So you have two perspectives and ways of reading this essay – one is if you are curious about turning vegan because lots of people around you are turning vegan. Did you know that in 2017 alone, searches for ‘vegan’ went up almost 1,000%? The other is because I can tell you that my gland problem has completely reversed and this is without a doubt in part to my shift into a fully plant-based diet.

I want to keep this to the point and philosophically based, but also useful – so there is a section on un-commonly asked questions, easy replacements, rebelling against a corrupt system, revelations and health benefits i.e. vegan superpowers and a curated guide to eating plant-based in LA, New York and London.

UN-COMMON QUESTIONS

Is it all of this just another fad? No, this is a movement. If you are still reading, then I think that you hopefully already know this.

Is it hard being vegan? Not anymore and not in major cities; it’s a state of mind and a consciousness shift – an equivalent to “being woke”. You’ll see that it will soon become a default.

Will people make jokes about me and mock me at dinners? Maybe, some mentally-violent old bigots will never understand this, and that is ok, because they are old and will die soon. As for the rest, I am pretty sure that by 2020, it will be carnists (I think I can coin this term) who are mocked by society. Pick a future…

Where will I get enough protein? You can literally get the same amount from a handful of beans as you can from a steak or vegan protein shake. No amount of whey milk (side effect: dead calves) is going to make you more buff. Gorillas are herbivores. The meat industry has spent years manipulating the fitness industry, and your mind and soul with myths of protein.

“All protein is made by plants. All protein comes from plants. Plants make protein. Any protein that comes from an animal is simply recycled protein made from plants. The highest, healthiest form of protein is directly from plants—beans, greens, and vegetables.”

Will I be more bae after becoming vegan? Yes, you will bae up. Your skin will glow, you won’t get pimples, your body will be beautiful and toned, your chakras will open, your third eye will open and you will literally become a higher being. I think that’s why vegans are so intent on “pushing this agenda” cos it LITERALLY makes you a better human. Don’t you want that?

Cool.

Onto easy replacements…

Milk – literally how barbaric that we drink puss and blood infused lactic fluid from cows, weird – no other species does that) is super easily replaceable by moving your arm 20 centimetres to the left in the supermarket and picking up almond milk, soy milk, oat milk etc. or alternatively ordering it at Starbucks.

Cheese – every time you order a block of cheese a baby male calf is shot in the head. Think about that and the impact that will have on your soul. Also vegan cheese game is strong now, it definitely still needs to be improved. TBH, after a few weeks you get over even wanting cheese, it’s apparently addictive like crack so going cold turkey (excuse the pun) is a good call. Plus, think of the blood and puss from the cows, gross.

Vegan parmesan from Follow Your Heart tastes amazing and Violife blocks and slices are perfect for sandwiches and snacks.

Butter – literally see above, plus use oil – there are soooooo many nice ones to experiment with – chilli, virgin, extra virgin, XXL virgin, sesame, truffle.

Food on the go – if you live in a major city everything is shifting anyway, so you will be fine – there is literally no excuse anymore. If you are in the catchment area of a vegan friendly supermarket, lucky you, if you are not, call your local supermarket or pizza place and ask – drive consumer demand, be that voice of the future.

Meat – you will learn to fall in love with the idea of eating vegetables that you won’t even crave meat alternatives, BUT my personal favourites are Quorn produces that don’t have egg white, Linda McCartney’s sausages and burgers and Tofurkey which tastes exactly like chicken – it is UNREAL. Also experiment cooking with jackfruit if you want that pulled pork feeling.

Desserts – just think about how snatched your waistline will be and pick up an apple.

What about leather etc.? Creating using vegan leather is becoming so easy, it even feels “better” (gross subjectivity) than some of the stuff that CHANEL uses, you just need to shop with a conscious mind now. From my POV, I designed using leather for four years and lots of my jackets are leather – even though they were all bi-product, I still feel sick about it. So I have this whole to amplify this campaign because of guilt and maybe help move us forward because I literally feel responsible for being more of a carnist than anyone else. It is literally why I am writing this guide, to help us all – and maybe render some karmic balance.

Rebelling against a corrupt system…

You should 100% watch What The Health and educate yourself on the lies of the meat industry and how it is so corrupt when it comes to feeding you selective truths and plain falsifications about your body and what meat does to it. By now most of you should know that bacon and sausages are Category A carcinogens, up there with cigarettes. I mean, lol. I hope you can see now how we are dismantling this bit by bit and hopefully your shift will further implement this. You will definitely feel empowered for not contributing to that industry.

We’ve been lied to by the government and companies for years – fed waste, poisons, antibiotics, committed murder upon murder without even realising it. You don’t need to be a puppet anymore.

Revelations…

Have you ever heard of the term vegan superpowers? It definitely exists for a reason. Remember that you are the universe, your consciousness controls everything and if you shift the balance of your karma into an elevated space, it’s going to have spiritual benefits. If you are reading this and have never really thought about your spiritual side, maybe now is a good time to research the potential health, regeneration and additional elements that elevate your consciousness.

You will develop a stronger connection with gaia, mother earth and your synchronicity will be much stronger, as will your psychic energy and ability to read emotion, thoughts and motives. I have to admit, this is what has excited me the most about this journey. It’s literally such a ride, and well worth shifting your lifestyle for.

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Some quick fire facts, a plant-based diet is proven to:

Make your waist more snatched
Halt heart disease
Give you better smelling breath
Prevent and treat type 2 diabetes
Reverse ageing
Make you a better human
Eliminate cholesterol
Reverse colon, prostate and breast cancer
Empower you
Prevent cataracts
Make you smell better
Give you heathier skin, nails and better energy

Here is a more extensive list.

