Kendrick Farris, The Only Male U.S. Weightlifter In The Olympics, Is Totally Vegan

One might wonder how a competitive weightlifter gets his daily fill of protein. But Kendrick Yahcob Farris isn’t just any weightlifter ― he’s the only U.S. male weightlifter competing in the Rio Olympics, and he’s also been vegan since 2014.

So how does he get all the protein he needs to lift as much as 800 pounds? “I just research the foods I’m eating,” he told HuffPost, and “try to be efficient. How much protein is in this avocado?”

Cutting the meat out of his diet hasn’t held him back. Farris won the gold medal at the past two Pan American Championships (and lifted more than 800 pounds at each) in the time since he discovered his heritage: “Israelites from the lost tribes of Israel. I knew I needed to do more research to understand the ways of the ancient,” which includes their kosher diet. Read More

(The image of me with Kendrick was take outside of the first Juice Press store in New York City. Circa 2017).

Kendrick Farris of the United States competes in the 85kg weightlifting event at the Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics Gymnasium on Day 7 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.