Want to know how to make vegans roll their eyes? Just ask them where they get their protein.

One of the biggest misconceptions about a vegan or a vegetarian lifestyle is that we're lacking in the protein department, and seen as frail hippies who just eat grass. What these folks don't know is that many vegetables, legumes (beans) and seaweed have more protein than animal products.

A vegan diet, like other diets done right, can be one of the most nutrient-rich paths to becoming healthy — and even ridiculously buff.

To that end, Dallas is quickly becoming a destination city for buff vegans, people who are as outspoken with their physical presence as they are with their mouths.

"While researching places to live, I was really surprised by the growing vegan community that was thriving in Dallas," said Jasmine Marie, a Las Vegas native who moved to Dallas because of professional opportunities. Once here, she met her boyfriend, Fabrice Ortiz, by way of #VeganBodybuilding.

"I always thought of Texas as 'cow country,' but that's really not how it is anymore."

Now Lewisville locals, Marie and Ortiz are the vegan power couple that helps local gym rats reach their fitness goals and source nutrition on a plant-based diet.

Lewisville vegan couple Jasmine Marie and Fabrice Ortiz, at the first V Market in January. ((Jasmine Marie))

"I have been a nutritionist for years, and I decided to do a six-month experiment of being vegan," Marie said. "I always thought I was already such a healthy person, but it wasn't until transitioning to a vegan diet that I saw all of my allergies disappear, more energy every day, and I felt myself recovering faster from my workouts. There was no reason for me to go back after seeing that."

Unlike Marie, Ortiz was born and raised in Texas, but moved away to join the military and then play football in Miami. He always sought a challenge for his fitness endeavors. But he'd never considered going vegan until his vegetarian football coach asked him if he had ever considered a diet that wasn't based on animal byproducts.

"I dove right into the research for living out a vegan diet and how it could work with my goals," Ortiz said. "After just 30 days of cutting out meat and dairy, I was actually pretty shocked at how amazing I felt. I even tried reintroducing meat back into my diet, and it turned out that I felt horrible, so I knew being vegan made me stronger and there was no going back."

Ortiz moved back to Dallas after an injury sidelined him, and he ended up staying due to the diverse community that showed him that it had just about everything.

"Texas is like its own little country, with so much character to offer," he said. "So I knew I wouldn't be missing out on anything, even as a vegan here, since the community is just continuing to thrive."

And it doesn't stop with powerful vegan duos. MTV sensation The Naked Chef Jacques Laventure, whose JOQ Wellness Center on North Akard Street is a fitness and lifting mecca, is known for his shirtless cooking demos, but what many don't know is that the food he's making is always vegan.

"I was looking to live an abundant life and realized the sacrifice that animals were giving, so I chose to give up meat and teach people that foods are healing," Laventure said. "So being a vegan is all about living and enjoying the foods of the earth."

Throughout his career, Laventure made a point to not only practice what he preaches, but also find the things that work best for him to share with his audience.

"Fitness restored my psyche and has always kept me sane, so I felt I had a moral obligation to do that for myself and the people in the fitness industry," Laventure said.

Laventure created a business model of building wellness centers that not only specialize in physical fitness but also overall well-being. After successfully building his business in New York, L.A. and Chicago, Laventure looked to Dallas to continue the vision.

"Dallas pulled me into this vortex because I feel that Dallas is pushing change and forward growth, and that's what I was chasing," said Laventure, who calls downtown Dallas his home. "I'm so fortunate to be here now because we're doing something big in downtown. As Dallas' mantra is to be 'Big,' we feel like we should be a part of the forward movement."

Then there's Matt and Phil Letten, also known as the "Vegan Bros," who are actual brothers who embody the bro' mentality by lifting weights, throwing back some beers and being blunt with their opinions.

"I had heard how vegan-forward Dallas is," Phil said. "People assume that Dallas equals meat, but we see Dallas equals vegan."

These buff brothers travel across the nation sharing their strategic vegan outreach by living in the cities they believe have good energy — Dallas being one of them.

The Vegan Bros, Phil Letten (left) and brother Matt. ((Phil and Matt Letten))

"We started Vegan Bros to usher in the age of the new vegan, and Dallas is literally a picture of that happening," Matt said.

The V Mart holiday Shop & Social will be Thursday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Quixotic World Magical Event Space, 2824 Main St., Dallas.

Courtney Garza is a Dallas enthusiast constantly chasing opportunities to get more involved in the community. Plugged into the growing vegan scene, Courtney co-founded The Harvest Hands, a venture to create fun, educational, and delicious events that shed light on the plant-based lifestyle that she's built with her other half, Zak Shelton. Courtney promotes the startup life with her involvement in event coordination in the local entrepreneurial community and anything involving innovation as the Media Development Manager for Dallas Innovates, the new online publication recently launched by the Dallas Regional Chamber and D Magazine Partners to cover North Texas as a hub for innovation, where a version of this story originally ran.

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