Who is Mic The Vegan?
Whether you just switched to the vegan lifestyle, or have been living it for some time, you must have heard of Mic the Vegan. He’s not just your typical vegan YouTuber; he adds some in-depth research as well as some humour into his videos. Just like most vegan YouTuber’s out there, he’s supported by some while criticized by some. Keep reading to learn more about him, where he gains his inspiration and how you can benefit from his content.
Early Life and Family
Mic’s full name is Michael. Not much is known about Mic’s early life, only that he holds a BSc. in Sustainability (Environmental Science). This means that he has some background knowledge in climate change and its relationship to the type of food we eat. He had also worked as a product designer for some time before he became a full-time blogger and YouTube star. He is also pursuing a Masters in Public Health.
Personal life and relationships
Mic has a distinctive reddish/brownish beard which is different from his black hair. Some people think that it’s dyed, but that’s his natural look. It’s similar to Christian Bale’s ginger beard. Mic is also currently dating Lindy, with whom they run the Tiny It Yourself (TIY) YouTube channel where they are documenting their progress in building a “Tiny House” in the cheapest and simplest way possible. They also share other DIY projects on the channel as well as their website, which is in the same name. They have been running this channel since 2017.
Mic the Vegan’s Early Career
As mentioned earlier, Mic started as an industrial designer/product designer. He was involved in designing backpacks for modern-day kids as well as other freelance projects. He switched to a vegan lifestyle in 2012 and started his channel, Mic the Vegan, in 2016. He decided to fill the gap since most vegan YouTube stars don’t support their claims with scientific facts.
Even though people often refer to him as “Mick” the Vegan, he is always clarifying that it should be “Mic”, the short form for a microphone. He chose this name since he wants to sort of “amplify” the vegan message. Currently, he has 362,000 subscribers, and one of his most famous videos is the – How Your Body transforms on a Vegan Diet.
Mic the Vegan’s Professional Career
He refers to himself as a vegan science YouTuber since he often conducts research and explains his findings to his YouTube viewers. His videos take one to two days to prepare. For instance, he recently analyzed the diet that led to Adele’s 100lbs weight loss. The diet in question is Sirtfood which are foods that contain a lot of resveratrol which is known to stimulate or activate sirtuin proteins.
Sirtuin 1 is referred to as the “skinny gene”: and was associated with longevity and improved immune systems in certain animals. This diet’s main selling point is that it helps people lose 7 pounds in 7 seven days. Based on his research and personal opinion, Mic concluded that it’s impossible because the diet suggests foods like chicken which are high in cholesterol. Also, the first three days of the seven days program are practically starvation and after the seven days are over the participants engages in binge eating which may not be a good routine if you want to lose weight. Also, some of the foods this diet recommends include a lot of wine, pizza, and meat.
He not only researches on vegan related stuff. Another popular video he did was the one on whether weed is healthy. Based on his research, smoking marijuana heavily for an extended period increases the risk of lung cancer. He continues to debunk a lot of myths about marijuana so you can head to his channel and view the analysis and many more similar videos.
Besides posting on his channel and blog, he’s also a Plant-Based News correspondent. PBN is a journal for vegan news around the world, and he has done about five videos on the channel so far.
Mic the Vegan’s Character
It’s fair to say that Mic comes off as passionate. He has made a name for himself by basing his facts on research. He was very passionate when he was responding to ZDogg’s debunking of ‘What the Health’, a film about reversing chronic diseases. ZDogg was highly against the film since it promoted a “one diet fits all notion” which he didn’t agree with.
In response to that, Mic used actual studies to respond to ZDogg’s claims. He did the same when responding to Dr Esselstyn’s research on whether a vegan diet can reverse CVD (heart disease). He’s not aggressive; he just argues with facts and applies some humour to make his videos more engaging.
Controversies
Even though Mic conducts in-depth research before filming his videos, there are concerns that he sometimes “cherry-picks” the information. That is, he picks the information that supports his claims and ignores the rest. For instance, in the video about oil killing vegans, he viewed all types of oils in the same light while all oils are different. Some are saturated in fats. Some aren’t. He holds an extreme view against fats which may be biased.
He also didn’t offer satisfactory science-based evidence when referring to canola oil. Also, some people found his statements against GMOs to not augur well for veganism. However, besides these claims, the majority of vegans, and non-vegans, appreciate Mic’s work since, in most cases, his statements are accurate.
Mic the Vegan’s Net Worth
According to YouTube estimated earnings, Mic’s net worth ranges from $14K to $84K. He’s also a member of the Amazon Associate’s program which pays commissions on purchases made through his blog and his videos. He’s also an author to cookbooks which he sells on his blog.
My thoughts
Overall, I think Mic makes some pretty good points in his videos. It’s a good thing that he takes the time to view what scientists have said before making his point. Even though some of his statements may be a little biased, he’s still worth listening to. The Tiny it Yourself channel also gives you a chance to view him in another way. He seems to be pretty handy with building tools too.
