The choice to become vegetarian was purely for ethical reasons. Like most meat eaters, I was a little concerned with removing meat from my diet. Also, like most meat eaters, I was blind to the horrible ways animals are treated.

As a kid, I loved my Matchbox cars, my Big Wheels, and the race cars on TV. When I laid eyes on my first go-kart when I was just five, it gave my desire for making things with wheels go fast a focus. This combined with the fact that I've been incredibly competitive since a young age made for the proper mix of passion and aggression to become a race car driver.

There will always be haters out there, but my haters motivate me to push harder and kick more ass.

It was not until months after going vegetarian that I started really learning about all of the health benefits.

I like to encourage people to give locally. It's easy to find and call a local no-kill shelter and see what specific things they need, and believe me, all of them are always in need of something.

On the street luge side, you need to have a solid core and balance. A healthy body is a must in that sport if you want to compete for wins, and my diet has certainly enabled me to make the most of myself.

Going vegan was a little tougher for me. The final push came from watching Gary Yourofsky's lecture at Georgia Tech in person. The video is now on YouTube. I constantly show it to people interested in learning about why I choose to live the way I do.