We had the pleasure of meeting with the Venetia Falconer, vegan, vlogger and all-round vivacious babe. You may have seen our interview with her on Instagram live or seen her rocking our activewear from our recent photoshoot but we wanted to sit down and have a proper catch up! (Plus, Venetia has picked her favourite pieces from our online store that you can see here!)

With a background in TV presenting and production, you’ve been in front of and behind the camera, how has this experience helped you get into vlogging?
I started my TV career at MTV where I worked my way up in a really small, but amazingly talented team. They taught me how to shoot, edit, write scripts and interviews. I was very much thrown in at the deep end, but that was the best way for me to learn. The producing came before the presenting and that really helped me understand the bigger picture – one team, one dream! Vlogging is a whole different ball game, as the only person who signs off your  work, is you! But there’s no doubt, my TV experience has helped hugely.

What do you love most about your job?
The variety it gives me. I found adjusting to being self-employed difficult at first, but now I love the process of building my own little brand. Each day is different and I get the opportunity to work with so many talented people – whether that’s in TV, food, fashion or fitness like with Hip And Healthy!

Your journey into being a vegan was inspired mainly by your love of animals – how have you and your health been affected by your transition to veganism?
Well firstly, I am now obsessed with cows. I just stand and stare at them and try to stroke them. It’s creepy. In terms of health, I now have an abundance of energy and rarely get that cloudy-head feeling. Also, I don’t really seem to get colds anymore which is pretty great!

What are your favourite healthy eating spots in London?
I’ve done extensive acai bowl research in the capital and I’m convinced that CPress takes the top spot, with their green acai bowl. Picky Wops win in the pizza category. I implore you to try their Vegan Victory with extra mushrooms on the spirulina base – you won’t be disappointed. And finally, Farmacy for their truffle tagliatelle and ice cream sundae – food of the Gods.

Socialising in summertime means non-stop barbecues – how do you handle these meat minefields?
Haha! Well as may be clear by now, I’m very openly vegan! So if it’s a soiree with friends, they’re super supportive and always have the hummus ready to go. If it’s with people I don’t know, I’ll eat something before I arrive and go to town on the corn on the cob.

How have your kitchen cupboard essentials changed from being a meat eater to being vegan?
This is a great question. To me, food is all about texture and seasoning. So I use tofu, tempeh and mushrooms for texture and love seasoning them with smoky flavours like cumin, tamari and smoked paprika. I have a great BLT recipe where I used coconut flakes instead of bacon! I use liquid smoke for that BBQ taste, so that’s definitely a new addition to the cupboard. Other than that, I always have a load of plant milk stashed away, lots of high quality greens powder and a b12 complex to keep me in check.

Your favourite way to break a sweat is yoga – how did you get into it and what type of class do you look for (power/yin/jivamukti) and why?
I actually have my good friend Maddy Shaw to thank for my yoga obsession. She took me to my first ever class – Julie Montagu’s infamous Sunday night Hot Vinyasa Flow at Triyoga and I was instantly hooked. I’ve since learnt to appreciate a much slower practice. Matt Penman is incredible for alignment and any Jivamukti class at Sangye in Kensal Rise is a truly soulful experience!

As an anxiety sufferer, do you practice any daily rituals which help you to keep calm and how did you keep cool when interviewing none other than the handsome Ryan Reynolds?
I try to meditate every morning for 20 minutes. And when I find myself in that Instagram vortex, I’ll put my phone on airplane mode and schedule in a 24 hour digital detox.

Ohhhhh Ryan, what a babe. Taking some long, deep breaths always helps before a big interview! In for 6 out for 10 😉

If you could go anywhere on holiday where would you go and what did you do?
I have a real yearning to explore more of Greece. I love hiking, so lots of coastal walks, swimming in their stupidly blue sea and eating all of the watermelon, baba ganoush and stuffed vine leaves. *refreshes skyscanner*

You can see more from Venetia on her website, youtube channel and Instagram.