The Real-Life Diet of Patrick Vellner, the Second-Fittest Person on Earth

Patrick Vellner is tantalizingly close to being anointed with a truly one-of-a-kind title. The 28-year-old CrossFitter and Reebok athlete from Red Deer, Alberta, is currently listed as the second-fittest person on earth, per CrossFit’s standards.


That’s on the heels of two straight years finishing in third place (he’s been on the competitive CrossFit scene since 2015).

And yet, despite his 12-pack abs and ability to deadlift 595 pounds, Vellner actually kind of looks like a normal, down-to-earth dude you’d sit next to at a bar on a Saturday night. (I witnessed his normal-guy-who-crushes-beers routine up close.)


Outside of competitive fitness, he’s a full-time chiropractic student. He has a girlfriend. And he abides by an immensely boring diet—it's mostly just chicken and rice. That is, apart from the Sour Patch Kids, which he buys in bulk and eats by the handful.

With the 2019 CrossFit Games looming in late July, I asked Vellner to break down the ins and outs of how he trains and what his plan is to get to that number one spot.


https://www.gq.com/story/real-life-diet-patrick-vellner

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