Mat Lock
Jacob, welcome to the podcast. It is a pleasure to have you here. How you doing?
Jacob Hohua
Awesome, man. Thank you so much for having me. I’m really well, bro. How are you?
Mat Lock
Yeah, it’s all good. at this end. It says spring has arrived. So we’ve just had a weekend of beautiful sunny weather. It was quite warm. And I’m currently wearing shorts and a T shirt for the first time in many months. Winning winning. Given where you are, you wear shorts and T shirts around. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you?
Jacob Hohua
So I’m on the Gold Coast of Australia. Definitely a beautiful place to live. Like you said you can wear shorts and T shirt year round features just around the corner. So I’m very very blessed and fortunate to live in such a beautiful beautiful place.
Mat Lock
Let’s take issue that I know rounds back on the Gold Coast in the beautiful part of the world. So um, yeah. So you are the known as the plant based gorilla. For anyone watching this on the YouTube channel would understand why because you are a bit of a unit right? You’re about 100 kilos. Is that right at the moment? And you’re telling
Jacob Hohua
me at the moment? I’m about 113 kilos and kilos out there. Yeah, I’ve been. I’ve been doing a bit more squats and bench press and deadlift. So my body’s just putting on a few kings.
Mat Lock
Yeah, that’s awesome. Well, certainly any anyone watching on YouTube will see that you’re an absolute unit. And for sure, in the show notes, we’ll have some links of view and action. So which is awesome to watch. But um, in addition to being what can only describe is the ultimate man’s man in terms of appearance. Huge, got the beard regard the rock in the bum, man band and so on. But actually a bit of a teddy bear at heart, right?
Jacob Hohua
Definitely, man, I’ve always been very in tune with my body and my emotions. And you know, I’m not scared to show runnability and show my emotions, man, you know, I’ve got a lot of love in my life. And for me to sort of try and bottle that down or just be silly, so I’m definitely not here to shed a tear of joy or sadness or whatever. Whatever my emotions come up. I’m not scared to delve into them.
Mat Lock
That’s ultimate, we need more. We need more Jacobs in the world, but they got a lot of love in your life. Talk us through what does that look like? You’ve got your wife Bev and your very new daughter Arlo correct.
Jacob Hohua
Yep, that’s it, man. So yeah, I’ve got my partner Ben, I’ve got my beautiful daughter Arlo and my dog Diggs, who’s just as much of our family as I love, man, like I said, I’m just full of love at the moment, my life is looking pretty, pretty good. And I’m just loving it, man. It’s just the simple things. You know, that’s one thing I’ve definitely realized, since having a daughter is these, these, these simple moments are the things that really really matters. That’s incredible. That’s
Mat Lock
awesome. And how old is Arlo at the time? We’re recording this, how old is she at the moment? She’s seven weeks, seven weeks ago, so she’s definitely free.
Jacob Hohua
Man, she’s, she’s definitely having the changes, you know, consciousness and, and trying to talk and laugh and she sees us and it’s just been crazy. Because obviously, when it’s first born, it is sleeping and eating where now you can get reactions from her and it’s just so awesome. And it takes up a lot of my day, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Mat Lock
That’s mind blowing at seven weeks old already. You seeing such dramatic changes in terms of engagement.
Jacob Hohua
She’s definitely an overachiever. I think a bit like a dad tries to be so you know, literally, she was born. You know, the doctor would say, you know, she’s, it takes them a while to, you know, latch on to the breast bone straight on and on. Okay. And then, literally hours later, she’s holding her neck up looking around and the nurses are walking and going. shouldn’t be doing that just yet. So she’s definitely an overachiever. And she’s, um, yeah, she’s progressing really quick.
