WHO// Derek Tresize
WHAT// Personal trainer, certified plant-based nutritionist, and champion vegan bodybuilder
WHERE// Richmond, VA
WHY// An overriding passion for health and fitness
EXPERIENCE/ KNOWLEDGE:
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
BS in Biology from Virginia Commonwealth University
Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University
Certified Muscle Activation Techniques practitioner
PERSONAL:
I’m originally from San Diego, CA where I spent all my free time in athletic pursuits from organized sports to martial arts to surfing and kayaking. I took up weightlifting in early high school and this love of weight training carried me naturally into bodybuilding as my physique developed. I also realized early on that I have a contagious enthusiasm in the gym: I can’t wait to get everyone around me as excited as I am about fitness.
I have become increasingly passionate about health and, as I continue to learn about biology, I am awed by the amazing intricacy of all aspects of life coming together so that it may thrive. This is why a holistic approach to health is the only approach that makes sense to me and the only way that will guarantee phenomenal and lifelong results.When I met Marcella six years ago and began educating myself about veganism and reading the works of Dr. Campbell and Dr. Fuhrman, I saw the scientific literature regarding the detriments of animal product consumption firsthand and knew there was no going back. I have since been spreading the word and striving to lead by example using fitness and bodybuilding as a means to demonstrate the amazing health benefits of a whole foods plant-based diet.
FEATURED:
Vegan Health and Fitness Magazine contributor
Breaking Muscle Article: How To Build Muscle on a Plant-Based Diet
The Big Inside FTNS Radio Interview
Nutritionfacts.org Video on Plant Based Bodybuilding
ACE Fitness Article: Can Vegan Athletes Match Their Meat-Eating Competitors?
The Daily Beet (Engine 2 Diet Blog)
Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness (under “Training” and “Food”)
WHO// Marcella Torres
WHAT// Manager, vegan bodybuilder, vegan cook
WHERE// Richmond, VA
WHY// Ethics + a fierce joy in the physical + a desire to share them
EXPERIENCE/ KNOWLEDGE:
Vegan for 13 years
Vegan bodybuilder for 6 years
BS Applied Mathematics/Physics from Virginia Commonwealth University
PERSONAL:
My best friend gave me a copy of Diet for a New America to read ten years ago and I promptly cleared out my fridge of every scrap of meat and dairy and never looked back. Ethics was and continues to be my primary motivator, but as an analytical, logical – even “science-y”, if you will – sort of person, I’m also powerfully motivated by the diet’s efficiency and sustainability and the compelling biological evidence in it’s favor.
I’m excited that so many more people are exploring veganism, whether it’s as a way to be healthier and more athletic or for ethical and environmental reasons: I want to be a part of that change.
FEATURED:
Vegan Health and Fitness Magazine contributor
Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness (under “Food”)
The Daily Beet (Engine 2 Diet Blog)