Fuel IRONBOUND Documentary: Vegan athletes breaking barriers

IRONBOUND is a documentary spotlighting elite vegan athletes breaking barriers in powerlifting, strongman, bodybuilding, CrossFit, and Olympic lifting. These athletes are often overlooked, yet they’re accomplishing feats once thought impossible, all without consuming animal products.

There’s a persistent stereotype that plant-based diets can’t adequately support muscle growth or elite strength. IRONBOUND exists to challenge that through real, tangible evidence: world-class vegan athletes proving it is possible to compete and WIN!

This film isn’t about selling a diet. It’s about:

Letting performance speak for itself. Showing that peak strength and physique development can be achieved with plants alone.

Exploring the ethical and environmental motivations that led these athletes to go and stay vegan and hearing from experts about the beneficial impacts of eating a plant-based diet, especially regarding animal and environmental welfare.

Demonstrating that power, muscularity, and resilience can align with compassion.

Giving visibility to a new generation of diverse, plant-based athletes.

Filming is currently underway across the U.S. and internationally, including:

U.S.: Oregon, California, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Idaho, Colorado, Florida, and more.

International: Ireland, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, the UK—with hopefully more to come if we can raise the funds!

️ I'm filming and editing this project entirely solo and paying for everything out of pocket so far. Traveling to meet these athletes and experts adds up quickly. Funds raised will go directly toward:

Flights and transportation

Lodging and essential travel costs

Equipment upkeep (memory cards, hard drives, batteries, cloud storage)

Key post-production elements (while I’m editing and handling motion graphics, I hope to outsource professional color grading, sound mixing, and music/licensing)

Festival submissions and outreach to help the film reach a wider audience

Even a few dollars helps bring this vision to life. Your support tells a story that hasn’t been told. One that challenges outdated norms, inspires change, and proves that you can be strong without compromise.

If you believe in this message, in ethical strength, compassionate living, and in vegan athletes doing extraordinary things, I'd deeply appreciate any donation or share. The more support we raise, the more athletes I can feature in this film.

And if funds are tight, simply sharing this fundraiser or any IRONBOUND promotional content is incredibly helpful. If you know of high-level vegan athletes or vegan doctors/scientists in environmental, ethical or health-based fields who might be interested in being featured, I’d love to connect, as well!

Thank you so much for helping bring IRONBOUND to life.

@Tofustrong on Instagram for filming updates.

Much love,

– Ryan