YIV's Holly Skodis interviews Dotsie Bausch about her road to becoming vegan and self discovery along the way.

After concluding a prolific professional cycling career that produced a medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games, eight US national championships, two Pan American gold medals and a world record, Dotsie Bausch has become a powerful influencer for plant-based eating for athletes and non-athletes alike. Named by VegNews in 2019 as one of the top 20 most influential vegans in the world, she utilizes her degree in plant-based nutrition to inform her impassioned messages as an advocate on behalf of humans, planet earth and animals.

Never one to shy away from facing staggering odds – just like she did in the Olympics while riding for Team USA, whose unlikely and triumphant story is chronicled in the Netflix documentary “Personal Gold” – her latest initiative is founding the non-profit Switch4Good. Switch4Good launched in early 2018 with a television commercial featuring six Olympians from four different countries and proves that cow’s milk is not part of a high-performance diet. The ground-breaking commercial aired on NBC during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games closing ceremonies and on ABC during the Academy Awards broadcast. View the commercial at: https://Switch4Good.org. Bausch is also one of the stars of the film The Game Changers (http://gamechangersmovie.com), which chronicles the story of the world’s most dangerous myth. Directed by Academy Award winner Louie Psihoyos and executive produced by Oscar winner James Cameron, The Game Changers released to worldwide audiences in October of 2019 and in just one week, became the #1 downloaded film of all time on iTunes.

Long before embodying radiant health and becoming an influential game changer, Bausch struggled for years with severe eating disorders and a recreational drug habit, that combined, led to a suicide attempt. It was during her recovery that she discovered her gift and love for the bike.

Bausch speaks passionately around the world, spreading her message about the numerous benefits – humane, nutritional and environmental – of plant-based eating. Her popular TEDx Talk, “Olympic Level Compassion,” has garnered over 275,000 views and has been a catalyst of change for thousands of people.

In this episode Holly & Dotsie discuss:
Karma yoga
The Switch4Good
Navigating veganism on her road to the Olympics
The Game Changers Movie
Effective activism

Connect with Dotsie:
Website: Switch4Good.org
Instagram: @Switch4Good
Instagram: @VeganOlympian