Veganism Becoming Cool

Back when I was 14 years old, in 1982, I was snookered into going away to camp. The camp turned out to be called the Devil Pups, which a was two week Marine Corps boot camp for young teens at Camp Pendleton, CA. It actually was a terrific experience, but one of the by-products was a new haircut. Back in 1982 there was still the post-1970's hangover in terms of style, but it was changing daily. Consequently, most boys wore there hair parted in the middle and below the ears. So when I came back from camp with a short haircut, shaved around the ears I stood out, but it just so happened that the summer of '82 saw music charting from J. Giles Band, Go-Go's, Tommy Tutone, and the Cars. Plus movies like Fast Times, and Diner came out. Within weeks everyone started to get short haircuts. I was on the very cutting edge of fashion by accident. I went from feeling slightly like an outcast, to early-adopter hip in a matter of minutes.

I had the same feeling today leafing through the October issue of Men's Journal magazine - one of their cover stories was The Rise of the Power Vegan Diet. The story spoke of top athletes, like Tony Gonzalez, and business executives, like Twitter founder Biz Stone, who are vegans, and many others now moving towards veganism for dietary reasons, and dismissed the myth that it is a bunch of Teva sandal-wearing activists. Although I have long felt proud of my veganism (after the first few months being ashamed), I certainly did not feel cool, or avant-garde until I read this article. Finally, a mainstream men's fashion and health magazine is talking about the coolness of eating a mostly plant-based diet! I am feeling pretty hip right now!...Or, is it hep?