Kenny Anderson is one of the most conscious pro skaters there is. In addition to being vegan, he’s outspoken on on environmental issues, and even drives a car that’s been modified to run on corn oil. He’s now adopted mindful living to medical injuries that have resulted from skating. Anderson talks about a recent ankle tear that he was able to heal naturally after several doctors told him that he would need surgery in his new interview with Free. 

I had multiple tears in my ankle and knee, and I saw three sports doctors, and all three said I needed reconstructive surgery, or I needed to stop skating. By the third doctor, and you know these are sports doctors, they work on athletes here in LA, like The Kings and Lakers and stuff, I was like, man, I guess it’s that bad you know. But then I found a natural doctor, went to him, and right away he did an ultrasound, he checked my X-rays and MRIs. He said he understood why they would say that, but he had seen worse, and he thinks we can do it naturally. So right there I just went full gung ho, like alright let’s do this, let’s tackle it like this. So we did this procedure called PRP, which is where they take your blood out, spin it, clean it and put it back in, they don’t add anything, they just separate the plasma and the platelets. It’s a natural procedure and it basically just speeds up the healing process and gets your healthy blood cells to work to heal the injury. It’s more than just that though, it’s not like some magic potion, it’s like, well how am I dealing with stress again? Am I drinking? Am I going out and skating too soon? What am I putting in my body to eat? We heal on a cellular level, and everything we put in our mind and body, effects our cells. So I started obsessively studying, researching cellular structure, and how our bodies work. I was already eating plant-based, but when I was in my healing process, that was when I really just flipped into like – if I’m going to prioritize myself and my health at this point, it’s going to be one thousand percent.

To learn more, head over to Free to read the entire piece.

Image Via Sam Ashely