Famous Vegans - Hunter Burgan

Hunter Burgan, 2006.

Hunter Burgan

Born Hunter Lawrence Burgan on May 14, 1976. He's an American multi-instrumentalist. He can play drums, bass, guitar, saxophone, clarinet and piano. He has played in several bands and became the third and current bass guitarist of the band AFI in 1997. AFI stands for A Fire Inside and is an American alternative rock band. You can check out some of AFI's music at this link. In 2008 he also recorded a solo album called Hunter Revenge. He has a blog named tranquil mammoth.

Quotes by Hunter Burgan:

"People love to tell me that Hunter is an ironic name for a vegan. You think I didn't realize this already? I've been vegan since 2000 and vegetarian since 1992. I've had plenty of time to think about all the Easter egg hunts I've missed out on."

"From the moment that I realized that you can be vegetarian, I immediately decided that that's what I wanted to do. It just made the most sense to me. It was the most conscientious choice that I could make."

"I didn't even know what vegan meant until 1994, at which point I was already vegetarian. So naturally, I was very curious about it. I had two friends who were vegan, and they weren't very preachy—which prevented me from learning from them, because they weren't going to explain anything. The one thing that they did provide, though, was a sense that this is a lifestyle you can choose that isn't going to be detrimental to your health. Later, as I was exposed to more bands and whatnot, I continued to learn and read more about it."

"My transition from being vegetarian into being vegan was very smooth. It took about eight years. In the summer of 2000, I realized, 'Hey, wait a second. I can do this; why aren't I doing this?' Let me just say that being in a band with Davey and also touring with bands like Good Riddance showed me, 'You can do this; you aren't going to get sick and die'."

"I think that back in 1992, especially where I grew up, it was certainly not easy to be vegan. Now, I think it is so simple. The world has definitely become more vegan-friendly, and now it would just be silly not to be vegan."

In 2009 he became ambassador for a vegan shoe by the company Macbeth. Asked why it was important to him to design an all-vegan shoe, even down to the glue used, he answered:

"If they are going to use glue, it's going to have to be vegan glue. You know, animals don't wear shoes with human glue—it's just disrespectful."

"The easiest thing to give up for me was anything dairy, because I became lactose intolerant. The hardest thing was milkshakes, because I love milkshakes so much. Even after I became lactose intolerant, I would still force myself to drink milkshakes."

Quotes are from his 2008 interview with PETA2, his 2009 question/answer video, his tranquil mammoth blog.