For many years, Rip Esselstyn, a University of Texas All-American swimmer, was one of the world's top professional tri-athletes. He took first place in many major events, including the 2001 Police and Fire World Games, the world's largest athletic competition. He also won the Capital of Texas triathlon eight times and was the leader and top-three finisher at many televised events, including the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, where he was first out of the frigid, shark-infested waters six years in a row. Rip still competes in various events, recently winning the master national championships and setting the national record in the process. In 1997 Rip joined the Austin first department and today is a firefighter at Austin's Station 2 Firehouse. Throughout all this time, Rip has eaten a plant-based diet. In 2003 he convinced the entire team of the Engine 2 firefighters to eat a plant-strong diet along with him, and today Austin's Station 2 is known throughout the city as the plant-based station, where every meal served is a plant-healthy one. Trained as an EMT, Rip comes from a family steeped in medical knowledge. His great-grandfather, George Crile, co-founded the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, where his father, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, was chief of surgery and completed one of the most extensive studies on the relationship between the heart and diet, proving that a plant-based diet can reduce and even eliminate heart disease. The Engine 2 Diet is Rip's first book. www.theengine2diet.co