Brendan Brazier is one of only a few professional athletes in the world whose diet is 100 percent plant-based. He’s a professional Ironman triathlete, bestselling author of The Thrive Diet (Penguin, 2007), and the creator of an award-winning line of whole food nutritional products called Vega. He is also a two-time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion.

Brendan is recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on plant-based nutrition. He is a guest lecturer at Cornell University and teaches an eCornell course called “The Plant-Based Diet and Elite Athleticism.”

Brendan was chosen as one of the 25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians by VegNews Magazine, the Top 40 Under 40 most influential people in the health industry by Natural Food Merchandiser and has been nominated for the prestigious Manning Innovation Award twice for creating Vega.

Brendan’s intentions of spreading the word of an ethical, environmentally friendly, and healthy lifestyle through plant-based foods have taken him across North America, speaking at events such as the Chicago Green Festival and the United States Humane Society Gala. Brendan was also invited to address US Congress on Capitol Hill, where he spoke of the significant social and economic benefits that could be achieved by improving personal health through better diet. The focus of his speech was to draw attention to the role that food plays in the prevention of most chronic diseases currently plaguing North Americans.

Spanning the whole month of October of 2008, Brendan was a keynote presenter on a cross-Canada university speaking tour called “Students for Sustainability.” Speaking at 21 universities, along with others such David Suzuki and Stephan Lewis, the tour went coast to coast offering practical environmental preservation solutions to students. It was Canada’s largest environmental tour.

In a 2009 pole conducted by VegNews magazine, Brendan was voted by the readers as “Favorite Vegetarian Athlete.”

Among Brendan’s other achievements are his active involvement with initiatives such as a new exploratory adventure movie on health and wellness, ‘Back from the Edge’, and a photo feature alongside the likes of Barack Obama and Bill Maher in the Charity book ‘A Rare Breed of Love’ (Simon & Schuster) recently featured by Oprah Winfrey.

Having appeared on CTV and CBC in Canada and on NBC, ABC and FOX in the United States, Brendan has become a sought-after speaker.

Aimed at helping individuals and companies improve productivity through greater fitness Brendan’s latest book, Thrive Fitness: Mental and Physical Strength for Life, was published by Penguin in January, 2009. It will be published in the United Sates by Da Capo in January, 2010.

Brendan lives in Los Angeles.

photo: G Living Network - gliving.com