Mat Lock
I wonder where she gets that from? Probably from her mom. And has been doing as she take into motherhood. Yeah,
Jacob Hohua
she’s Yeah, she’s doing so Well, she’s honestly such a strong woman, I just have so much respect for her and all women in general, you know, after witnessing the birth and then seeing how strong they are afterwards, you know, their bodies go through so much changes that, I think most men wouldn’t be able to handle it all, you know, we put on a couple kilos and then and freak out. So for to see her go through that and be able to make that sacrifice of you know, you know, not going to the gym and not seeing friends and just really committing to our baby girl, it’s just been such an incredible experience. And like I said, My respect for her has always been higher. But now it’s like, Goddess level, you know about our
Mat Lock
interesting, we’re doing a series at the moment, all about the five life stages for female athletes, everyday athletes, or females in general, because they didn’t have to be athletes. And then, as a result, we’ve been really digging into the details with some subject matter experts. And well, you know, I have a genuinely have a much better appreciation for what the female bodies go through. From the beginning to the end of their lives. It’s far more complicated than as far as I got, like, 10 times 100, or more, like, easy cream,
Jacob Hohua
oh, man, I couldn’t imagine, you know, training and doing all these things, and all of a sudden, it stops. And then you have to feed to people. And then once the baby comes out, you know, you got to you got to heal your body back. And then you got to slowly get back into training, and I get hurt and have to take a week off. And I’m losing my mind. And I’m looking in the mirror and I’m gay, you know. So yeah, I couldn’t I couldn’t imagine what they have to go through. And like I said that it just shows how strong they are mentally to be able to push through that and, and come out on the other end as a stronger woman. You know, it’s it’s incredible.
Mat Lock
She’s now absolutely now. Well, speaking of looking in the mirror, you mentioned you’re currently 113 kilos. Is that your heaviest?
Jacob Hohua
so far? No. So my heaviest was when I was doing strongman. So I had a little strong menston. And I committed everything I had a strong man and I got up to about 130 kilos was what I was nearly hitting. So that was, I was a big boy then and lifting some crazy heavy weight. And that would be definitely the heaviest I’ve ever been. Sure.
Mat Lock
I saw. Some I said you’re stalking on social media and the like. And I found out I think it’s on YouTube. There was a piece with you lifting one of the Atlas stones, which looked bigger than humanly possible, let me tell you, I mean, what was your heaviest Atlas stone look just as a guide, you can get a feel for the kind of weights we’re talking about.
Jacob Hohua
So literally just a rock of concrete was the heaviest I’ve ever lifted was 170 kilos up to I think it was about a two meter platform. So you’re literally picking it up from the ground, and then putting it up and putting it on a platform and pushing it over onto the platform. So that was my heavier stone. But I think my most impressive Atlas stone was 140 kilos from the ground up onto my shoulder, and then I would hold it there for however long and then drop it down. So that that for me was probably my, you know, I look back and I just go, you know, I look at 140. Now as a deadlift, and I’m thinking, I pick that up and use us to put it on my shoulder. So 170 is the heaviest. But that 142 my shoulder was, for me the most effective.
Mat Lock
My one RM deadlift is 155 as a ball of concrete on your shoulder almost that week.
Jacob Hohua
Yeah, it was. It’s funny when you’re in the moment, you know, I remember doing that. And I’ll just post it up and honestly wouldn’t think I didn’t think anything of it. Like I was like, Oh, that’s pretty cool. And now that I’m out of that world completely, it’s like I look back and almost watch my videos as a spectator. And I’m just like, how did I do that? Like almost like the
Mat Lock
other one I saw with relative ease just the way I’ve described it.
