A Tennessee bodybuilding competition ended with a groundbreaking win earlier this month when Brooke Sellers, a vegan athlete and coach, was crowned Overall Bikini Champion at the 2025 NPC Knox Classic.
Sellers, who has followed a vegan lifestyle since 2018, also took home first place in Open Class D and Novice Class B at the event.
The victories mark her biggest competitive success to date and challenge one of bodybuilding’s most common beliefs: that muscle growth depends on animal protein.
A Shift in the Sport
The NPC’s Bikini category emphasizes balance, shape, and a conditioned core rather than extreme muscle definition. For many competitors, diet plays a central role in achieving the right look.
Sellers’ win, built entirely on a plant-based diet, pushes back against the long-standing notion that athletes need meat and dairy to perform at the highest level.
“When I first started training, people told me I’d never succeed without eating animal products,” Sellers has said in past interviews. “Proving them wrong has been more than a personal achievement — it’s a way to show others what’s possible.”
Beyond the Stage
Sellers is more than just a competitor. Through her coaching brand, Miss Meatless Muscle, she has guided more than 600 clients in fitness and nutrition. She also co-hosts the podcast Vegans Who Lift and authored a high-protein cookbook designed to support strength athletes on a plant-based diet.
Her rise comes as studies increasingly support the idea that vegan diets can sustain — and even enhance — athletic performance. One recent study found no significant difference in muscle fiber growth between vegans and omnivores, a finding that undercuts decades of assumptions in the fitness industry.
Activism Through Athletics
For Sellers, bodybuilding is not just about medals. She has described her presence on stage as a form of activism, a way to show that ethics and performance can go hand-in-hand.
Her Tennessee win adds to a growing list of plant-based athletes making headlines across different sports. From endurance running to professional football, more competitors are proving that strength and stamina are not tied to animal products.
As for Sellers, her message is clear: the path to the podium can be paved with plants.