BEHIND YO!VEGAN

My name's Davin and I'm a vegan (16 years now) who's into dining out (in Philly, where I've lived since '04) and working out (which I try to do 5 times a week, manage about 4, and don't do on the days I work... at my gym.) Yo!Vegan gives me an excuse to talk more about what I love, pick the brains of interesting likemindeds, and share it with you because it's fun!

I've spent my entire life as an abnormally-infatuated-with-flavor food super-fan with a severe lack of concern for calories, fat, or anything else said sustenance brings with it. I once got into a fight with my 9th grade best friend over what we were going to do with our shared $5 (she wanted fashion magazines, I wanted fried chicken) and she screamed at me, "ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS FOOD!" This sentiment would be echoed by others over time, and it's not an untrue accusation. I am an "edibles enthusiast" and I make no apologies. Eating is great.

But while my palate has always been central to my life, fitness has not been. Nuh uh. I was literally the most out of shape kid in my class. I HATED movement. I LOVED sitting inside. I was a happy little sedentary lump.

Check this out, I circled me:


The Happy Lump, 2nd grade.

I started going to the gym when I was 14 (with my Dad) but mostly sat around reading magazines and running for 7 or so minutes on the treadmill before getting bored. That all changed when I was 21, when my Grammy was hospitalized with skin cancer. As a coping mechanism I ate, and ate, and ate. I went from a size 5 to a size 9, 115 pounds to 135, my skin broke out, I smelled weird... let's just say it was a bad time. The weight gain compounded my stress because I felt awful physically AND emotionally (not to mention it was getting expensive to keep myself clothed.) So I hit the gym. With a google search I found www.stumptuous.com, learned to lift, and started weight training. I got INTO IT. I would stand in the weight room, think about my Grammy, take all my grief and push it through my body to the barbell. After a few heavy reps I would reach a feeling, a moment of release that all lifters/runners/those who workout know- a euphoric wave where nothing existed at all- and in that moment I felt better about everything.

I started to live for that feeling. I would lift thinking of my Grammy, I would lift thinking of my weight gain, I would lift thinking of anything that upset me- I would lift and I would let it go, just for a minute. Soon, I lost the weight. I lost it all. And I gained muscle. I felt strong, and soon the feeling of release stayed with me- not the "weightgasm", but the feeling everything was ok because I was finally strong enough to deal with it. Now weight lifting is just part of my life, something I love, and a way that I stay in touch with myself. Other than lifting, I do High Intensity Interval Training, dabble in Pilates, eat out like it's my job, and pose with food all over Philadelphia. If you see me, say hey.

- Davin


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