The Mike Tyson Vegan
Or should I say the vegan Mike Tyson?
Some people have a distaste for Mike because he has acted out at times in the past, but I am humbled by where he came from and admire his drive to become a better man despite himself.
I know another guy like that. Me.
I too had to overcome some personal demons (and a drinking problem) and can relate to some of the darker parts of his journey.
This is why it brings me great pleasure to write about this on VegetarianBodybuilding.com
Mike even talked about going vegan to flush drugs out of his system:
“Becoming a vegan gave me another opportunity to live a healthy life.
“I was so congested from all the drugs and bad cocaine, I could hardly breathe, [I had] high blood pressure, [was] almost dying [and had] arthritis.”
“And once I became a vegan all that stuff diminished.”
And he is not the only celebrity making the switch, many who have are claiming it changed their life.
“Iron” Mike Tyson was the ultimate beast in the boxing ring, tearing the heads off his opponents and literally knocking some of them out of the ring.
I recently watched a documentary that shows some highlights of his fights and was in disbelief how brutal and overwhelmingly raw his energy was.
At his peak, Tyson absolutely dominated his opponents like how Michael Jordan did with basketball, or Tiger Woods with golf.
Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
He holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles at 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old.
Tyson won his first 19 professional bouts by knockout, with 12 of them occurring in the first round. He won the WBC title in 1986 after defeating Trevor Berbick by a TKO in the second round.
In 1987, Tyson added the WBA and IBF titles after defeating James Smith and Tony Tucker. He was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, and the only heavyweight to individually unify them.
I grew up spoiled watching Tyson fights. Now, the sight of teenage boy-sized boxers like Mayweather tap dance around the ring for an hour feels more like a ballet. I rather watch a chess match in the park, literally.
Behold, the video below shows you a kind of explosive power and destructive strength that may never be seen again:
In 1988, Tyson became the lineal champion when he knocked out Michael Spinks in the first 91 seconds of the fight. Tyson successfully defended the world heavyweight championship nine times, including victories over Larry Holmes and Frank Bruno.
Clearly this is someone with unique abilities and strengths, and yet continues to struggle with his inner demons like many of us do.
Mike has been fighting to change his life over the past few years, and one of these positive changes has been staying committed to a strict vegan bodybuilding diet for health and personal development reasons. If a man like Mike can get on board with the plant-eating program, it may inspire other athletes and alpha males to follow suit.
We are always responsible for our actions, however I also think the Champ has been misunderstood in a way that most fierce warriors are…they have fears and weaknesses like all of us; they are still human beings.
In his interview on the Oprah show he says that he dropped over 100lbs and certain health aliments have been alleviated. I have to say he looks really good in this state of healthy mind and body.
I’ve actually had the pleasure of briefly meeting Mike and he happens to be a really nice guy. Personally … I’m rooting for Mike, as I am for all of my brothers and sister who are taking action to become more positive, healthy people.
Here’s an interview of Mike on Oprah:
