Derek Tresize was born and raised in San Diego California where he lived until attending university in northern California. Derek first converted to a plant-based diet at the age of 19 when he began reading about the vast health impacts of eating this way through the works of Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Joel Furhman, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, and several other prominent researchers and clinicians.

Throughout his high school and college career, Derek participated in a wide variety of sports and activities including football, cross country, track and field, powerlifting, martial arts, swimming, surfing, and kayaking. When he converted to a plant based diet, he found his
performance in these areas approved across the board, and he began promoting this diet to everyone around him.

Since obtaining his bachelor's degree in Biology, Derek has been working as the Director of Personal Training at Gold's Gym in Richmond Virginia where he also works one on one with clients to help improve their diet, fitness, and overall health. He is a Certified Personal Trainer through the American Council on Exercise (ACE), and is Certified in Plant-Based Nutrition through the T. Colin Campbell Foundation and Cornell University.

Derek has been weightlifting for 10 years and has been strictly bodybuilding for the past 5 years. He has been a bodybuilding/fitness model in the Richmond area since 2009. Derek was voted into the top 20 semifinalists of the Bodybuilding.com Spokesmodel 2011, and plans to compete in his first bodybuilding contest over the summer of 2011. Whenever Derek trains or travels he promotes a plant-based diet for health and athletic performance, and he plans to do so to a greater extent as his bodybuilding recognition grows.

For more information on Derek, visit his blog at http://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/, or to contact him directly send an email to [email protected]