#areyouforreal

MADI I first learned about Griff when he liked a post of mine on Twitter. I thought how interesting he was when I checked out his profile and saw that he was a Vegan Football Player. I didn't know much about football but I was pretty sure there weren't many vegan football players. I was so impressed that he did such an intense sport all on plants. I DM him to thank him for liking my post and we messaged a bit back and forth. We messaged a little bit after that but not to much at first. My friend Rich mentioned something about a Griff a few weeks later and I said we messaged a couple times. How amazing it was that he was a plant based football player .I didn't have Snapchat like Griff and he didn't have IG. So Twitter was our connection :) After chatting with Griff for a few weeks we convinced each other to get both Apps. He helped me set up Snapchat. He was always super sweet and so funny. We played a lot a Scrabble online. He always won. It was super frustrating. After a few weeks he asked if he could take me to dinner in LA. I wasn't able to go but then a week later he asked me for lunch. I was excited at the idea of more vegan friends. I said yes. We met at Gratitude in Venice for lunch. He walked in and I knew I had known him forever in some strange way. It was an amazing feeling. He was quiet like me and he shared a Whole Bowl with me. I called my Mom and said he had the best smile and such beautiful eyelashes. Life has been a beautiful magical journey from that first time.I think we were together from that moment until forever. I never really believed in love at first sight and then I met Griff. My Love #MadiLovesGriff

GRIFF I was living with Ali (who's now one of my groomsmen) in San Francisco. I had been vegan for a couple years now but still didn't know many personally, so I used social media to connect with and learn from others, especially those who were elite athletes. One day I saw Madi mentioned on twitter, an incredible and beautiful plant-based pro triathlete. I liked the tweet, and shortly afterwords she sent me a message saying how exciting it was to see another pro plantpowered athlete. We only exchanged a few messages. The next 2 months I was in Miami for football with the Dolphins. When I returned to San Francisco Ali helped me create an Instagram account. I didn't really get it at first, but Ali taught me generally how to use it and look like I sort of know what I'm doing. Then I stumbled across Madi again, and looking at her Instagram account I was blown away. Not only was she drop dead gorgeous, but always had the most positive and inspiring messages. Her sweet personality shone through all of her posts. I turned to my IG guide Ali immediately and said "dude I think I'm in love." "No," he said, "you're not in love. You still have a lot to learn about Instagram. Everyone makes themselves look incredible." "Oh and she's Canadian" I told him (Ali is from Vancouver). "What?!?!? No way." He took my phone and examined her profile, and after a few minutes confirmed that she was actually incredible and I may very well be in love. We messaged each other for the next week or so and then Madi asked if I'm ever down in Santa Monica. I had just been there for first time a couple weeks prior to do Rich Roll's podcast, so I told her that yes, I go down there sometimes. She said that's great, and I should let her know next time I'm there. Wow. This just got real. Countinue.....

I had to fly back to Miami to start training camp in like 10 days, but had not bought my flight yet. Do I make a stop in LA to meet a girl I just met on social media? Time to consult with Ali again. He thinks this is hilarious but says yes, go meet her, she's vegan and Canadian. Now I didn't want to seem like a crazy person flying to LA just to meet Madi, because that would be a little too eager and possibly creepy. Instead I decided I would play it cool, and casually told her that it just so happens I was going to be in Santa Monica in a few days for a meeting before I head back to Miami for the season. What a wonderful coincidence! Now I also don't like to lie, about anything really. I don't handle guilt very well. So, I did actually set up a meeting with someone in Santa Monica that I hadn't gotten to connect with last time I was there, and that meeting actually turned out to be pretty worthwhile too. Win win. Finally I got to meet Madi for lunch. I had just finished training that morning, and terribly misjudged traffic coming back, so I didn't have time to go back and shower or change first. But hey, she's an athlete too, so she'll probably just be in sporty/workout clothes too right? Nope. Nope nope nope. I walked into the restaurant a few minutes late and instantly recognized her sitting inside, looking like a freaking movie star in a beautiful black dress, and I felt like the biggest idiot in the world in my gym shorts and tank top. Aside from being severely outclassed, our lunch was really amazing. She looked like she was glowing, and was the sweetest person I had ever met. It honestly felt like we had known each other for a very long time, like we were meant to find each other, and I knew then that I was in trouble. #GriffLovesMadi