The Discerning Brute: fashion, food & etiquette for the ethically handsome man » sports

Germany’s Strongest Man Is A Vegetarian

joshuakatcher — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 05:14:49 +0000

Back in June, I wrote briefly about German strongman Patrik Baboumian, whose hulk-like strength was impressive enough to make a documentary about. Patrick has just won Germany's Strongest Man 2011 competition, and he currently holds the German crown in strength sports. From his own blog he says :

"After being LW champion in 2007 and 2009 and HW vice-champion in 2010, I finally hold the German crown in strength sports in my hands. It was a very hard battle in the rain and I had to fight against my injured calf as well but at the end I was victorious! Now I have proven finally, that being vegetarian makes you a better athlete!"

Viscous Vegetarians & Championship Fights

joshuakatcher — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:40:24 +0000

The UFC homepage had this image up yesterday! How cool is that? Vegan and vegetarian men are kicking serious ass, and on April 30th, Jake Shields will be fighting for the welterweight championship! Who is hosting a party in NYC to watch?

Shred the Streets Green

JohnHolden — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:41:37 +0000

by contributor John Holden Since 1986 Etnies has been manufacturing some of the most cutting edge skateboard shoes on the market. Now celebrating their 25th year anniversary they are continuing on that path with a new campaign BUY A SHOE PLANT A TREE. For every pair of Jamieson 2 Eco shoes sold Etnies will plant a tree in the rain forests of Costa Rica. The Jameson Eco 2 is not only a stylish pair of shoes but the out soles are made from recycled bike tires and plastic gloves while the laces are made from Pet recycled plastic bottles.

Kenai Flannel & Georges Laraque’s New Image

joshuakatcher — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 16:45:39 +0000

• This "Kenai" flannel hooded jacket in organic cotton is half-off from Loomstate! A lightweight flannel zip-up jacket with a foldaway hood hidden in the zipped stadium rib collar. Body is lined in organic cotton flannel. Features an interior chest pocket and two snap closure waist pockets. • Georges Laraque's days of checking people on the ice are over as of last year, but he's been busy getting people to check themselves before they wreck themselves with his vegan restaurants in Canada - Crudessence, with four locations in Montreal. Political office may also be in his future as Canada's Green Party chose him to be their new deputy leader for showcasing such passion and eloquence concerning ethical and environmental issues. A recent article in Canada's National Post says:

On the surface, the causes and activities Mr. Laraque, 34, has embraced seem worlds away from his life as a professional athlete. But the way he sees it, they are in keeping with the defiant approach to life he has taken since he was a child. “If you tell me I’m not going to make it, I’m going to make it,” he said in an interview at his restaurant, Crudessence. It is an approach shaped by his experience of racism at a young age.

Top-Ranked Welterweight, Jon Fitch, Shares His Daily Grub

joshuakatcher — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 00:13:05 +0000

Jon Fitch was recently ranked the #2 welterweight MMA fighter. He gets a lot of questions about what he eats to stay so lean, strong, and healthy - so he made the video below to share his nutrition tips with you. Why don't you tweet Jon @FitchFighter and let him know what your favorite, vegan power-packed snack is. Thanks to contributor, Pierre Grzybowski, for the tip.

Three of Top-Ten Welterweights are Veg

joshuakatcher — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 01:53:25 +0000

Of the top ten ranked Mixed Martial Arts welterweights, there is a vegetarian, a near vegan, and someone who is trying out veganism. Number nine ranked Nick Diaz recently stated on recent conference call: "I try to eat a raw, vegan diet... I’ve been doing that since I was 16, 17 years old so I’m pretty used to it. It helps me not feel like shit when I’m training all day long.” (source*) In the next couple of months, a vegan or near vegan will be headlining a night of fights for Strikeforce, and a lifelong vegetarian (Jake) will be headlining a night of fights for UFC. From the Sherdog website: . #2. Jon Fitch (23-3, 1 NC) After besting Thiago Alves for a second time, Fitch was hopeful he would get another crack at the UFC welterweight crown. That opportunity will be going to Jake Shields. Instead of another title shot, Fitch draws former two-division champion B.J. Penn at UFC 127 on Feb. 27 in Sydney, Australia. #4. Jake Shields (26-4-1) In light of Georges St. Pierre’s domination of Josh Koscheck at UFC 124, Shields now knows exactly what daunting task lay in front of him in his effort to win the UFC welterweight title. The major questions are simply when the fight will take place and whether it will land at UFC 129 in Toronto come April 30. #9. Nick Diaz (23-7, 1 ND) Strikeforce remains hopeful that Diaz will be in action at its Jan. 29 event in San Jose, Calif. In the meantime, the public war of words between Diaz and rival Jason Miller continues to rage, as the two try to negotiate a potential catchweight bout via the media. Thanks to contributor Pierre Grzybowski & Jon Camp for the tip.

