Dedicating Your Life To The Animals with Vegan Activist & Restaurateur Joel Capolongo

This week Joel Capologo, co-owner of Strong Hearts Café and Strong Hearts 716, chats with Ryan about his life in the vegan sphere. Strong Hearts is an all vegan café with two locations in Syracuse, NY and Buffalo, NY. Starting in 2008 by Joel and his friend Nicholas Ryan, Strong Hearts has been made waves in the culinary world showcasing the comfort food (and milkshake) possibilities that exist without the need for animal products. In this conversation, Joels talks about growing up in Central Square, NY and finding his work ethic and grit as well as starting his vegan journey in 1993. Finding inspiration from the Syracuse hardcore punk scene and bands like Earth Crisis, Joel dedicated himself to animal activism while still in high school. He shares stories of disrupting animal production supply chains and even battling Japanese whaling ships that were illegally hunting. He talks about the origin story of Strong Hearts and sheds light behind the scenes of a New York culinary beacon for vegans and omnivores alike. Details of other Strong Hearts related initiatives come to the forefront including the culture of Strong Hearts tattoos and the success of the Strong Hearts Vegan Power running team.  

For more information on Joel and Nicholas’s work with Strong Hearts, you can find them online at https://stronghearts315.com/ (Syracuse) and https://www.stronghearts716.com/ (Buffalo), as well as on Instagram (@strongheartscafe @stronghearts716) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/StrongHearts315/ https://www.facebook.com/stronghearts716).

For more information on the Meditations with Ryan Zlomek podcast, you can find The World of Ryan Zlomek on Facebook, @ryanzlomek on Instagram and TikTok, or email meditations@ryanzlomek.com.