Jacob Hohua
Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be lifting those now though. Let’s just say that. So how long ago was there? Man, I’m so bad with timelines. And I came to realize that when I am listening back to a podcast I was on and I was playing on different timelines. But it was definitely a long time ago, years ago. So it was at least I think, three or four years ago, so I was also on the back end of bodybuilding. I’ve done a bunch of bodybuilding shows and was doing reasonably well and bodybuilding and I just needed to change and it was funny because I had actually given CrossFit a little a little and I loved it you know but I’m just I think back then and probably the specific gym I was in the community wasn’t quite what I was looking for. So I decided to look something else and I ended up falling into strongman when I made a mind to do come come to the strongman session and I remember I was freaking out like cuz you know, it’s something new and I was so nervous. I just thought you know, and that I would just go just go and give it a go. So when he gave it a go and yeah, and I absolutely loved it the first session it was something that I feel like my body type was sort of just built to do and I just loved that man you know, lifting stones and getting dirty and you know, haven’t coming from a rugby background going into bodybuilding which is quite I guess pretty Sport. You know, I was I was missing that that grittiness. So I went in and we got grazes, olevia from the, from the stones and you just, you just lifting heavy weight and eating bunches of food and it was cool, man. But yeah, it just, it just got to a point where I had to step away from it.
Mat Lock
I mean, put your stage swimmers on recently since you left that world.
Jacob Hohua
I haven’t. I’m not gonna lie, I think, man, I wouldn’t look like that anymore. But, you know, it’s, it’s funny because I think at heart, you know, I grew up watching Arnold, because, you know, my dad would put it on TV and all the bodybuilding. So at heart, you know, as much as I am in the functional world at the moment and and look at bodybuilding was a different sort of mindset, I still always look at it and think, you know, I think one day it would be cool to have another crack, because I did quite a young age. So I didn’t really have that muscle maturity. So I’m like, it’d be cool to just just see what I could do now. But yeah, I’m not sure if that will happen anytime soon, the thought of being on that strict of a diet just makes me cringe. You’re sure? Well, it
Mat Lock
certainly seems like you’re an all or nothing kind of guy, and which which does segues nicely onto your diet, because you’re called the plant based gorilla for a reason. And that’s because, guys, obviously, so you follow a plant based diet, correct?
Jacob Hohua
That’s right. Yep. So we’ll be following a plant based diet for about three and a half years. So it’s definitely been a good run, you know, so it’s good to sort of show people that it wasn’t just a short term thing. And yeah, man, it’s definitely helped me kick goals, it’s definitely helped me achieve things in sport that I sort of didn’t think was possible. So it’s, it’s been a good transition into this lifestyle.
Mat Lock
So it’s a very unconventional pivot there, right to go from strongman. And I’m assuming previously, to be that size. And to have that sign of strength, you must have been eating a lot. And I’m guessing there’s a lot of animal products in the animal protein and for meat, I’m assuming.
Jacob Hohua
Definitely. So that was the turning point for me, you know, when I was in bodybuilding, so, basically, I went from rugby, to bodybuilding to strong men to CrossFit side, this basically traveled and in all of it. And when I was in bodybuilding, you know, I was only having, you know, a little bit of fish and chicken, and, you know, still lots of veggies and stuff. So it wasn’t, it wasn’t, yeah, it didn’t, it didn’t seem too crazy. But then once I went to strongman and I sort of started following, you know, the typical strongman diet, which was, you know, kilos of red meat, not much veggies, you just try and get calories, and it just became too much. And it literally started taking a toll on my body. So like I said, I was getting up to 130 kilos, I’ve seen the doctor regularly. And she was sort of giving me a little hint saying, you know, your cholesterol is climbing, your blood pressure is climbing, you know, you’re putting on weight, dramatically fast. So yeah, that’s when I sort of thought I’m going to make the transition into a plant based diet. And Originally, it was only meant to be for a cleanse. You know, I was like, I’m just gonna do a vegan plant based cleanse, I’m on any last two weeks. And that was when I was slowly transitioning, transitioning into like a CrossFit style training as well. So yeah, man, it just all sort of fell into place. And it’s the results. I guess we’re just, we’re just phenomenal. And that’s why I’ve stuck out for so long.
Mat Lock
It’s the best motivation in the world, isn’t it when you feel better, and you see your performance improve? Like, what more do you need in terms of proof, I guess, but I’m definitely what sort of what are the most obvious changes for you?
