Jassy is a vegan artist and athlete, mom, teacher and willing to do something good in our world. “At the end, the most important lesson we can teach is based on the live we lived”.
Meatless Movement recently had a chat with her
Please tell us more about yourself, please
I’m a Brazilian 37 years old vegan circus artist and crossfitter. I’ve been teaching circus now for eighteen years and crossfit for four. I have a daughter, she’s six. Her name is Hera.
Since my childhood I was very connected with animals and it was kind of weird to eat some of them. The info about veganism was difficult to find and people was very judgemental. But when I was 12, I wanted to turn vegetarian, and I did that for a few years. Than in high school I was slowly taking animal products out of my life but it’s been five years that I managed to organize my life to consider myself vegan.
I live in São Paulo, it’s a big city and during the years I learnt and connected with vegan people so I’m very comfortable. I know the places if I want to eat specific food like pizza or order a birthday cake and it all.
Most of my friends aren’t vegan but eat vegan food but I’m not ashamed at all to sit in a table full of people and eat different food than everybody else. In the worst scenario I eat in my home before go out and that’s completely fine.
I feel great! I’m recovering from a shoulder surgery that is kind of complicated and it’s healing faster than the expected. I have a lot of work in and outside my home being mom, having three jobs, two dogs and five cats, training sessions, studies. But despite it all I feel great and my mind is in peace with the fact that I’m not consuming parts of a living individual that wanted to live as much as I do.
I deal with daily jokes about being vegan. In a certain way people expect you to be sick or fail because that would allow them to say “See, we need meat” or anything to justify the necessity of killing. What I see here is that vegan people thriving is uncomfortable because shows it’s possible to live without killing other creatures so you just have to admit you don’t care enough to stop using them.
I educate most of the time by the example. I’m always willing to be a better teacher, mom, artist, athlete and if I can do that there’s no reason another person can’t. It’s also important to keep in mind that veganism can be expensive and show the other side of that, specially in a country like mine is huge because there’s a social aspect here that can’t be ignored.
The first point is to remember why you want to stop and if that meal, or that cosmetic or clothe or anything that is involved with animal cruelty can’t be easily replaced. If it’s not at that moment make a personal note that would be great to search for another way.
Talking specifically about the diet, keep it simple and if possible search for professional help to learn about how to eat in a healthier way.
People ask me a lot about my daughter, is she vegan? Vegetarian?
When she’s with me most of the time she eats what I eat but I don’t cook meat, but her daddy eats so when she’s with him she does.
Veganism is something that you live for, it’s not a diet, it’s activism so it’s something that she will (or not) be aware during her life. She’s very compassionate and love animals so I think one day she may be vegan.
As someone who’s vegan for the animals I would love to remember everyone who’s searching for inspiration that no animal deserves to die or to be denied of the love of their relatives, freedom, anything for our pleasure.
We, as society, did a lot of terrible things and we have the power to be the difference now. It’s in the present that things are changed.
Jassy Brischi
Circus woman, living and still alive!!! #govegan
all images courtesy of Jassy Brischi