Our Presenters
Torre Washington is a NASM certified coach, speaker and IFBB Pro competitor. Raised vegetarian and vegan since 1998, Torre built his physique entirely on a Plant based regimen without the aid of supplements since 2009 to 2018. Torre’s training style focuses on physical symmetry and aesthetics. “He disassembles your physique and reassembles it back the way you want it to be” and has therefore become one of the most sought after coaches of celebrities and high end clientele and bodybuilders globally. Torre also advocates for “lifestyle changes” to his global fan base and brings to light the plight of animals and the need to heal mother earth through living a more Plant-Based vegan lifestyle.
Chuck Carroll
Chuck Carroll lost an incredible 280 pounds to become “The Weight Loss Champion.” At one time, his 5-foot-5 frame once struggled to support the 420 pounds it was carrying around every day. With a 66-inch waist and 6XL shirt, Chuck’s daily diet was a 10,000-calorie fast food feast. Every bite was carrying him closer to an early grave and he knew that if he did not make drastic changes to break a severe food addiction he would be dead before his 30th birthday.
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Today he speaks passionately about breaking the fatal food cycle and helping others as host of The Exam Room podcast for PCRM. The show has been viewed an incredible 80 million times on YouTube and Facebook and received more than 12 million downloads on Apple Podcast and Spotify where it has become the #1 ranked nutrition podcast in 79 countries.
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Chuck was given the nickname of “The Weight Loss Champion” by former NFL player Adam Carriker after word of his transformation spread throughout the Washington Commanders locker room. Chuck has kept the weight off for more than 13 years and attributes his sustained success to eating a healthy plant-based diet.
Outside of his work on The Exam Room podcast, Chuck is co-founder of the SoSimple Diet where he uses his extreme experiences to help others overcome their own addiction to food. The program features the SoSimple Scale, which he helped develop with Dr. Mickey Witte, a neuroscientist and University of Miami professor. Using more than 20 individual criteria, the scale is able for the first time to rate the likelihood that the most popular fast foods, restaurant meals, snacks and drinks are addictive.
Chuck believes knowledge is power and having the power to make healthier decisions, including eating a plant-based diet, is critical for living a long and rewarding life without the burden of chronic disease.
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Dr. James F. Loomis Jr.
James F. Loomis Jr., MD, MBA, received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas, where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and graduated with honors. He subsequently completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. In addition, Dr. Loomis received an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis. He is board certified in internal medicine, has completed the certification program in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University, and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine.
Dr. Loomis has served as team internist for the St. Louis Rams football team and the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, as well as tour physician for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Before coming to the Barnard Medical Center, he practiced internal medicine at St. Luke’s Hospital in St. Louis, where he was also the director of prevention and wellness. He was also on the clinical faculty of the department of internal medicine at Washington University School of Medicine.
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When not practicing medicine, Dr. Loomis enjoys reading history books, cooking, and teaching plant-based cooking classes. He also enjoys running, biking, and swimming, and has completed numerous half marathons, marathons, and triathlons.
Caryn Dugan - STLVegGirl
Caryn Dugan, aka STLVegGirl, is a plant-based nutrition and culinary lifestyle educator. She is a Food For Life program certified instructor providing cooking instruction, personal cheffing and more. Caryn has executed several Plant-based Nutrition events in the St. Louis area. She has teamed up with Forks Over Knives to create an FOK Community Program which you can learn about at her Center for Plant-Based Living.
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Together with Dr. Loomis, the Doc and Chef team will focus on a plant-based topic. Jim, the Doc, will explain the science in easy-to-understand language, and Caryn, the Chef, will show you how to take that science and easily apply it to your plate.
At a young age of 13, John found himself at 315 pounds, but through hard work and dedication, he lost weight and excelled in football and basketball. He continued his streak of athletic excellence throughout his high school and college years with a full-ride scholarship to Harris-Stowe State College. Graduating with a Bachelors's degree in marketing, he later went on to pursue his MBA from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
John’s education in business coupled with his love for health and fitness gave him the ability to start his venture – BAD ASS VEGAN – a health and nutrition company that strives to educate individuals on plant-based nutrition. John’s love for his community brought forth the brainchild of “VeganSmart”, a plant-based protein shake company with a foundation whose mission is to prevent obesity through education, physical activity, and plant-based nutrition.
As a well-renowned fitness expert, John Lewis has spent over 2 decades in the health and fitness industry and played Division I college basketball. John is highly passionate about not only his own health and fitness but that of others as well… This is evident through his motivational messages either through his international public speaking engagements or simply through his social media outlets.
Today, John has taken his passion for health and is now directing his first feature-length documentary focused on food and social justice. John has teamed up with the maker of the award-winning “What The Health” to create their joint venture “THEY’RE TRYING TO KILL US”.
Debby spent her formative years gnawing on fruits and veggies grown in her family's Arizona garden. Her dad, whose hobbies could fill a blog, created the first ever CD library of Plants of Arizona back before the World Wide Web was a thing. He traipsed all over that state taking photos and documenting all of Arizona’s beautiful botany. Her dad gifted Debby with an appreciation for following dreams, nature, the outdoors and for the beauty of plant life.
Practicing and teaching tantra yoga, Debby found many overlaps between her plant-lover self and yoga student/teacher self. The word tantra means to weave or expand. The word yoga has to do with connection. Debby's intention as a teacher of this ancient practice is to hold space for others to cultivate their own conscious relationship with their Selves, and then to extend that connection to the diverse web to which we all belong on this planet.
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We are not separate from nature. Plants are perhaps some of the greatest teachers of our interconnectedness, our yoga or union with all. Your every inhale and exhale is an exchange between you and plants. A sacred dance of reciprocity. You breathe in the air that plants purify for you.
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Let's practice breathing and being for 60 minutes. We will flow with our Mother Earth in a yoga practice that includes grounding onto our planet, breathwork as big as the sky, tuning in to our biology, and feeling the planet's current flow through us and our practice.
Sarah Judd teaches touch-free sessions, allowing students to explore the poses and discover what feels best for their bodies. Her sessions encourage mindfulness, and body and breath awareness, which are beneficial for overall wellbeing on the yoga mat and daily life. Sarah is bringing Puppy yoga to St. Louis VegFest!
Puppy yoga adds adoptable puppies to a regular yoga session. It benefits the puppies by helping to support their animal rescue, helping them learn social skills, and giving them a play and cuddle session. Participants enjoy a yoga session that's double the antistress, happiness-inducing goodness!
$15, Includes mat rental. This will be a morning session. Watch for the exact schedule closer to the event!
sarahsyogastudio.net/puppy-yoga
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