Joni turned vegan in 1991, and started training for and competing in strongman events around 2000 in the 105kg weight category. Since then he has developed an impressive level of strength, with personal bests of 150kg for bench press, 230kg for squat and a deadlift of 262.5kg. His bodyweight is 107kg.

  • Finalist in Finland’s and UK’s Strongest Man
  • Accomplished powerlifter
  • Started www.veganfitness.net and a vegan gym

He has also qualified for national finals of Finland’s Strongest Man and England’s Strongest Man at 105kg. In 2011 his performance in regional competitons and then England’s Strongest Man qualified him for the UKs Strongest man, where he competed against the best nationally and finished 8th.

In May 2012 Joni qualified for Finland’s Strongest Man (under 105kg) finals.  The events were brutal and Joni put in a tough performance before being edged out of the final stages. (Read more here).

He’s also competed in Highland Games (Read more here).

Vegan for the animals

“If people see someone punching a dog, they would say something is wrong there. To me being vegan is not more complex than that, it’s just a reaction to something which is clearly wrong.”

“The diet in strongman and other similar kinds of sports is not strict. The calorie needs can be up to 6000 calories a day during competition season and one can’t get that from super strict ‘healthy’ sources alone.”

Joni is a founder of Vegan Fitness, an online community for vegans at all level of fitness and sport.

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