The Vegan Superhero AcademyReviews of thevegangym.com

I wish I could give Coach Lukasz 100 stars out of 5. He was an amazing coach throughout my 4 months with VSA - always checking in on me, teaching me, inspiring me, cheering me on, and being a positive light in my life every week. With his help, I lost 17 lbs of body fat and 4 inches around my waist, increased my handstand hold from 0 to 4 seconds, improved my strength overall, and gained control over my food, my body, and my life again. Lukasz also designed a stretching and strengthening routine for my shoulders that healed them from over a decade of pain, something that countless doctors, physical therapists, and massage therapists weren’t able to do for me in the past. I came into VSA at my unhealthiest and now I feel healthier than I ever have in my life. I am amazed at what we've accomplished in only 4 months, but I know it's only the beginning for me. Lukasz has inspired me to keep going on my health journey, gave me the knowledge to do so, and showed me through his own example what is possible if I stay consistent. I honestly can't say enough positive things about this coach; how do you write a review for someone who changed your life? Thank you so much for everything, Coach Lukasz and all of VSA! This has been an amazing experience that I will never forget.

My approximately 7 months with VSA were somewhat of a mixed bag. I think I communicated from the beginning that my main struggle was with an incredibly unkind mindset that made it very difficult for me to make lasting, meaningful changes to my eating habits and workout habits. Looking back I don‘t believe I was given enough support or practical tools to learn how to behave in kind ways towards my body and mind. Towards the end, my negative self talk, my obsession with food and my sense of guilt and shame was pretty much at an all time high, which ultimately led me to decide to leave, or as one coach phrased it to „graduate from“ the academy. The good: I do believe that each of the coaches I‘ve spoken with had my best interests at heart. Especially my main coach seemed eager to be of service and to care genuinely for me. I appreciated it. I appreciate the willingness of many of the coaches to connect with me on very short notice and try to be present with whatever was going on for me. For about 2-3 weeks I was living with a weight and a body that somewhat matched my vision. I‘m grateful for some of the literature I was exposed to in my time with VSA („Unf*ck Yourself“, for example). I‘m grateful for a few moments of grace during conversations with some of the coaches. What could be improved: The price. I didn‘t feel great paying approximately $500 monthly for the service. There was always a feeling of doubt for me when the monthly payment came up - a doubt I was never fully able to get rid of. Throughout my journey with the VSA I kept going back and forth between using recipes from the recipe books, to relying on protein powder and processed foods for my protein and overall nutrition intake and I struggled to get a clear direction once I was provided with the recipe book and the meal plan. The first 3 months I was trying to live with a calorie deficit in order to „shred“, which most of the time had me feeling miserable and irritable and hungry. The daily „consistency level“ strikes we were encouraged to post often had the opposite effect on me than what I think they intended to have: Rather than feeling pride, I‘d often feel defeated when there was no real „food win of the day“ for me to show, or real „movement win of the day“. I often thought I had to force some positivity into those „wins of the day“, when there weren‘t necessary any wins I could think of. And speaking of forced positivity - that‘s another thing that had a counter effect on me. Words like „crushing it“ and „being part of the herd“ and „being pumped“, etc. well, they just turned me off. Sometimes it didn‘t seem like there was room for honesty in the public forums, just room for stories of success to be „liked“ by other members of the group. To me that was toxic positivity. Both workout plans and recipe books had various typos and unclear instructions that were answered to me, once I checked in about them. A few times several of the coaches were not responsive, or not following through on what they promised they would, which was disappointing. Most of the time the coaches apologized for it, but sometimes they simply just didn‘t get back to me. I originally signed up for 90 days and was surprised to hear „I was surprised that you didn‘t automatically choose to sign up for longer“ from one of the coaches - it felt a bit manipulative to me. I did not benefit much from the weekly zoom meetings. I found the gallery view distracting and watching the meeting leader read off from a document on their screen not very engaging. I guess, at the end of the day, it wasn‘t quite the match. I‘d love to look like some of the coaches, to have their mindsets and attitude on life, but I‘m not sure VSA would be the way for me to get there. „Amazing results that stick around long term“, „tons of fun along the way“, „teaching all of our clients the secrets of pro-metabolic vegan nutrition so they can eat what they want while burning fat and building lean muscle“, „help you ingrain the right eating and exercise habits so you can develop a healthy and sustainable relationship with food and training“ and „we give our clients all the tools and knowledge that they need to confidently forge ahead in your fitness without paying a trainer for the rest of your life“ - none of those things, now that I‘m about 2 months back in the wild after 7 months with VSA, feel like something I‘m taking with me, unfortunately.

