Angelina Berva
strong vegan strongman/strongwoman world #1
Angelina is an incredible strength athlete who has made a massive impact of the sport of strongman in her native France as well as competing overseas. She is four- times France’s Strongest Woman and has taken the world title at both Static Monsters and Extinct Games.
- Four times France’s Strongest Woman
- World champion, Extinct Games and Static Monsters
- National records
- World class powerlifter
She competes in the ~82 kg category and displays a brutal level of raw strength. Static Monsters had 21 competitors from around the world in Angelina’s category, competing in an overhead axle lift and deadlift. She won both events by a large margin to take the overall top spot. Her axle deadlift of 232.5 kg gave her the national record.
In 2024 she also became the first French woman to complete the car roll. That’s literally lifting a car from the side and rolling it over.
Angelina has also competed in the Ultimate Strongman World Championships and placed third.
She’s a member of PlantBuilt and has competed with them at Mr America, taking home a trophy each time.
Also excelling in powerlifting, Angelina has been European Champion and twice runner-up. She’s competed at the World Championships and taken Silver three times. Her personal bests include a squat of 150 kg, bench of 92.5 kg and a deadlift of 200.5kg.
The deadlift is a crucial part of strongman, and she says car deadlift is her favourite event and one where she’s unlikely to be beaten.
Vegan powered
“I built my physique and my performance while being vegan. Many think that the two are incompatible – not at all. You can very well be vegan and reach a high level.”
Angelina has been vegan for all of these events. In 2024, aged 30, she was counting 13 years since the decision made when she was aged 17.
“I eat fully vegan” Angelina says. “At the beginning I sometimes ate vegetarian outside but now I can find vegan almost everywhere.”
“I have always loved animals and have always had pets. I have always been concerned about animal welfare. And I no longer found it normal to say that I loved animals even though I ate them. I watched a lot of l214 videos on breeding and slaughter conditions and I told myself that I couldn’t support that and that we therefore had to boycott this system.”
L214 is a French organisation raising the issue of animal abuse in agriculture.
Now Angelina eats tofu, seitan, tempeh and legumes to ensure she gets her protein and builds strength.
If fuels her determined and successful training which has taken her so far. She focusses on strength and whole body lifts. It clearly works!
All this has been achieved without steroids or other performance enhancing drugs – and Angelina is self-coached.
She has so many titles, but the French powerhouse is still looking forwards.
“I want to continue to evolve and make a name for myself internationally” she says. She has no doubt that a vegan diet can support this.
“I became vegan quite young. So I built my physique and my performance while being vegan. Many think that the two are incompatible – not at all. You can very well be vegan and reach a high level.”
We interviewed Angelina in French; this article uses English translations of her answers and quotes.