"I don't think that I'm so important that an animal has to die every time I want to eat."—Taj Mihelich

If the Earth were a BMX bike, it wouldn't revolve around the sun it would revolve around Taj Mihelich's Terrible One headquarters in Austin, Texas. PETA recently hooked up with the pro BMXer to talk sports, karma, and vegan shoes.

GRRR!: The BMX shoes that you've designed for Etnies are all nonleather? Why is that?
Taj: I've always thought it holds up better. It's a bit lighter. It cleans up a lot easier. But ultimately, I'm a vegetarian, so I didn't want there to be animal products in my shoes if I could help it.

GRRR!: How long have you been vegetarian?
Taj: I was kind of raised that way. My mom has been vegetarian for most of her life. I never really realized it—it's just what we ate. I think around 19 is when I decided that I was going to go vegetarian myself—my first year in college.

GRRR!: What made your mom go veg?
Taj: Her belief was always sort of spiritual. If you're ingesting an animal that's killed in fear and pain, some of that's going to rub off on you. It makes sense. You know, your typical overweight, red-meat-eating American tends to be kind of stressed out. I've got a picture of a businessman who's all stressed out. I don't know how spiritual a person I am, but I could see where maybe some of that could be coming from the animal.

GRRR!: Why do you think so many people into sports like BMX and skateboarding are vegetarian?
Taj: If you're doing your own individual sport, it's coming from you. There's no rules, there's no one telling you how to do it. It takes someone who's interested in discovering things for themselves. There's not going to be a coach who can tell you what you should be doing. Maybe that transfers into the rest of their life, even into their diet. They decided they're going to explore and learn more about it and do things on their own terms. I honestly think if people take time to educate themselves about nutrition and health, a lot of them would be vegetarian.

GRRR!: What's your favorite food?
Taj: Probably my favorite, honestly, is eating popcorn while watching a movie.

Visit PETAKids.com for more of our exclusive video interview with Taj.



Sk8tr Grrl
Skater goddess Jen O'Brien went vegetarian when she invited her boyfriend, Bob Burnquist, over to her parents' house for a barbecue. Bob's a vegetarian and Jen's mom made steaks. Jen was so embarrassed, she went veg on the spot and has never looked back. For the 411 on Jen and other vegetarian skateboarders, like Laban Pheidias and Ed Templeton, check out PETAKids.com. While you're there, sign up for a free vegetarian starter kit.