Jake Shields, Kill It Cook It Eat It & Suing Fur From Magazines

joshuakatcher — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 22:59:28 +0000

• Jake Shields recently won Peta2’s most veg friendly athlete of the year! I interviewed Jake way-back-when, and it's awesome to see his career is becoming so successful - and that someone who demands so much from his body does it without meat. When he fights GSP in April, he will become the highest profile vegetarian athlete in the world. Go Jake! For a glimpse into the life of Mr. Shields, watch the trailer for an upcoming documentary about him here: • LA Weekly is reporting on a new BBC show that will premiere in the US on January 18th on Current TV, called Kill It Cook It Eat It. This show is certain to get a large viewership - but I wonder just how honest a depiction of the slaughter really is, and whether the viewers get to visit large factory farms and USDA slaughterhouses (where 99% of meat comes from) or just the small, killing-with-kindness farms that maintain the bucolic myth of where our food comes from. In addition, pay careful attention to the "It" in the title. It's not "Kill Them Cook Them Eat Them" - or "him" or "her" for that matter. They are careful to refer to animals as objects as opposed to individuals. Current TV's description is as follows:

" ...a diverse group of participants is challenged to procure their main course the old-fashioned way: by hunting and killing their chosen prey, butchering it in the slaughterhouse, helping to prepare it in the kitchen, and ultimately sampling it at the dinner table. Some may enjoy the process while others recoil, but for each diner it's an intense journey that just may change their perspectives -- and appetites -- forever."

•Writer Jim Edwards, from CBS's BNET website, is calling for Harper's Bazaar to be sued over it's fashion spreads - which could open a legal floodgate to help animals on fur farms. Long-gone are the days when fashion editorials were created for the sake of fashion-as-art. A list that was accidentally left in a hotel lobby revealed (what most fashion industry insiders already know) that paid-advertisers are given priority when it comes to shooting fashion "editorials", which "...appears to be a blatant violation of the FTC’s new guidelines for advertisers." Edwards c0ntinues, "If the FTC sued Harper’s Bazaar magazine for not disclosing that its advertisers influence its editorial features it would do readers of women’s magazines — and the fashion business in general — a huge favor...the legal framework exists to make it a possibility, and the FTC has shown interest in bashing the fashion biz before. Animal rights attorneys, pay attention!

"A fashion editorial is clearly an endorsement, but does Harper’s disclose the “material connections” between its fashion shoots and the advertisers who buy ads and provide the garments? Not online. In Harper’s December shoot with Iman, the items are identified by designer and price but it doesn’t say whether the Michael Kors fur scarf in shot 1 was selected because Kors is No. 2 on Harper’s list of advertisers."

A large portion of the demand for fur originates from paid-advertisers, which explains why so much fur is in every fashion mag. Fur marketing organizations that represent independent farms have millions of dollars to play with, considering the exorbitant mark-up of fur garments. There's a lot of legal jargon in the full article that I'll leave to you lawyers, but when it comes to heavily-funded designers that use fur, their days gracing so many pages of editorials could be numbered. This also gives stylists something to celebrate, since their craft was hi-jacked in the early nineties. "Of course, readers of women’s magazines know that most of the editorial is either made up or bought-and-paid for by advertisers, so it’s tough to argue that consumers are “damaged” by them. Still, wouldn’t it be nice if one area of the fashion world wasn’t complete fiction?"

Mac Danzig’s $100K KO

joshuakatcher — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:27:34 +0000

by contributor, Pierre Grzybowski Now that's a battle cry. Vegan UFC fighter Mac Danzig scored a huge win Saturday night with a first-round knockout of Joe “Daddy” Stevenson—earning him an extra $100,000 for “Knockout of the Night.” As Stevenson advanced, Danzig stepped back and threw a left hook, ringing Stevenson’s bell, and toppling him face- first into the mat. Next up for veg fight fans: animal advocate Jake Shields will get his chance to strip Georges St. Pierre of the UFC welterweight title.