Kendrick Farris, one of the world’s strongest vegans, has started his own vlog series on YouTube to provide a glimpse into his life inside and outside of the gym.
Farris is promising that the show, appropriately called Set the Bar, will expose “a lot of different layers” of his life and show “how (he) got started in the sport, where (his) beginnings are, and where (he’s) headed to now.”
In the Instagram preview below, we see weightlifting, tire flipping, and rope climbing balanced with his keen interest in alternative medicine like acupuncture and chiropractic therapy.
You can check out the entire first episode, which was just release to YouTube, here:
The first thing Farris does is explain the origin (and recipe) behind his Pancakes for PRs t-shirts: they’re vegan, and made from taro.
“It’s found on the west coast of Africa, China, also in Hawaii,” he explains. “It’s a plant that’s actually underground, similar to a potato. Ground it down with some wheat flour, it still tastes phenomenal. So don’t be caught off guard if you see something where the ingredients may be a little different — it’s still the same thing.”
Farris went vegan pretty late in his career in 2014, after training as an omnivore for over a decade. In an interview last year, he said that he felt compelled to stop eating animal products after his son was born.
“For me it was a time of reflection—on the things I want to teach him, and the example I want to set for him,” he said. “It was like a light bulb went off.”
During the Olympic trials in 2016, he broke the American record in the 94kg class by totaling 377kg — a 168kg (370lb) snatch and 209kg (460.8lb) clean & jerk. He finished 11th at the Rio Olympics with a 160kg (352.7lb) snatch and 197kg (434.4lb) clean & jerk.
The rest of Set the Bar shows a lengthy chat with USA Weightlifting’s Dr. Kyle Pierce, who Farris calls “the Forrest Gump of weightlifting” because of all the historical figures he has crossed paths with in the sport, and we see Farris training a few accessory movements like the bird dog and kettlebell upright rows.
The next vlog will show him giving seminars in New York City. Our opinion? We’re hoping he’ll provide some more actionable training tips in future episodes.
Featured image via Kendrick J. Farris on YouTube.
