Hometown: London
Current Residence: London
Sport(s): Savate – French Kickboxing
Pro/Elite since: August 2003
Date of Birth: 22 Sep 1979
Website: www.londonsavate.co.uk www.jamessouthwood.com

Favorite fruit: orange
Favorite veggie: kale
Hobbies/Other sports: boating, boxing, philosophy

1. When and why did you choose to stop eating animal products?

I have been vegetarian all my life, steadily becoming stricter and declaring myself fully vegan at age 16. Removing the consequence of animal suffering from my food choices was the initial motivation, although, in time, the choice made sense for a host of other reasons. By 2003, seeking to purify my diet to match my strict exercise regime, I started taking only raw foods. I have been 100% raw since July 2004, with every bite since then being of fresh, raw vegetable matter.

2. What has been your experience as a vegan athlete? Have you noticed any performance or health benefits or problems?

Being raw lends a positive psychological edge to my training. Knowing that I carry the will to make only the best choices for my body is a great way to derive the confidence to be capable of anything else I wish to undertake.

Being raw is a light, clean and pure way to live. Exercising and competing in this physical state is the only way I would choose to do it.

3. Have teammates and other athletes been supportive or critical?

I have a close-knit group of fighters and teammates with whom I train and compete and they are supportive of me whatever the circumstance. Although it is always a jocular distraction to mock the eating habits of the minority, those who have fought with me know enough about my endurance and strength to make no serious point on the matter. Standing 6’1”, looking fit and confident, I get very few negative comments about the effect of my diet on my health.

4. A brief history of your athletic career.

At age 19 I was tall, young and lacking a sport.

On a whim, I went along to a kickboxing club. It transpired that the people there practiced a French style of kickboxing, using their shoes and moving with a grace and style I badly wanted to copy. I stayed, and in the months that followed I set about becoming good at it, training alone and testing my skills out in the sparring classes.

By the time four years had gone by, I had shown enough aptitude and desire to apply for my first teaching certificate. Wasting no time, I started instructing my own group. The club I founded in London is now one of the largest and most successful British clubs, and the only French kickboxing establishment in the capital.

I enjoy teaching: it inspires me and keeps my training fresh. I also like to compete. Since 2005, I have been part of the squad of British fighters who represent the country in international competitions. That year, I won the play-offs to gain a place in the European Championships. This provoked changes in my training. Now I was competing with the best and I used the preparation, and the two losses I incurred at the event, to take my confidence, my training methods and my fitness to the top level.

One year later, I was fighting in the World Championships. This time I lost only to the eventual Champion, and won the other bout in my group. In the same year, which I spent away from work in order to train and teach, my new and greatly improved regime won me a major triumph at the British Championships. There was only one fighter who fought through all four League tournaments without dropping a point, and that person was me. I was British Champion, a title I will defend in 2007.

I currently fight, I teach at my club and train other competitors, and love every minute of it.

5. Most memorable results or achievements.

• World Savate Assaut Championships 2006, winning my first international bout
• British Champion 2006, unbeaten the whole year
• Receiving Moniteur (full teaching) award from celebrated fighter Gilles Le Diiugou
• My students winning a World Silver medal and British titles

6. Why did you join OA's PRO-Activist team?

It is all very well to theorise about diet and fitness, but the only proof that the public should listen to comes from the athletes and professionals who achieve something with their methods. The Pro-Activists are a living, breathing education for the world on the merits, and practicality, of a healthy vegan diet.