Alexis OHANIAN

The steak-eating entrepreneur who switched to a plant-based diet

‘People are more aware of what they’re putting into their bodies and their reactions to it’

BEFORE HIS DAUGHTER OLYMPIA WAS BORN, ALEXIS OHANIAN , co-founder of Reddit and venture capital rm Initialized Capital, took a hard look at his health and began investing guratively and literally in the plant-based movement while taking notes from his wife, Serena Williams (a.k.a the greatest tennis player ever).

GQ: What about the birth of your daughter motivated you to reexamine your diet?

My first come-to-jesus moment was when we found out that Serena was pregnant. That’s when it hit me. I don’t want to be an unhealthy, lethargic dad when Olympia wants to practise soccer in the garden. I spent all of my 20s focused single-mindedly on my work – I made sacrifices to myself physically and mentally in the pursuit of that. Previously, there were weeks when I’d order a mountain of steaks online and put some spinach leaves on the side as my “side salad”. I’d eat that frequently.

GQ: How did your diet change?

Things changed when I watched an early cut of e Game Changers to see if I wanted to get involved [as an executive producer]. In the film, a group of guys who look like me – big dudes – made a great scientific and athletic case for eating plants. Around the same time, I tried the Impossible Burger, and I was like, ‘Damn! This is good!’ It wasn’t long after that I invested in it. Now I’ve gone the whole-hog, so to speak, on the plant-based revolution.