Meet the vegan bros: Men who discover veganism and aren’t afraid to show it

Once upon a time, being vegan was the punchline to a bad joke in 90s films starring Hugh Grant. It was the trait of a love interest nobody wanted to take home, the preserve of people who ferment their own kombucha and suckle the spores of woodland fungus for their limited nutritional value.

But that’s all changed, thanks to the rise of the vegan bro. The vegan bro – or the he-gan – is shattering dietary stereotypes, with YouTube channels, Instagram feeds, and books with titles like “Meat Is For Pussies.” The rise of the vegan bro was declared by VICE last week, so welcome to a brave new world of bearded, bodybuilding veganism. And enter the vegan bros.

Tom Kuyken, 28, barista

I would consider myself a vegan bro, yeah. I read that VICE piece with great interest. You notice subtle things about veganism. The other day, I was playing the new Nick Cave album in my cafe, and this guy said: “Oh, he’s so un-rock and roll now, he’s a vegan pussy.” I can just feel it, this perception that I’m soft or emotional because I’m vegan.

I would like to see veganism as a more macho thing. I get a lot of strength from lots of role models. My roommate is vegetarian now, and that’s really encouraging for me. I like to read interviews with role models – the UK grime artist Jme is vegan.

I’ve been a vegetarian for the last five to six years, and I’ve been a struggling vegan for the last three years. That’s when you get to the stage you where it’s not OK to eat dairy but still eat cheese. Two years ago I became full vegan. For me, it was in the back of my head for a long time. I decided to do all the research in one week, I watched all the documentaries. I had this really uncomfortable feeling in the back of my head. Veganism is really extreme. I was not really in an environment that was helpful for me. What helped was a 30 day challenge but that’s not so easy to communicate to people.

I just noticed a difference for my health. I felt so much more energetic. I didn’t have this uncomfortable feeling. And the dairy industry is crueler than the meat industry. The animals get abused for five years, and then get killed.

David Hayden, 26, veteran and student

I’m a he-gan, I guess. I’m aggressive about what I feel and what I eat, but I don’t know that I’m a vegan bro. I wouldn’t be up in people’s faces calling them a pussy for their choice to eat meat. But I was in the army for six years, I went to Iraq and Afghanistan. I like to go shooting. So I don’t fit the typical American vegan stereotype.

It’ll be interesting to see how the vegan bro fits in. Vegan bros are maybe a good thing. It’s a good way to get other people into veganism who want to make better decision for their lives.

My girlfriend is vegan and we started dating a year ago. She introduced me to vegan meals as supplements throughout the day. In December, she led me to doing a 30 day vegan cleanse. And now it’s been a little over a month since I was completely vegan. I feel absolutely better. My whole body feels better now going to the gym and I was bigger last year. I feel more athletic, stronger. I wake up at a pretty regular time on my own, I don’t feel groggy or sick.

Before I was sleeping all the time and waking up not always feeling great, or with heartburn. I also feel better emotionally. I even feel more compassionate towards the smallest of animals on the earth now then I did before. It opened my eyes to species. It’s made me appreciate every living creature. It makes me feel better about the world around me.

Tanner Parsons, 24, construction

Men might be afraid of losing muscle mass by going vegan. But it’s all propaganda planted in our brains that eating meat is somehow manly. That’s from been put in our advertising – eat lots of meat, that’s why they call it beefing up. The only United States weightlifter in the Olympics this last year was a vegan. He was the only one who qualified from the United States. It’s possible to be a macho vegan. A lot of people may be afraid of cutting out animal products, as they associate them with big muscles. It’s been advertised to us, it’s not true.

When you first transition, it’s hard. You get a lot of questions like “Why aren’t you eating meat?” and “Why are you vegan?” It’s difficult to do your research, but once you’re doing it for long enough, it’s fine. Now when I go to the grocery store, I don’t even have to think about it. I basically just changed my lifestyle. Don’t be afraid of it being hard! That could go back to the macho aspect.

I went vegan a year and a half ago, July of 2015. The reason I went vegan at first I went plant-based, for health. I was trying to get healthier – I’m a long distance runner and I wanted a diet that would help with that. I started to look up videos that dealt with veganism. That pushed me over the edge. I stopped wearing leather products. I’m an ethical vegan, if I had to put a name on it.

I definitely feel healthier. My acne is completely gone now. I really don’t get stomach aches. I’m eating a lot cleaner in my diet. I feel like I’m doing the right thing and that gives you a sense of pride. Of course, we wish the world would be vegan so animals didn’t have to suffer. But at the same time we feel like we’re making a real impact.

Josh Salyers, 32, consultant

The over-masculine mentality tends to have some negative social consequences. I didn’t disagree with the article, but it may not be a good thing. Your bro type people may be off putting to other individuals. He-gan was the term that I was able to relate to. I can’t really speak to the bro personality behavior. But as someone who is male who has transitioned to veganism, it started on the health benefits of doing that.

There’s been a rise in not just bro mentality, but in the stereotypical view that people have of vegans. If you package it as something different, you get people’s attentions, they’ll look at it.

And I switched to not consuming animal products. By no longer viewing animals as a commodity, it made it easier to sympathize and empathize with them. That drove me to get involved in animal charities. It’s helped me drop about 60 pounds. Anytime I went to a doctor before, they were on the verge of putting me on blood pressure medication.

Once you cut out meat and diary, you get more creative in the dishes you cook. I’ve greatly expanded the repertoire of recipes I can cook. You look at what are the good vegan restaurants when your traveling. Its’ been a positive experience. It’s hard when you go to a party or social gathering, especially a potluck. Everyone wants to share food – and it has meat in it. You decline the first time, and they persist, and you finally say what’s in it, and they say “it’s got this.” The question then comes: “Why are you vegan?” You get put on the spot a lot to explain why you don’t want to eat someone’s deviled eggs. It just gets old. You get tired of people getting kinda rude.