Jacob Hohua
For me, the first obvious change is weight loss. So in a good way, so obviously, I came from strong men, which was, you know, I was watery, I was puffy, I was inflamed. I was just not a very good poster boy for health. If he asked me, so that was the first thing I noticed was dropping a waterway, a lot of the inflammation and the joint pain was going and literally just feeling incredible. So for the first, I would say, a month, I just felt like, well, like it was just I’ve always said it like this, and people think it’s a bit corny, but I said it was like fireworks are going off from our body, I would, I would eat something and obviously when I went cold turkey, so I just cut out all animal products and went fully plant based. And I would eat something and I felt like my body was just thanking me and it was just exploding in my body and given me this energy and these surges of energy. I stopped napping during the day I sort of I just had this newfound outlook on life and energy in life. So that’s why I sort of went more into the functional CrossFit style of training because I wouldn’t have got all this energy in my body feeling good and my joints are feeling good. You know, I want to I want to use it so naturally progressed into more of a CrossFit style training.
Mat Lock
Yeah, absolutely. I am, as we talked about off the off camera. I mean, I can relate. I’ve been plant based for seven or eight years now. And I was smiling when you were talking because I I can relate to so many elements of that. And for me, it was the recovery. I just recovered faster, I could have a massive what I did, I was doing lots of ultra distance triathlon training, I’d had, you know, big training days, and I would just bounce back the next day better than I had ever done before. I haven’t had the fireworks in before we’re just kind of right, you kind of feel like I felt like I was popping. I don’t feel like man, like I hadn’t known before. And I didn’t do it cold turkey again, you’re all in right? You were done. I, I can’t get out meet. So I went vegetarian for about three, four months, I educated myself more and more. Throughout that and decided to I watched forks, Forks Over Knives, the documentary was the turning point for me, I watched that and found it very compelling. And for me, actually, the biggest difference was ditching dairy, knowing what I know now that I couldn’t possibly go kind of plant based, I could try it, I go Alright, and for me, I’d say start with dairy, kick the dairy, and then get that you’ll naturally stop eating meat once you feel the difference. Yeah, but definitely recovery was the thing. So I mean, and it’s obvious, right? I mean, the low lower and less inflammation. I mean, my anything I’ve read and listened to that I believe, talks about, you know, all of us have some sort of inflammatory response to dairy. At some level, we might not be aware of it, but it’s there. And therefore, reducing dairy means that the natural inflammation we get through heavy training is not being compounded by having that increased existing inflammation from what we’re eating. So, yeah, please, that was your experience. And of course, that’s the best motivation in the world to keep going.
Jacob Hohua
That’s right, man. And it’s, like you said, it’s, it’s, I’m a big advocate at the moment for making those small changes, you know, I haven’t been perfect in the three and a half years, you know, I’m not going to jump on here. And a lot of people like, I’ve had two pops of question that have, you know, I’ve had moments where I’ve not known if it’s the right thing to do, but I’ve always came back to my core values and realize that it is, you know, I’m on this path for a reason, and I do feel really good. But I don’t like to lie to people, you know, I’ve definitely had slip ups of, of, like I said, I’ve questioned that, but that’s why I’ve now and the people around me, you know, when I very first did, it went plant based and you know, I was I was pretty, pretty full on with it and coming across to people with their view of sort of being like, this is what you have to do. And if you don’t do it, you’re a bad person to just for me wasn’t working. So for me personally, my message now is making those small changes and showing them the benefits that they can have, instead of showing, telling them negatives that they’re doing, if that makes sense, that sort of being like, Look, this is what I do make these small changes, and then you might feel better and your your athletic performance and everyday life keep progressing?
