Strong. Fit. Healthy. Vegan!

Martin is a passionate individual hailing from the scenic landscapes of bonnie Scotland. Residing just outside the vibrant city of Glasgow, in the charming town of Paisley, Martin is a remarkable individual dedicated to making a positive impact in people’s lives. As the founder of his own non-profit organization, Get Active Coaching, he embodies the spirit of empowerment and transformation.

Martin’s chosen path as a Vegan Fitness Coach showcases his commitment to promoting health and well-being, particularly among plant-based gym moms. Through his expertise and guidance, he helps these incredible individuals become the strongest versions of themselves, enabling them to thrive and feel their absolute best for years to come.

Meatless Movement recently had the opportunity to chat with him.

By intertwining his passion for veganism, fitness, and coaching, Martin is poised to make a significant difference in the lives of those he works with. With his compassionate approach and unwavering dedication, he strives to create a community that uplifts and inspires individuals to lead healthier, more vibrant lives.

Tell us about yourself, please

You learn so much more from your mistakes and failures than you ever will from your successes
Martin Mckellar | Vegan Fitness Coach 🌱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
𝕍𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕟💚

Hey! I’m Martin and it’s great to meet you. I’m from bonnie Scotland and live just outside Glasgow in a town called Paisley. I run my own non profit organisation called Get Active Coaching and I work as a Vegan Fitness Coach helping plant based gym mums become the strongest they have ever been so they can feel their best for years to come!

Martin Mckellar | Vegan Fitness Coach 🌱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
𝕍𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕟💚 — Martin Mckellar | Vegan Fitness Coach 🌱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 𝕍𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕟💚

The non profit part of my organisation means that any profit we generate, we use to run accessible and inclusive opportunities for disadvantaged children and families to engage positively with sport and exercise.

If you really want to see changes to your health and fitness then you need to implement a lifestyle change!
Martin Mckellar | Vegan Fitness Coach 🌱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
𝕍𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕟💚

I have been vegan for around 4 years now and it was initially my own general interest in health that sparked my journey into veganism. My partner had been vegan for a couple of years prior to me so I was familiar with the lifestyle, I just hadn’t really explored it. I suppose the main catalyst for my plant based lifestyle was a curiosity around long term health. Diabetes runs in my family which has made me more conscious of this. With this in mind, I am always keen to update and upskill myself on evidence based research around the topics of nutrition, movement and sleep.

My initial trigger, like many I’m sure, was watching The Game Changers documentary. From here, I started to question my own health in relation to performance as I could relate to a lot of the symptoms of a western diet they were referring to such as feeling sluggish, not recovering quickly and low in energy and at the time I would have said that I was super fit.

Eating more plants fuels your body. More plants will ensure you’re getting the proper nutrients in your diet
Martin Mckellar | Vegan Fitness Coach 🌱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
𝕍𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕟💚

By removing all animal produce from my diet, I felt a complete resurgence. If I’m being completely honest, I do believe that it was in part the addition of more plants alongside a reduction in meat that made the difference. I was sort of forced into fuelling my body with the correct foods and not relying on dairy or meat for energy like I was raised to.

In my area, plant based foods are quite abundant. Most local supermarkets will shelf things like tofu, tempeh, mock meat and ready meals. I guess the key barrier is when it comes to eating out. Again, there are places that cater for vegans, but it’s still frustrating to see restaurants only offer a plain tomato pasta or pizza for dinner. I do believe we are on the right track with more and more places offering a few dishes that cater to vegans.

My trick is to simply message ahead of time and enquire about vegan options. 9 times out of 10 I’ll get a positive response and at least I have opened a conversation with the restaurant prior to attending. That way it takes all the pressure off of having those discussions when you’re sat stating at a menu. I find this also applies to going on holiday.

Growth happens when you commit to change
Martin Mckellar | Vegan Fitness Coach 🌱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
𝕍𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕟💚

I honestly love that I respresent what I believe in. I wouldn’t say I advocate for it in the sense of activism. But being a fitness coach, I have open and honest conversations with people all the time who aren’t vegan and explain my journey and situation. Most of which have implemented more plants into their lifestyles or switched out cows milk for plant milk. I believe it’s these small changes that will make the biggest impact in their health journeys as well as positively impact the environment. The long game is when the masses start to implement these changes and it helps billions of animals globally be free of suffering. All from simply switching from cows milk to plant milk.

Well I’m here to tell you that you absolutely can build muscle, get strong and thrive on a plant based diet 👊
Martin Mckellar | Vegan Fitness Coach 🌱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
𝕍𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕟💚

I am proud of who I am. I am the strongest I have ever been. I am the fittest I have ever been. And I believe I am the healthiest I have ever been as well.

Locally (around Glasgow) I’d recommend Bluestone Cafe, Mono, The 78 and Plant Blonde as my top eateries purely for the quality of grub on offer. Bluestone Cafe is my regular place and they offer the best sweet potato curry and vegan macaroni cheese! Mono and The 78 offer great pub food like buffalo cauliflower wings, burgers and drinks and Plant Blonde offers the best cakes in Glasgow! But if you’re stuck for inspiration where you are from, then using apps like Happy Cow will certainly help you find places that offer vegan/vegetarian options.

Like everything though, it’s the choices you make consistently that have the biggest impact 😊
Martin Mckellar | Vegan Fitness Coach 🌱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
𝕍𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕟💚

I think the main misconceptions of vegans is that we are all weird, weak and deficient. There is still so much stuff online in the fitness world stereotyping vegans as unable to get strong because our protein isn’t as ‘good’ or that we all have a vitamin b12 deficiency or even that our food is just salads all day long.

People are still chocked when they ask me what my favourite chocolate is and I say dairy milk. They can’t believe that there is a plant dairy milk. I think the way to change this social mindset is to be open to conversations and spread the word. Some of the best food I have ever had is vegan and plant based and I’m talking about burgers and pizzas in this as well.

If you are starting out your own journey and thinking about going plant based I would encourage you to have an open mind and be creative. I think the one thing that helped me when I transitioned was thinking of my favourite foods and how could I switch out the meat for a plant option e.g. lentil Bolognese, mock meat burger, chickpea curry and so on. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Join a Facebook group or jump on to a vegan blog and ask for help for recipes, supplements and so on. You’ll be surprised at the response.

And I can say from experience that you will thrive following a plant based diet 😊
Martin Mckellar | Vegan Fitness Coach 🌱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
𝕍𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕟💚

A story that most people will be surprised by is that I have become the strongest I have ever been since going vegan. I currently squat 140kg, deadlift 170kg and power clean 100kg at 74kg bodyweight (all of which can be found on my Instagram @fitcoachmartin). This was all powered by plants.

Switching to a plant based/ vegan lifestyle doesn’t have to be restrictive for your beliefs. Use it to power your next chapter in life. Keep things simple as well and enjoy the process. And if you ever feel lost, remember why you set out on this path in the first place. Whether it was for the animals, for health, both. Remember your why and enjoy the process.