FYI: Agnes Muljadi is a Los Angeles based vegan ballerina, actress, photographer and celebrity blogger. Known as @artsyagnes with over 500,000 Instagram fans, Agnes has been the face of numerous brands including Amazon, NFL, Starbucks, Macy’s, True Religion, Reebok, Banana Republic, Lionsgate Studio, Google Photos, and many others.
Additionally, Agnes’ interest in advocating for a plant-based and socially responsible lifestyle has become the essence of her platform.
In addition to her social media work, Agnes is a classically trained dancer at Julia Bourlina Classical Ballet in Studio City, California. She has also written, starred in and co-produced two independent films.
My Vegan Story
In the beginning, I became vegan primarily due to health reasons. I was trying to heal my problem with breast fibroadenomas (non-cancerous lumps) naturally, and my naturopath recommended that I adopt a plant-based lifestyle. It worked. My fibroadenomas began to shrink about three months after I become vegan.
Around that same time, I started meeting so many inspiring people in the vegan community. I educated myself on veganism as a lifestyle more than a mere diet.
It’s important to me that I stress the vegan aspect of my life to my followers. Veganism brings about positive changes in all areas of your life and I am just excited to share that with my followers.
I tell everyone that the vegan life-style has greatly benefited me as an athlete. I’ve always said that I felt like I was given a new body after I became vegan. My stamina, endurance and energy levels have really improved. I also happily lost some weight after I transitioned to veganism.
Veganism is definitely more of a life-style than a mere diet for me. I make sure that everything that I surround myself with, including the clothes that I wear, the products (beauty and otherwise) that I buy, down to the interior of my car, are all made of vegan materials. Additionally, I also only shop brands that follow fair trade and sustainable practices. I think both the animals and the environment are equally important. I promote the principle of non-harm—for our planet, animals and people.
Favorite recipes
I don’t usually cook because my schedule is extremely hectic. But when I do, I have two recipes that I make daily. One is my “Magic Smoothie” which consists of fresh organic kale, blueberries, strawberries, unsweetened almond milk, spirulina, chia seeds and nutritional yeast. It’s really simple—I just put all of those ingredients in a blender. It’s very easy and helps boost and maintain my energy level throughout the day.
The other one is what I typically have for breakfast after my smoothie, which is organic unsweetened coconut milk yogurt, fresh organic blueberries and raspberries, gluten-free turmeric granola and a teaspoon of MCT (medium chain triglyceride) coconut oil.
I sort of experimented with these recipes when I started becoming vegan. Since I am a professional dancer it’s very important that I continue to keep up and maintain my energy levels throughout the day. I did a lot of research online to learn what vegan foods provide the levels of nutrients that I have always required. I came up with these two combinations of ingredients.
Diversity of the vegan movement
I have definitely noticed the wonderful diversity in the vegan movement here in Los Angeles. What an awesome time to be alive, as more awareness about the foods that we eat is becoming more prominent. I recently was at the Eat Drink Vegan event and I was pleasantly surprised to see the diversity in terms of both the food and the people who attended. I think diversity in veganism is important just like in anything else. The vegan movements needs to be inclusive in order to progress and thrive.
Being a minority in the dance world
Surprisingly, my journey as a minority in the dance world has been very smooth so far. I have never felt that I was left out, or did not get roles that I deserve because of my race. I have always felt that I have a place in the dance world. I am fortunate to be given many opportunities. The same goes for being an athlete and a vegan. I have always felt that people are generally very welcoming and have always included me in important conversations.
Why dance?
My mom was a dancer, so I grew up watching ballet performances as a young child. I always wanted to be on stage, so I enrolled in a ballet school pretty early on. I guess I just fell in love with the artform and have stuck with it.
Most precious accomplishments
I believe my greatest accomplishment in dance is to en-courage young dancers to try a plant-based lifestyle. My biggest accomplishment in life is building my @artsyagnes brand (with the support of my amazing team of course) and how we continue to do our work to bring veganism in the forefront of the brand. My team receives and responds to many inquiries daily about how to start a plant-based lifestyle. We put together recommendations for meals, ethical fashion retailers, and other resources that we continually share with my followers.
Follow me!
Website: www.artsyagnes.com
Instagram: @artsyagnes and @artsy.chameleon
Facebook: artsyagnes
Twitter: @artsyagnes