No-Bullsh!t Vegan

Business consultant and overall vegan powerhouse Kathleen Gage is on the show today to discuss becoming vegan, thriving as a septuagenerian, and growing a vegan business.

Kathleen is a seasoned business consultant with over 30 years of experience, a dedicated vegan, and a passionate advocate for compassionate living. Based in rural Oregon, Kathleen not only leads a thriving business but also rescues animals, reflecting her deep commitment to health, animal welfare, and the environment. Certified in Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell, NLP, and as a Plant-Based Ambassador, Kathleen initially went vegan for her health and now champions the lifestyle for both the animals and the planet. She brings a wealth of knowledge on how to align business success with ethical living.

Coach Zoe and I get together for a "Coaches’ Corner” discussion about 4 problems in the fitness industry at the moment (and what to do about them!), and many other topics.

Coach Zoe is a fitness coach and marketing and community engagement professional. Her athletic background spans a wide range of endeavours, including three professional boxing matches, half-marathons, Muay Thai, multi-day endurance hiking, and distance swimming. Coach Zoe currently holds a Yellow Belt in Krav Maga. She is the co-founder of Ban Fur Farms BC, and the founder of the Vancouver Vegan Resource Centre (VVRC). Zoe has been vegan for 14 years, and an animal rights activist for (almost) the same duration of time.

Coach K is a fitness and nutrition coach, author of five books, 22-year vegan, and magazine writer. She's the founder of K.I. Health & Fitness, where she and her team lead award-winning coaching programs that help vegans worldwide get super strong and build health habits they’ll still hold at the age of 103. She holds a Masters degree in Gerontology, specializing in health and aging. Her work has been profiled by CNBC, Huffpost, Healthline, Bustle, Livestrong, and more.

Listen in as we have a coaches’ chat! 

This episode covers it all: running a large-scale vegan food festival, Erika’s vegan story, growing and supporting vegan businesses, and de-stigmatizing veganism. Erika Hazel is a nationally recognized vegan businesswoman, recipe creator, magazine contributor and philanthropist. As a vegan food expert, Erika is always discovering the best vegan cuisine to share with her family and social media followers to make the world a more vegan place, one bite at a time. The Bizerkeley Vegan is not only a popular social media influencer and food blogger, but also specializes in events, consultations and speaking engagements. Erika's goal is to engage with people to help them find the best plant-based foods the world has to offer. She has been featured in VegNews and VegOut Magazines, CBS and ABC news interviews, and more.

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau joins me to discuss the power of language and identity when talking about veganism, the importance of authenticity and compassion, and the role of metrics and self-critique in vegan advocacy.

Affectionately known as the joyful vegan, Colleen is a recognized expert and thought leader on the culinary, social, ethical, and practical aspects of living compassionately and healthfully. A long-time animal advocate and vegan, Colleen is a bestselling author of seven books, an acclaimed speaker, producer of one of the longest running podcasts in existence, a regular contributor to National Public Radio, and the host of luxury vegan trips around the world.

Colleen also announces her new book coming out in 2025 — A Year of Compassion: 52 Weeks of Living Zero-Waste, Plant-Based, and Cruelty-Free.

One of the most common excuses I hear from folks who aren’t completely vegan yet is, “It’s way too difficult to travel as a vegan!” Well, here’s the only B.S.-busting, info-packed episode you need if you’re a vegan interested in travelling the world. Brighde Reed is one of the founders of World Vegan Travel, a company dedicated to creating luxurious, immersive group travel experiences for vegans and the vegan-curious. Based in Squamish, BC, Brighde lives with Seb, the co-owner of World Vegan Travel. Before embarking on her journey in the travel industry, Brighde was a dedicated teacher. Her love for exploration has taken her across the globe, having lived in Thailand, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and now Canada. Brighde and Seb started World Vegan Travel in 2017.

World Vegan Travel offers enriching travel experiences to a variety of destinations, including Thailand, Italy, Rwanda, Vietnam, and Japan. Each trip combines cultural immersion and exceptional plant-based cuisine. When she's not planning trips, Brighde enjoys hiking and immersing herself in nature.

We’re often told to take omega-3 supplements, especially as vegans. And non-vegans are often told to take fish oil. But are these recommendations backed by peer-reviewed science? Geoff Palmer is here to do some serious myth-busting. We also delve into meat and masculinity: why are they often linked in our society? How can we get more men on board with veganism?

Geoff Palmer is a 61-year-strong, 39-year vegan, natural bodybuilding and natural physique masters champion, the owner of Clean Machine Plant-Based Fitness Nutrition, author, national lecturer, vegan patent holder and 2-time NEXTY Winner for "Best Supplement of the Year”. Geoff was #40 of the "Top 100 Most Influential Vegans" by Plant Based News, and he created the first 100% vegan natural bodybuilding competition in the world.

Expert marketer Sandra Nomoto speaks with me about the animal agriculture industry’s marketing tactics. Specifically: four ways they’ve misled the public. These include discrediting research on plant-based diets that showed health benefits, specific marketing campaigns, fear-mongering about vegan diets, and online astroturfing. 

Sandra Nomoto is an award-winning ethical marketer for cruelty-free businesses. She also offers a suite of services for authors with impact. She previously ran Conscious Public Relations Inc. for a decade, which was the fourth public relations agency in Canada to earn B Corporation® certification. Sandra is the author of two books, including Vegan Marketing Success Stories, the world's first vegan marketing book, honoured by Vegan Choice Awards in 2023. On the side of her desk, she co-hosts VEG Networking Canada, Canada's only vegan networking group, blogs at SandraNomoto.com, and writes for several outlets.

Katya Gorbacheva is one of the strongest vegans in the world. She is an elite powerlifter with a total of 1025 lbs at 165 lbs body weight and 453 DOTs (ratio of weight lifted to body weight). She shares her own vegan story, and how to get enough protein as a vegan strength athlete. We also discuss societal ideals of what women are “supposed” to look like or how they’re “supposed” to act, especially on social media.

Katya has been vegan almost 8 years and is a proud member of the Vegan Strong PlantBuilt Team. She goes to protests against foie-gras and marches against animal cruelty, and is a frequent speaker at vegan festivals around the world.

Why do the most effective forms of animal advocacy often involve letting go of our personal biases? How can we understand our strengths, and use them to help animals? What are the most impactful animal charity organizations and how can we best support them? Robert Cheeke joins me to discuss these topics, and more — all featured in his upcoming book. 

Robert grew up on a farm in Corvallis, Oregon where he adopted a vegan lifestyle in 1995 at age 15. Today he is the author of 5 books, including his latest, The Impactful Vegan, to be released on June 25, 2024. He is often referred to as the “Godfather of Vegan Bodybuilding,” growing the industry from infancy in 2002, to where it is today. As a natural bodybuilding champion, Robert is considered one of VegNews magazine's Most Influential Vegan Athletes. He tours around the world sharing his story of transformation from a skinny farm kid to champion vegan bodybuilder.

Robert is the founder of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness and maintains the website VeganBodybuilding.com. He is a regular contributor to Forks Over Knives, The Center for Nutrition Studies, Vegan Strong, The Vegan Gym, and No Meat Athlete. He's a former multi-sport athlete, and has followed a plant-based diet for more than 28 years. Robert lives in Colorado with his wife and two rescued Chihuahuas.