SNAPSHOT CITY GUIDE

I wanted to spotlight three plant-based restaurants in three cities that I spend a lot of time in…

LONDON: Mildred’s iconic veg/an restaurants in Dalston and Soho, PickyWops’ Vegan Pizza, Wagamama’s killer vegan menu including seitan katsu (yum), and Comptoir Libanais who have a vegan menu based around traditional Lebanese food which is not only incredible but you can literally feast for £19.95 for two

LÁ: Gracias Madre in West Hollywood – authentic AF vegan Mexican food, Ramen Hood in Downtown – they even have faux eggs – goals: and finally Cruzer pizza which is like the smallest joint but has an almost futuristic dystopian feel – and tonnes of fake meat

NEW YORK: Marty’s V Burger Restaurant, Vegetarian Dim Sum House in Chinatown and about 1 million places on Uber Eats

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Every time you eat, you make a decision to contribute to a better future for yourself and the world or not. It’s your call now.

I hope this was somewhat of a helpful perspective. If you have any questions, hit me up and I promise I will answer. Oh and you should definitely watch this speech by Natalie Portman because it will hopefully reinforce what I am saying on a holistic and cultural level. Welcome to the future, kids.

Peace and love, Nik

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p.s. some awesome vegan online resources for news, recipes and understanding our future are Plant Based News and LIVEKINDLY.

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If it’s not a whisky, its a champagne, it has this tenderness to it, stay with me. After all, it is Valentine’s day. In comes Moët & Chandon with (R)osé (“osé” c’est “daring” en français, duh). Alors, it’s a good start.

The above is a film called THE NOW, whose conception was entrusted to We Are From LA, capturing the moments that define THE NOW, set to Diplo’s Revolution.

Scent. Smell. Next on your list. TOM FORD Noir de Noir Private Blend. Where to begin… In construction lies the answer. Black rose and black truffle with vanilla, patchouli, our wood. We are instantly onto a winner. Dark, vampiric, Vladimir-worthy. It will work with the Moët aussi. Although, I have been flirting with Neroli Portofino somewhat, but more to come on that soon…

Next up, if sunlight is no option because “hi, busy, formation, etc.”, then I’d highly suggest a local spa vacation. Specifically Akasha Luxury Spa at Cafe Royale Hotel. First of all, with the name as a Queen of the Damned reference, you know that you are onto a good one.

My friends at MR PORTER also have some gems on their hands, so always worth a browse of their finely curated offering.

Finally, a sonic tendency. Future may have just dropped EVOL, this may or may not be your ideal Valentine’s Day music but it depends on who you are evolving with… you can download it from iTunes here.

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For those of you who follow me on Snapchat, this list will be of little/no surprise to you. So here goes. The top three are in order and the remaining seven are all even with a couple of super fucking honourable mentions at the bottom.

1. Lana Del Rey – High By The Beach

From the moment this leaked in HQ to this day, the track has resonated with me, for a number of reasons (cc Teddy Sinclair, Illyse Singer, Willy Moon and a beach in New York about two weeks before the track came out). But also, the video and the message behind it – the strength of lyrical message making somewhat of a change from Ultraviolence, the past reference to “lights, camera, accion”, the rebellion, honesty and openness opening us up to a new era from Lana – something almost more tech-experimentative which fits with where she is at culturally right now. Oh and if I was doing an album list then Honeymoon would be at the top along with Grimes’ Art Angels.

2. Future – Thought It Was A Drought

Angel Haze introduced me to this track from Future, the week that the album dropped. Again, we were in New York at her apartment and we consistently play it on loop. Sonically, the thickness and depth of the track, again coupled with totally rebellious lyrics nailed if for me. It’s been a staple both through meme value and personally with my friends ever since. Literally cannot wait for the video to drop which is co-directed by A$AP Ferg.

3. Travis Scott – 3500

Current Rihanna controversy aside (this is not a speculation site!), from the entire Rodeo album (and Deluxe) this is 100% my favourite track. No explanation as to why – I mean it is produced by Metro Boomin, Zaytoven, Mike Dean, Million $ Mano and Allen Ritter (Metro and Allen also produced Thought It Was A Drought) so sonically it is completely in line with what I fell in love with this year.

Here’s my Spotify playlist for the full list of ten which also features REALiTI from Grimes (after it had been reworked from the demo), The Hills from The Weeknd, Music To Watch Boys To by Lana Del Rey, King Kunta by Kendrick Lamar, Hands To Myself by Selena Gomez (she had one of the best albums of the year and the first three singles are beyond compare), All Day by Kanye West (duh) and Bitch Better Have My Money by Rihanna.

On an equally interesting note, onto the honourable mentions. It was really hard because I wanted to include two Grimes tracks on the original list but REALiTI trumped this by a traction because I think it has more longevity and slower burnout, but Venus Fly featuring Janelle Monae is where Grimes goes the hardest on Art Angels. What she delivers is pretty fucking unparalleled – harder than any EDM track out there right now and also more beautifully executed than anything I have ever heard on a dance level in the last ten years.

Second honourable mention to my girl Alo Lee – for her entire EP Twice Burned and the full three-track produced by Liam Howe (Adele, FKA, Lana) and Exmoor Emperor, plus all of the SoundCloud content which has been incredibly strong – from covers of The Weeknd, Rihanna and Drake to original content like Blindsight with Lox Chatterbox and Blood with Su Na. Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/sunabeats/blood-feat-alo-lee

https://soundcloud.com/alolee/sets/twiceburnedep

https://soundcloud.com/alolee/sets/videos-3track

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