Who is Atanas Skatov?
Dr. Skatov was born in 1978 in Bulgaria. His passion for agriculture led him to study agricultural science & plant protection (horticulture and phytomedicine) and holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in the same fields.
He is an all-round individual with many talents being an agronomist, entomologist, ecologist, author, speaker, teacher, athlete, vegan, and an alpinist.
Being a Vegan and an Alpinist
Skatov became a vegetarian in 2007 and since January 2012 he is vegan.
For the past 7 years, Skatov is conducting an experiment with himself and his goal is to see whether a diet without animal products would have any adverse effects on his physical and mental capabilities when tested under extreme conditions.
This experimentation led him to become an alpinist since high altitude mountaineering requires greater physical and mental capacity, strength and can be tested to the limits.
In other words, he is a great role model for veganism to show the kind of heights the physical and mental performances can be taken to with a vegan diet and how well humans can function without consuming meat, dairy or other foods of animal origin even under extreme conditions.
Skatov is the first Bulgarian and the first vegan in the world to climb the Seven Summits in each of the seven continents, and climb Everest via both South and North Ridge routes.
He climbed the Seven Summits over 8000 meters in three years, and for the past 6 years, he has completed 16 expeditions all over the globe.
What is remarkable is the fact that all these attempts have been achieved without ever being an athlete, a mountaineer or never taking part in sports competitions before.
Currently, he is working on his second project which is to accelerate the summit of 14 eight-thousanders in the world in less than 6 years as a ‘vegan’.
So far he has summited 6 of them: Manaslu, Annapurna, Makalu, Lhotse (solo expedition), Everest (via North and South route).
On 13th May 2018, he came back from Cho Oyu peak (8201m) in Tibet which he climbed solo without any supply of oxygen becoming the first vegan in the world to triumph such an endeavor.
Atanas Skatov is also a motivational speaker and he has done numerous seminars and lectures on pursuing & fulfilling one’s dreams. He says that “having a cause and a mission is very important. In that way, the whole life is meaningful, balanced, and spiritual, filled with joy and positivity. It is important to know clearly why you want to achieve something and its impact on humanity and our planet”.
He adds that “being a vegan as a mountaineer can be extremely hard especially on expeditions when everyone around is eating meat. However, my mission and vision motivate thousands of people around the world to cease or at least to reduce the consumption of animal products. Every day I receive a lot of letters from people who have been influenced by my example and have become vegetarians, vegans, and do more physical activities often and have noticed a positive change”.
Finally, the ultimate goal is to show that anything is achievable if you believe in it and make the required effort. According to Skatov, “being a vegan does not only benefit human health but can also greatly reduce substantial environmental pollution caused by factory farms and feed the growing population. Other than using a high proportion of land as pasture for cattle the majority of the agricultural land is used to cultivate feed for farm animals. If there is no consumption of meat and animal products, then the same limited land can be used to feed the millions of malnourished people in the world and the growing population”.
Last Thoughts
Up to now he was able to complete the projects with his own savings, and the support from private sponsors. Further funds come from the sales of his 3 books dedicated for his ‘expeditions and veganism’. Currently, he is writing his 4th book as well about the Gasherbrum expedition which will be released in September. He is also planning to translate his books in English and make them available to a wider audience.
The second project requires more funds as the costs for summit permits, airway tickets, and the overall expedition are much higher.
Therefore Atanas Skatov the vegan alpinist is kindly asking for your support to finish his ambitious and unprecedented project and he would be glad if you become part of his mission to show how far a vegan diet can reach and inspire others to go vegan!
If he successfully completes his 2nd project, Atanas Skatov will be the first vegan to accomplish such a feat!
While thanking Atanas Skatov from the bottom of our hearts for taking veganism to the highest peaks of the planet, let’s sincerely wish him that his future undertakings be a great success, have a lasting inspiration and move others to reconsider their diet and go vegan!
To know more about his existing projects, please visit his website: http://www.atanasskatov.com/ and his Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/14×8000. You can also watch his first movie called “The Skatov Experiment” here.
For more information, you may contact Elitsa Milusheva on elitsa.milusheva.1@gmail.com
