High School Senior Nabs peta2 Title With Tireless Activism for Animals
For Immediate Release:
August 4, 2015
Contact:
Catie Cryar 202-483-7382
Athens, Ga. – What do you get when you cross a plant-fueled athlete with a high school student who motivates his classmates and family to make animal-friendly choices? You get Astheris “Tyler” Miller—the 18-year-old Homer resident who has just landed the title of Coolest Vegan Alive from peta2, PETA’s youth division. The high school senior beat out entrants from across the country to become one of peta2’s two top titleholders.
In the classroom, Tyler is a force to be reckoned with. He has set up debates about factory farming, spaying and neutering, and more—and he even persuaded half of his anatomy classmates to join him in choosing not to dissect animals. At home, he’s a successful competitive wrestler and practitioner of Brazilian jujitsu, with a goal of becoming a top martial artist as a vegan—which is only natural, given that vegan ultrarunner Scott Jurek first inspired him to go vegetarian when he was only 10 years old. His Facebook page is full of vegan recipes, tips for steering clear of abusive circuses, and other ways to help animals. And he loves sharing delicious vegan meals with his friends and family, who rave about his favorite Golden Fishless Filets from Gardein.
“At school, at wrestling practice, at home, and even on social media, Tyler sets the perfect example of how cool it is to be vegan and help animals,” says PETA Director of Youth Outreach and Campaigns Marta Holmberg. “peta2 hears from more and more young people every year who want to make the world a better place for animals—and Tyler is one of the teens leading that charge.”
This year’s other titleholder, 16-year-old Phoebe Collver-Freeland, lives in Fremont, California. She and Tyler will each receive a personalized feature on peta2.com, a prize pack containing cruelty-free goodies, and a Coolest Vegan Alive trophy from peta2—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat.”
For more information and for a link to the full contest details, please visit peta2.com/CoolestVegan.
