Austin Aries Discusses How He Became a Vegan, Why He Is a Skeptic by Nature, and How Vegans Can Still Get Protein

– ESPN recently interviewed WWE Superstar Austin Aries on his vegan diet and new book, Food Fight: My Plant Powered Journey from the Bingo Halls to the Big Time. You can read some highlights below.

Aries on how he is a skeptic at heart: “I’m kind of a skeptic at heart. Even information that maybe backs the things I like to think are true, I still want to make sure that I’m not being blind to that. We live in a world with fake news being put out there. You don’t really know what to trust, and it’s a real danger to society.”

Aries on becoming a vegan: “It really started off as simple as a guy that I was traveling with just saying, ‘Hey, red meat and pork is really not good for you.’ That simple. I started asking questions. It just came a point in my life where I was trying to figure out who I was. I was inquisitive learning about the world, kind of exploring, and seeds were planted that kind of just took bloom. I think that once I started connecting dots of where my food was coming from and the reality of that, as opposed to maybe what you think it is as a little kid, and the realities of how my food was getting to my plate and what the real effects of that are. When I started connecting those dots, I couldn’t disconnect them. I couldn’t put my head back in the sand, and I wanted to know more.”

Aries on how he gets protein: “As far as the protein thing, I think this is really for any of the boys or the ladies on the road, is that it’s always about being prepared, because our schedule is so crazy. A lot of times our choices at midnight or one in the morning aren’t going to be good no matter what you eat. They make plant-based protein powders, no different than the stuff they make out of whey protein. I’m also a big fan of lentils. You can get precooked packages of lentils — I think the ones I have contain over 40 grams of protein. It’s just having those in case you’re in a pinch and you can’t find a good café or a Whole Foods or a place where you can get the food that you need. Always have something — protein bars, some snacks and always plenty of bananas.”