Mat Lock
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I’m with you. I always like to frame it in a I’m not preachy, I don’t get it, I’m often not the one that will bring it up. Interesting. Even now, seven or eight years later, we you know, we go out with a group of mates and family or whoever we sit down, and it becomes a topic of conversation. But I haven’t said a word. And I know I’m gonna find something on the menu that I’m good with no problem at all. But this is immediate, what are you going to eat? What are you going to have, and then who you’re going to steak, and the usual banter, let’s say, seven or eight years later, in fact, some friends have only ever known me be plant based. And still it becomes a topic of conversation, but not in a bad way. But I always said the same way. Whereby identity is restrictive, because a lot of plant based or what can you eat without hanging them. And there’s lots of restrictive at all. And I like to try and make it accessible to people, if they’re interested, by design, look at them, think about what you can’t have. If you start adding extra or new foods in by default, you’re going to displace some of the other foods. That way, it’s not restricted in that way. You just naturally displace food and it’s not about perfection. It’s about progress. And even the terminology and even the terminology. You know, slip ups, I’ve had some slip ups. Like it is what it is like Yep, yeah. But what do you want in your myth? Anyone can but I understand the there’s a stigma attached to it. You’re either part basically or not. And if you are somehow making a statement, and you’re going to be attached if you slip off
Jacob Hohua
couldn’t agree more manage that for me for the first part of my journey? You know, I was scared to tell people because I’m going you know, what, if you know what if I decide not to do it, or what if something happened or you know, because your lives forever changing? You know, like, you just never know Silas was scared to even tell people and then it wasn’t until I sort of had that confidence to be like, now look, I’m still human. Like we’ve said, we’re parenting I liked this quote unquote column slip, slip up. But, you know, this predominantly is the lifestyle that I’ve lived in, you know, when I’m talking slip ups. I’m not I’m not talking, you know, all the time, but there’s been there’s moments in my life. So yeah, definitely man. And that’s, you know, being surrounded by mostly, you know, people who aren’t plant based, I feel like that the way that you and I are getting it across is going to sort of help them to give this lifestyle a try, you know, instead of walking, like we said, before we got on here, I’m really liking the thought of trying people the good side of things and showing them what what they can do and how it’s going to help them instead of being like, you. This is the bad side, and this is what you’re doing wrong. Because I’m like that if someone came to me before I did this and said, You’re this, you’re that I’d be like, I’m not gonna do it out of spite, I think. You know, for me, it’s like, it’s been like, you know, people will be like, How can you do this? And that athletic wise, and I’ll be like, Well, I think my diet has contributed and helped me to that. And then I go, Well, I might give that a go.
Mat Lock
Yeah, absolutely. I think you’re, you’re, you’re a pioneer, you’re leading by example. And that’s awesome. And I think about the documentary that is more recent, I guess, than the Forks Over Knives, you know, game changes. I think they handled it really nicely, because they showed the told the story through performance through real life examples. And again, for me, it’s about breaking down the stigma around the word vegan. I, I often use the word vegan to be understood. I’m technically Yeah, of course, because I, I wear leather products. I honey, for example, I saw I’m not actually vegan. But I’m not repelled by the name, I just find this more stigma attached to it. But often, if I say plant based, I think that can be confusing for some people, they don’t really understand what it means. And so I tend to say the V word. I think it’s got, yeah, it’s becoming more mainstream there. You know, we’ve got the millennials, and the next wave coming through, we’re much more open to it. And it’s normalized it very much. So I think it’s, we’re still a couple of generations away from it being the norm. And that’s okay. That means that people like you are pioneers leading the way. And that’s awesome. We’re looking for a European T, right? That’s what you do for a living? Yep. Yes. Your clients have the advantage of seeing you seeing your performance, seeing how you live your life, and the advice that you give them. And that’s awesome. That’s all we can do is have an impact. We all live in our own little bubble. And we can only really try and have a positive impact within that bubble. And many people this weekend for those who are ready to receive the 10 for the rest, that’s okay. Well,
Jacob Hohua