I am 67 years old. Keep my age in mind as you read my review. I have been a vegetarian my entire adult life, and went complete vegan 4 years ago. However, even though my weight stayed in a 5 pound range all those years, it was at the high end of healthy for my short height; and, I struggled to gain the kind of muscle growth that I dreamed of. By chance, I heard of VSA, and thought it’d be great to work with people who understand my commitment to plant-based eating. So, I went to the VSA website and filled out the survey on the homepage. Within minutes, I received a text asking if I’d like to set up a zoom call to discuss VSA. Within days, I was set up in VSA, and having my first zoom call with my Coach, Simeon Kanev. Coach Simeon listened to my excuses; heard my boundaries (I hate to cook); and, expressed confidence that, in 90 days, I’d be well on my way to my fitness goals. He developed a 4 week meal plan to lose 5 pounds of body fat (Right, I thought; I’ve never lost more than 0.5 pound a week), and in 4 weeks, I was 5 pounds lighter. I learned how to meal prep simple recipes, that even a kitchen phobe like me was able to master. During that time, Coach Simeon also developed a weight-lifting plan for me. I had long ago stopped going to the gym out of boredom; but, I have loved returning to the gym under Coach Simeon’s plan; and, I have made great gains. My favorite success is relearning proper deadlift form with Coach Simeon’s careful reviews and critiques of my technique. I started out deadlifting a 25 pound pre-loaded barbell; now, I am deadlifting 80 pounds of free weights (you know, on one of those scary-looking 40 pound barbells). I have made significant gains in strength in all upper and lower body lifts. All of this has been done in 90 days. In summary: if you want to learn how to eat healthily; if you want to learn how to gain muscle on plant protein; if you want to be fitter and gain muscle, join VSA. I promise that you will never regret it; and, you will gain the life and body you’ve always wanted. Thank you to Coach Simeon for believing in me, and for bringing out my confidence to get out of my own way, and make my goals a reality.

My bio: All-American Defensive End at an FCS school 12-year Infantry career in the Army, combat deployments, Airborne Ranger, etc. NASM Certified Personal Trainer Ultra-marathoner Ht: 6’3” Wt: pre VSA 241 / post VSA 229 My story: By almost 40 years old my body was trashed from a career in football, the Infantry, and consistently pushing it to the limit. My joints were in constant pain and I developed a “dad-bod”. I had a hard time sleeping, working out, and in general staying healthy due to my experiences, age, job, and lifestyle (aka eating my emotions) and throw in a few rounds with COVID for giggles. VSA and Coach Andrew changed my life! I tried to eat vegan several years ago recovering from a massive shoulder surgery and stuck with it about a year then backslid as my will power waned. After a tonsillectomy at 38 years-old (yea f that!) I tried to eat vegan again and stuck with it a few months. I had enough of being stuck, especially during a time of frustrating transition from the Army to civilian-ization and needed help getting over the hump. In walked Andrew with VSA and he taught me how to eat sustainably vegan for life, which was my biggest hurdle. In 12 weeks I lost 13 pounds, added muscle and reduced my body fat 5%. Most importantly Andrew gave me the tools and knowledge to make this transition stick for life! I’ve always enjoyed the gym and working out. It’s my therapy. And I’ll still have some continued aches and pains that will stay around forever from the pounding of an Army career but eating vegan (and way less sugar) absolutely makes it manageable and reduced inflammation throughout my body. I have more energy, my days don’t fly by in a blur as I eat whatever I can when I can. I have a disciplined and sustainable eating vegan nutrition lifestyle to match the business of my life with ease. If you think going vegan is for the skinny-fat lululemons out there. You’re wrong! I have a six pack at 40 years old, with a full time career, while supporting my wife and three daughters (all are in college but one, the youngest). The energy is incredible. So, if you’re like me. A dude-bro gym rat with a crazy life, this program is for you! Make your health a priority and get the tools and knowledge to go vegan once and for all. And yes, I still get over 200g of protein a day! All my meat-lover friends call me the Vegan Cocaine Bear because of my increased health, quality muscle gains, reduced inflammation and incredible energy. Try it out. You won’t regret it. VCB Sends. Josh

Well, Coach Daniel Louwrens is an incredible guy that has so much compassion for what he does. I am a diabetic that has been newly diagnosed. I Explained my situation to him. He delivered a plan and we executed it. It has been a life changing experience working with him on getting stronger and healthier. Goals I set with the company he works with were interrupted and I changed to Daniel and he took my situation and researched the problem and I am 100% better and getting better everyday with his guidance. The guy is awesome and I would and will look forward to the gains because of his determination to improve well being for me and anyone under his direction. Thanks man! You’re the Best!

I came into VSA with an existing athletic background and a history of powerlifting, with goals to lose body fat, improve my mentality, and improve my climbing. With the help of Coach Lukasz, I've been able to achieve all my goals and have even more improvements in my climbing than I had hoped for. Coach Lukasz is both knowledgeable and kind, coming into our calls with a big smile and genuine excitement to connect. He always knew what I needed to hear when it came to improving my mentality around my fitness. He always keeps my training fun and worked closely with me in building my nutrition plans so we could build a sustainable nutrition plan together.

VSA is an incredible program! I am VERY busy, so I wasn't able to take full advantage of everything they offer but even with that being so, it was a still life changing experience! Even if you're busy like I am, you can still benefit greatly. The meal plans, the fitness plans, masterclasses, teachable courses, team calls, and the best part - the annual retreat - it's all an amazing experience. I can't speak highly enough of the fun I had, the support I got, the friends I made, and the powerlifting coaching I received from Arman. Thanks team!!

VSA is family. For anyone who values family, VSA will make you feel right at home. VSA owners, staff, and members completely support each other's journeys and are there to lift you up and make you feel like you matter. I worked with Coach Zach and then Coach Caelan, who was absolutely amazing. Each listened to my concerns, and worked with me to craft workout and nutrition plans that worked well for me on my new vegan & fitness journey. Coach Caelan was incredibly supportive and really heard me when I spoke of struggles I faced while on this journey. He helped me keep on track and to stay motivated throughout. The owners of VSA and the other coaches are also incredibly supportive, and they are ALL there to help at any time. VSA truly is a community of family. You have to try it for yourself to see what I am talking about.