Since concluding a prolific professional cycling career that produced a medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games, eight U.S. national championships, two Pan American gold medals and a world record, Dotsie Bausch has become a powerful influencer for plant-based eating for athletes and non-athletes alike. Named one of the top 20 most influential vegans in the world by VegNews magazine, she uses her soapbox, and her degree in plant-based nutrition, to advocate for dietary justice, planet earth and animals.
Never one to shy away from facing staggering odds – just like she did in the Olympics while riding for Team USA, whose unlikely and triumphant story is chronicled in the Netflix documentary Personal Gold – she founded the non-profit Switch4Good. Switch4Good, an evidence-based nonprofit disrupting the disinformation Big Dairy feeds the public, works with health experts, athletes, social justice warriors, enlightened policymakers, and progressive corporations to promote ethical lifestyles and widespread behavioral change related to how we eat. Switch4Good launched in 2018 with a television commercial featuring six Olympians from four different countries who prove that cow’s milk is not part of a high-performance diet. The groundbreaking commercial aired on NBC during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games closing ceremonies and on ABC during the Academy Awards broadcast; since its inception, its campaigns have reached 363 million people. Bausch is also one of the stars of the documentary The Game Changers directed by Oscar-winner Louie Psihoyos and executive produced by Oscar-winner James Cameron.
Bausch speaks passionately around the world, spreading her message about the numerous benefits – humane, nutritional and environmental – of plant-based eating. Long before embodying radiant health and becoming an influential game changer, Bausch struggled for years with severe eating disorders and a recreational drug habit, a combination that triggered a suicide attempt. It was during her recovery that she discovered her gift and love for the bike.