maybe, man, I think that, you know, being a personal trainer, it made me realize, and really humbled me to the the notion that it is hard for people to make that change, whether it be for culture, or the you know, they’ve been eating animal products their whole life. And it’s just hard for them to make that change. Because I’ll have clients come to me and say, literally, I want to look like you and do what you do. I go, Okay, well, this is what I do. And then they go, Oh, I can’t I can’t do that. Or I don’t want to do that, though. And I say, well, that’s what I do. If you want if you want to have similar results to me, then is I’m not saying one diet fits all, but I’m just saying this is this is what I do, you know, and they kind of get this really weird look on their face. And I was like, I can’t follow a plant based diet like you crazy. So it just, it’s letting me know that it is hard for people to make that change. And some people aren’t going to take longer than others. And once I accepted that it made my life a lot easier. Because you know, when I first started and you know, obviously you get all the knowledge come your way about what the animal industry actually is doing. And you obviously get flooded with information. And then you just want to tell people when you want them to know the truth. With that can be very overwhelming for some people. So everyone’s different parts of their life, you can tell someone and they just absorb it all and go Alright, well, like that’s, that’s all I needed to know, we can tell somebody one, they just got too much. And they either either fully shut off to it, and then whenever they hear it, they just, you don’t want to hear it at all. So that’s where I’ve learned to just sort of try and let people know slowly and again, let them know that I’ve had slip ups and it’d be gonna make mistakes. And so Ryan, it’s just trying to brag about getting back on the wagon, and you know, and getting back into your core values and what you believe.
Mat Lock
Yeah, it’s a bit like any diet really, I mean, doesn’t matter. By diet. I mean, you know, in terms of what you eat on a consistent basis. If someone’s trying to vegetarian, they slip and have a bacon and egg roll one day. Well, that doesn’t mean it’s all over. All right, start again. next meal. Will anchors, head of programming for the better games. He’s a owner of a chemical wonderful. He’s a coach for the program by wonder fit. He’s a super cool guy, very knowledgeable, very experience, and I really liked his take on it, which was, he said, basically, his comment was he said, Everyone knows how to eat properly. He said, Look, I just say he says to his clients, so just try not to eat too bad meals next to each other. Like if you have something a bit crappy for lunch, make sure you have a good dinner. He said basically, just don’t be an asshole with your diet. or some kind of perfect.
Jacob Hohua
So true. So true, I’d say exactly what you said, you know, it’s funny, if someone slips up on a normal diet, you No worries. But if you come out and say on plant based or vegan, and you go, Okay, I want to be open with you guys. I’ve heard about the football, you’re fake, you’re a liar. You’re this, you’re there. And it’s like, it’s actually the opposite. I’m trying to be honest. And I truly believe that, you know, we’ve all made mistakes in life, whether it be on diet or something else, and in another aspect of life. So if you’re not willing to own those mistakes, and be open with your audience, you know, it’s going to be sort of a rough journey for you along the way, but yeah, man, I love I love that saying that. Your mate said that awesome.
Mat Lock
Absolutely. Jacob, I’m conscious of time. And I’m also conscious, we haven’t touched what you actually eat. So I think we’re gonna have to do that in a separate, separate podcast episode. But for now, if people want to reach out and get in touch with you, as I imagined they would like to how would they do that?
Jacob Hohua
So honestly, at the moment, the best platform is my Instagram. So it’s literally just my name, Jacob port, which is spelled h h ua, shoot me a DM and I’ll try to get back to people as much as possible. Or you can jump on my Facebook. Like I said, I’ve got a few little YouTube videos that you can check out everything’s it’s really just my name. I’m lucky that I’ve got a weird last name so people, people can’t take it. So yeah, you you search up my name on most of those platforms, you’ll probably find me. But yeah, Instagram would be the best place if you want to actually connect and have a bit of a chat.
Mat Lock
Yeah, sure. No, thank you for that. And I’ll put all of those details in the show notes for this podcast, of course. Jacob, thank you so much for your time. It’s a pleasure and I can’t wait to dive into what a what a day of eating actually looks like for you. Even though you probably get bored of telling the story. I look forward to our audience being exposed to that because it’s going to be phenomenal.
Jacob Hohua
Yeah, now I love it, man. I can’t wait to tell them. Thank you so much for having me.
