think there’s many parents who would say,
‘Nah, that’s unreasonable. You’re making
too much sense’. That’s what I did with my
parents. You have to prove yourself.
You could be the one vegan person that
a group of people know. And if you end up
in hospital, sick, on an IV bag, a drip, and
all you ate [were] mashed potatoes and
potato gems once a day for 12 months,
what are the chances that those people
are going to say, ‘Oh, I knew someone that
went vegan – they ended up in hospital’. I
don’t know how you would ever come back
from that. I think you’ve got to prove it and
I think you’ve got to work with them. And if
you’re doing what’s best for you, which we
know this is – just as, if not more, healthy,
fit, strong, switched-on, intelligent - your
ability to participate in everything that we
value in society will be there. And I think
your parents should be able to support you
in that.What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like yoga. I train about four or five days
a week and do yoga four days a week. I
like to hang out with my girlfriend, I like to
hang out with my daughter, I like to hang
out with my roommate. And when there
are shows about, I play music. I go for a
run every now and then. I like podcasts a
lot. I listen to podcasts all day, when I’m
at work or something, if I don’t have much
going on, I’m always listening to podcasts,
I enjoy learning. I like some TV shows. I
like big movies, if they come out, I’m not
like an anti-TV person. I like if there’s a
cool series on Netflix; I like to veg out on a
Sunday.When are you touring again?
Our album has just come out. We’ll
definitely be going right around Australia
again. We have some stuff that’s not
announced yet; we’re going to be overseas
again. So pretty much in the next 12
months, if you’re on a major continent of
the world, there’s a good chance that you
can get to a VICES show. We’ll be heading
everywhere.
VICES are on Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter and YouTube under ‘thisisvices’.“You could be the one vegan person that a group of people know. And if you end up in
hospital, sick, on an IV bag, a drip, and all you ate [were] mashed potatoes and
potato gems once a day for 12 months, what are the chances that those people are going
to say, ‘Oh, I knew someone that went vegan – they ended up in hospital’.”