Vegan bodybuilder Maddie McConnell takes top spot

Maddie McConnell wins Women’s Pro Figure at World Championships

Maddie McConnell is a vegan bodybuilder and member of the Vegan Strong Plantbuilt team.

In September, she competed in the OCB Yorton Cup Pro World Championships. Out of the 33 competitors, Maddie flexed her way to first place, a $5,000 prize, and the world title in the Women’s Pro Figure category.

She explains why she is vegan:

“1. For the environment – Animal agriculture is destroying the planet and I didn’t want to support the deforestation, ocean dead zones, methane pollution, etc. I learned that going vegan is the single best way to reduce your environmental impact so that’s what I did. 2. For my health – The longest living populations eat primarily plant based. Consumption of animal products is associated with many cancers, heart disease, and diabetes, none of which I care to develop. 3. For the animals- Animals are sentient beings with feelings and desires. They deserve love and respect like any other being. Pets are no different from cows, pigs, birds, fish, etc. Animals don’t wish to die, therefore killing them is inhumane. I love animals so ethically, eating them didn’t make sense unless I had to. Once I figured out that you could live/thrive without eating animals, I made the decision not to. “