Mixed Martial Arts Champ Fights for Vegetarian Lifestyle in New peta2 Ad

Jake Shields Asks Fans to Do Themselves a Favor and Kick the Meat Habit

For Immediate Release:
April 14, 2010

Contact:
Michael Lyubinsky  757-622-7382 

Nashville, Tenn. -- When Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields squares off with Dan Henderson in a CBS-televised mixed martial arts bout at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on April 17, he'll have a special force of his own in his corner: veggie power. That's why the lifelong vegetarian came out swinging to shoot a new ad for peta2--the world's largest youth animal rights organization. In the ad, Shields stares into the camera with his clenched fists raised, and the caption reads, "I'm living proof that you can run further, train harder, and pack a meaner punch without eating animals. I'm Jake Shields, and I'm a vegetarian."

In an exclusive interview, Shields talks about how more and more athletes are getting to the top of their game by going vegetarian. "[W]ay more athletes are becoming vegetarians now," says Shields, who runs the Jake Shields' Gracie Fighter Academy in Berkeley, Calif. And to the few folks who have questioned him about how his diet choices mix with his hardcore training routines, Shields says, "All right, well--you want to go train with me?"

Although there has been a lot of speculation about whether Shields will sign with Strikeforce again or join the Ultimate Fighting Championship circuit after the Nashville fight, one thing is certain: There's no way that he'll be switching his diet to Big Macs anytime soon. "Just the way [animals who are used for food are] raised and treated is absolutely disgusting," says Shields. He goes on to say that giant corporations, such as McDonald's, have a responsibility to lead the way on animal welfare reforms.

The notoriously cruel fur industry also gets Shields' blood boiling. "My last fight, I fought Jason 'Mayhem' Miller," he says. "He came into the press conference with his fur coat ... [s]o it was nice to go out there and kick his ass."

Shields joins a growing list of athletes and other celebrities--including former Ultimate Fighting champ Mac Danzig, the members of Rise Against, NHL star Georges Laraque, Steve-O, Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, and Tito--who have all stepped in front of the camera to help peta2 stick up for animals.

For more information or to see Shields' ad and exclusive interview, please visit peta2.com.