New York Times Discovers Vegan Bodybuilder

Back in 2008, WW profiled the founder of veganbodybuilding.com, Robert Cheeke. Today, The New York Times travels to Huntsville, Alabama, and introduces us to another member of what the paper calls "a niche community of vegan bodybuilders."

It also reintroduces us to Cheeke, and explains the evolution of his diet:

The need for specific, vegan-friendly bodybuilding advice helped create the career of 31-year-old Robert Cheeke of Corvallis, Ore. He gives motivational lectures, sells vegan-themed T-shirts and gym bags and wrote a book about vegan bodybuilding that discusses how he went from 120 pounds as a teenage vegan to 195 pounds today.

“In those days, that meant a dozen tofu dogs a day, six Clif Bars, refried beans, whatever I could eat was calories,” he said. “It worked, but it was tough on my stomach. It wasn’t healthy.”

Cheeke said he was now focused on plant-based eating, including kale, avocados, beans and spinach, much of it organically grown in his garden.

For a sports nutritionist's view of the vegan bodybuilders' diet, check out WW's cover story: "Lean, Mean Meat-Free Machine."

Coincidentally, the UK's the Guardian discovered Portland's vegan strip club, Casa Diablo, two months ago, in a story that went big online. Here's own own visit to the club, four years ago.