Vegan BJJ Master takes another Gold

David Meyer has continued to compete and take more titles, and despite being aged 55 shows no signs of slowing down.

7 April 2018

One of the first non-Brazillians to win a Black Belt, he now has seven world championship Gold medals – the first of which made him the first American to take a Gold there.

Late last year he was competing in the World IBJFF No-Gi Championships in the Black Belt Masters 5 Middle weight category.

David feels confident with tournaments like these despite their high level.

“I have almost 30 years experience competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu so I have a lot of confidence that at least there will be nothing that comes up that I can't handle or have not seen.”

However, there was an issue in the last stages of the preparation.

“I felt good going in though had trouble finding parking so had to run to the convention center venue near Disneyland which is where the championship was being held.”

“The first match I felt in control the whole time and own on points” David told us recently. As a fighter had withdrawn, this was the only match between David and the final.

“The second match ended in just seconds with a submission (tap out).” This gave David the Gold.

Well into middle age, David is still competing regularly and with enthusiasm. Although encouraged to go vegan by the ethical reasons, he has found that plant-based food has enabled him to compete effectively.

“I was vegetarian since 1985 and experimented eating mostly vegan, and have been entirely vegan since 2000. My motivation is entirely to not harm animals. I have experienced that it’s an extremely healthy way to eat, it gives me more energy, it’s better for the environment. I’m morally committed to not harming animals.”

He has also helped large numbers of companion animals through the website he started. Adopt-a-pet.com, which assists animal shelters across North America in finding good homes for animals in their care.

“Eating vegan in LA is super easy- lots of great restaurants” explained David. “The championship itself only has snack foods including Acai bowls, but I always bring my own food to competitions.”

Leading by example has enabled David to show people how well veganism can work – for anybody.

A few years ago he told the site:

“You’ll be healthier, it’s much better for the environment, much better use of natural resources, and to me, it’s the single best thing that any human being can do on their own, to eat less, and ultimately no animal products."

David’s profile

Tournament results

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