Boy oh boy, do I have a story for you!

It all began one year ago. I was getting ready to speak at Veg Expo in Vancouver when Nina: a cute Asian chick rocking bright fuchsia lipstick and an LA Dodgers hat approached me. She introduced herself and we chatted for a bit before she revealed that she had actually flown all the way from LA just to hear my vegan fitness talk.

Needless to say, I was pretty floored (not to mention super flattered) to hear that a complete stranger was inspired enough by little, ol’ me to fork out serious airfare bucks just to hear ME talk about being a vegan bikini competitor.

When the expo was over, despite being hangry and exhausted, I asked Nina if she wanted me to give her a quick tour of Vancouver. She immediately said yes and joined me for a stroll along the nearby sea wall.

Nina told me that she had tried going vegan a few times in the past but always ended up going back to her meat eating ways mostly because she just didn’t know how to build muscle without consuming animals.

We didn’t have much time to chat but I really tried my best to inspire and educate her before handing her a complimentary tub of hemp protein and sending her off back to California.

It wasn’t until last December before I heard from Nina again. She emailed me saying that she was finally ready to take the vegan plunge. And this time, it was for good reason. 🙂

Apparently Bodybuilding.com—THE biggest fitness site EVER—was kicking off its annual $200,000 Transformation Challenge on January 1st, 2015 and Nina wanted to give it a shot.

The 12-week challenge was designed to motivate and incentivize participants to achieve their health and fitness goals with a staggering 435,000 people from all over the world entering!

Winners of the contest were announced on May 11th: two grand prize winners (one male and one female) who would receive $80,000 each and a people’s choice champion who’d take home $40,000.

I worked with Nina for those 12 weeks creating customized nutrition and training plans that worked with her lifestyle and schedule. This girl WORKED HER ASS OFF (literally!) and managed to decrease her body fat by 14% (a total weight loss of 21 lbs.) AND add two full pounds of lean muscle mass!

Yes, Nina got seriously JACKED ON THE BEANSTALK!

And here’s the best part of all…

Out of the 435,000 contestants, Nina: the doubtful, lifelong carnivore who didn’t think it possible to gain muscle on a vegan diet proved just how possible it was when she won the $80,000 grand prize.

Yes that’s right! And yes, I am STILL in shock, having just got back from LA to surprise her with the big bag of CASH.

Check the video of the big surprise: https://youtu.be/wv3nus8Jo_E

And damn right I wore my “vegan-inspired” gym clothes during filming. Team PlantBuilt REPRESENT! 🙂

And yes, I’d say that’s a pretty big win for veganism too… And my training services! 😉

PS: be sure to read my post which details EXACTLY how we made this transformation possible, complete with diet and workout info. Read it here 🙂

– Samantha Shorkey, Jacked on the Beanstalk