DAWN TO DUSK

Meet Florian Wüest, Coach and Founder of FItVegans. Florian specializes in helping vegans lose fat, build lean muscle, and get in the best shape of their lives. He became vegan for ethical reasons in 2015 and has since then transformed his physique completely. Over the last four years, he has helped over 130+ high achieving vegans in 18 countries get in the best shape of their life. If you weren’t inspired before, you will be after reading about Florian! www.fitvegans.com

Tell us where you grew up and what influenced you to become vegan.

I grew up in a small town in Switzerland close to Lucerne. The Swiss culture is meat and cheese heavy. My grandfather was a hunter, and we were friends with the village butcher. I have seen the slaughter of rabbits, as well as cows and pigs as a young kid. Back then it did not bother me. I did not make the connection yet.

A few years later, as a heavy meat eater, I was gifted the book “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer. I kept it on my shelf for a few weeks. I thought that vegans were hippies – and they have “nothing to teach me.” After numerous pleadings from my girlfriend at that time, I decided to read a few pages. The book hooked me from the beginning. Reading those 352 pages sparked the curiosity in me and helped me to finally make the decision to eliminate animal products from my life.

What is the best way to influence others to live a healthy and plant-based diet?

After going vegan initially, I decided to confront all the people around me. Remarks such as “Why are you eating dead corpses?” on dinners with friends and family were quite common. You guess how many people I have influenced with that strategy? That is right - zero.

Over time, seeing the ineffectiveness of my strategy, I softened my approach. I stopped being confrontational. I stopped pointing fingers and instead, took a long hard look in the mirror. I then asked myself: “Am I truly a person worth listening to?” The shocking, yet unsurprising answer, was “no!” I was in a dead-end job at that time, was not in great shape and had non-existent communication skills.

I realized that being vegan alone is not enough. Having the facts on your side is not enough. Humans are emotional beings and rationality itself is simply not going to cut it. So, I started doing the truly hard work. I started bettering myself and worked on becoming a person that people actually listen to. Now, as a founder of a coaching company and being in great shape myself, persuading others to try a vegan diet becomes easy. Why? Because I love my life. And I have become a person that people actually want to listen to.

Can you give us a typical day for Florian Wüest?

I am a big fan of structure. That might be due to my Swiss roots. I wake up at 5:30 AM each morning. Seven days a week. I brush my teeth, trim my beard and have a cold shower. Before starting my workday at 6:00 AM, I aim to do some meditation. However, I am not always able to cram this in. I work continuously for four hours, fueled by a good amount of caffeine. I am a big coffee lover. This early part of the day is centred around improving our Fit Vegan Evolution program. It is where I read, think, plan and analyze our systems. The later part of my workday is centred around helping our clients, communicating with my small team and plenty of meetings coupled with daily responsibilities.

I end my workday at around 4:00 PM to go for a workout and enjoy a vegan dinner. I tend to go back to work at around 7:00 PM to finish daily tasks and plan for the next day. I aim to go to sleep at around 9:00 PM.

FitVegans.com has received great reviews, changed lives and inspired. How do you keep motivated on a daily basis to wake up at 5:00 AM and make it all happen?

I am passionate about the vegan movement and the work that we do. My entire day does not feel like work. In fact, if I only had two more months to live, I would literally do the same thing with my day. Briefly tell us how vegan-fitness varies from other fitness styles, or techniques. Do you have a personal motto?

As Kim Williams M.D., trustee of the American College of Cardiology puts it: “There are two kinds of cardiologists: vegans and those who haven’t read the data.”

I see it similar with fitness. The principles of healthy, effective and sustainable weight loss and muscle growth stay the same. It feels as though only very few fitness professionals saw the need to put in the effort - and really learn about these principles in the first place.

To be specific and admittedly, a bit blunt: “Keto fitness” is an oxymoron. As well as “carnivore fitness.” Fitness is defined as the “condition of being physically fit and healthy.” Both of these “fitness” strategies do not lead to this state in the long run.