Indian Athlete Arvind Krishna's Riveting Journey To Veganism And Athletic Excellence

The idea of high performance through a protein heavy diet consisting of meat and dairy has always been glorified. In recent times though, athletes like Venus Williams, Lewis Hamilton, and Colin Kaepernick have debunked this. Movies like The Game Changers have had us questioning the relevance of animal-based protein itself.

The Indian basketball player and actor Arvind Krishna adds to the list of such trailblazers. Vegan for over two years now, Arvind was raised in the U.S. and has been playing basketball since high school. Today, he has been a part of the international league FIBA 3x3 for the past two seasons and is the only Indian athlete with a record for the highest standing and running vertical leaps in the country.

We at Vegan First sat down for an insightful conversation with the sportsman, where he shared his vegan journey and debunked the often-held misconceptions about vegan athletes.

The Start And The Setback

“I was a hardcore non-vegetarian. I used to love my Burger King, McDonald’s and Wendy’s,” recalled Arvind.

Krishna’s introduction to veganism happened in boarding school, where he went vegan for two weeks after some students asked him to promote the lifestyle as a star athlete. Even though he liked the lifestyle, there were doubts about a plant-based diet impacting his health and affecting his sport, so he quit halfway.

“A lot of it has to do with amazing marketing that the meat and dairy industries do. They say, ‘If you don’t eat meat or don’t drink milk, you’ll not be able to compete.’ And athletes at that particular age are impressionable. You wonder, why take the chance? What if something happens to me?” Arvind expressed.

He was a popular student - the top of his class, valedictorian in high school, and a brilliant basketball player. However, during one of his games, Arvind experienced a very serious knee injury, and had to move back to India and stop playing. When he did resume, he played very successfully and his team won a gold medal in a national championship, where he scored 67 out of 99 points. But despite all his achievements in the country, the athlete gave up the sport for fourteen long years, till 2018.

“Basketball in the U.S. was still fresh in my mind. And somehow, I just stopped playing. A deep sense of remorse, almost hatred started developing inside me for the sport. Because I had given so much to the sport, and one injury took it all away,” he recalled. 

During this period, Arvind explored his various abilities. He worked as an entrepreneur under the mentorship of Ed Cohen, and also ventured into acting, playing the lead in several Telugu films.

Snap from Krishna's debut Telugu film 'It's My Love Story'

“I started rebuilding myself as a person, without attaching my true identity to external tags. But deep down, a sense of joy was missing - something that came from basketball. I really wanted to get back to the court.”

To his excitement, Arvind got a call in 2018 to partake in the FIBA-endorsed professional Indian Basketball League, although he was hesitant to play again. He suffered excessive injuries in the first few months, and was advised to pause the sport. But he was determined - “If I leave the sport, let me leave it on my terms.”

Venture Into Veganism

Arvind’s interest in veganism arose through documentaries on Netflix. This revealed the ethical, environmental and health factors of a non-vegan diet to him, which made him carry out extensive research regarding the issue. He discovered the high recovery rates of vegan athletes and decided to give it a shot.

“I thought, if I want to be ethical, let me go all out, because milk is equally bad. So I didn’t want to be a hypocrite.”

“My question was, ethically and environmentally I am all for being vegan, but will I be a good athlete as a vegan? But from the last three years, my own evidence suggests that I’m a far better athlete now than I ever was.”

What Happened After Going Vegan? 

The change that Arvind witnessed after his transition to veganism was enormous. He shared that his endurance, strength, and recovery rate has since increased greatly.

“I feel like I’m finally fit. And I can tell you, without a doubt, if I hadn’t gone vegan and gluten-free, I wouldn’t have recovered.”

Arvind also highlighted that he is asthmatic, but since his transition, his condition has become more manageable. As an actor, he has also noticed his skin looking better than before - so much so that it convinced one of his co-stars to try plant-based too!

“Your overall well-being will improve, your body, breathing, even your thinking will be better. I’ve noticed that my thought process is much clearer now. Once you ditch dairy, your breathing will become a lot better too,” explained Krishna. 

He also gave a sportsman’s perspective by elaborating, “It’s not just about cardiovascular endurance, you need muscle endurance also. If you don’t breathe well, your muscle will release lactic acid and you won’t be able to move. If you’re on a vegan diet, your blood flow is better, so both cardiovascular and muscular endurance improves.”

Not only that, people in Hyderabad also mocked him for giving up the classic biryani, but he has since wowed them with his results.

“From my anecdotal evidence I can tell you, if not for being vegan, I wouldn’t have been at the athletic level that I am now.”

When asked about how he encourages people to go vegan, he replied, “A lot of people don’t resonate with going vegan for ethical causes or environmental reasons, but they take notice if your skin looks better or if it makes you a better athlete. It’s an unfortunate reality, but hey, whatever it takes for people to try it, I’m happy doing that.”

Why Aren’t Animal Products Healthy?

Like every new vegan, Arvind too had a moment of realization about the health impacts of animal products. Moreover, being a sportsman, the physical and mental effects of a plant-based diet he has noticed have been very prominent.

“Don’t think your meat and dairy consumption is making you stronger. If nothing else, it’s crippling you from inside.”

Dear Fellow Athletes… 

“Training for success on the court is one thing, training for injury-resistance is another. A lot of Indian athletes don’t train to be injury-resistant. Inflammation is a very important aspect of it. Look at foods which reduce inflammation and you will realize they are all vegan foods. So give it a shot, you lose nothing from it. You will realize yourself that you feel lighter and your body recovers faster. Be scientific about it, don’t listen to me. It’s your body ultimately, you need to push it to the limits. You need to listen to it, you need to feed it the right fuel. And if you go vegan, you will be able to maximize your human potential as an athlete.”

Like this?

Read: Healthy Bones - The Non Dairy Way

Read More: Virat Kohli Gets Protein From Plants, Not Meat Or Dairy. What’s Stopping You?