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]