Coach Andrew’s Story
Andrew is a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, a Weight Loss Specialist (WLS), and a CF-L1 Trainer in the CrossFit space. He began his own fitness journey in 2019 after coming to the realization that he had slowly gained 35 pounds since graduating high school. Eager to make a change, he immersed himself completely into evidence-based training and nutrition for improved body composition outcomes and lost 30 pounds while gaining plenty of muscle along the way in 2020.
But there was a problem. Even though he looked lean, he was still guzzling upwards of 200g of animal protein per day in a misguided attempt to be “healthy and jacked.”
After months of personal research surrounding the positive benefits of a plant-based lifestyle that were initially inspired by a TED Talk given by Nimai Delgado on the mass consumption of animal products in the bodybuilding community, Andrew eventually transitioned to a completely plant-based diet in May 2021. But it wasn’t until he heard Gaz Oakley reference a famous speech by Gary Yourofsky that exposed the horrors of factory farming and the severe mistreatment of animals that he would finally leave animal products off of his plate forever.
Because of that, Andrew’s primary motivation for living a plant-powered life is to inspire others to choose compassion and kindness toward our animal friends. It’s his goal to prove that you can be fit, strong, muscular, and lean when fueled by plants alone. Although his training background is in bodybuilding and physique development, he also has a passion for CrossFit.
His greatest influences in the plant-based space are Simon Hill, Drew Harrisberg, Ed Winters, and James Newbury.
On a more recreational note, Andrew enjoys playing chess, cuddling his dogs Kota and Brody, and spending quality time with his wife Alexa. And secretly, he hopes to open an animal sanctuary someday.