Zanna Van Dijk

[Ilikethisname]

How long before she posts something like this?
Guys can everyone stop giving me hate. I know I'm privileged and shouldn't be complaining, but travelling is my job. Steph and I have been planning this trip for almost 2 years. We work so hard and deserve a break. I had to cancel my trip to the Galapagos, and our trip last year was cut short because I had emergency bowel surgery and almost died.steph and I just wanted to celebrate life, being vegan, and influence as many of you as possible with our free hotel stays.
Us going to South Africa is a time to let off some steam and show you guys the world. Please show your support by buying some Stay Wild Swim merch. We will arrange a meet up in SA, it will be £10 a head, double if you are pregnant. I also haven't been on a plane for over a week! Give a girl a break

 

[expatfancy]

Ooops, i may have sent a review on the Fit and Fearless podcast....

 

[DigitalA]

Please do!

Sure I'll be blocked by tomorrow....worth it!

 

[Kema]

What are your thoughts on Zanna? She started off as a fitness vlogger, still is but also is into green living, vegan, etc.
she preaches about plastic usage, eating a plants based diet, saving the planet, slow fashion and has her own swimwear made out of resused plastic. All stuff I can get on board with however she is also a brand ambassador for adidas ( lucrative kerching)
She has just returned from Maldives to shoot for her swim line however she is blocking everyone who challenges her why she couldn’t do it in a Uk beach. Anyone questioning her usage of flights gets blocked.
She had flown to Maldives twice in last three months, Also this year gone to Switzerland, Greece, Hong Kong, Thailand, Belgium, Dubai, California, New York, Australia etc
So fed up with these influencers preaching to us what we cannot do whilst they jet off everywhere being paid to promote resorts and trips. Oh but because she eats a plant based diet she offsets her carbon footprint looks like madam just likes praise on her page and is more than happy to take money from ads ( not even sure she declares them all)

 

[x_o_x_o]

I cracked Cannot believe the hypocrisy here

 

[idoneitatem]

Bit of a lurker, but I got here through googling "Is Zanna a hypocrit.

Anyway, feeling the need to post my thoughts on Zanna.......

She just makes me laugh more than anything. Ultimately becuase she's an attention seeking narcissistic hypocrite.

FYI, bit of background on me - I've used the same gym she did for a while and would witness some of her workouts.

What interested me most though was how she initially transitioned from becoming a PT to the Chelsea lot, to this self styled advocate for plant based eating and sustainability and yet, travels the world at every opportunity, and still tells us all how much damage we're all doing and in turn posts random workouts that don't really achieve much. And yet, somehow she is still getting paid.

I believe ultimately, she is just blessed with a gab. An inane ability to just talk and talk and talk and talk, endlessly!. That's it.

She's not an advocate for strength, health and fitness, nor is she a vegan in the true sense of the word. So what is she exactly then? All she is I think, is a wannabee looking to get paid for travel guides and playing some irrelevant sustainability card to make herself more bankable to equally toxic brands that also are only interested in one thing; making as miuch cash as she can...

All these influencers just crack me up. Chessie King is probably the daftest of them all but lets no go there, here..

Zannas workouts..... when she does post them, are random and basic. She never talks about mobility, stretching and functionality, something a good PT would do. Nor has she never has been able to lift any weights really, I've witnessed her doing seated barbell hip thrusts with what was about 40-50kg in weight including the bar which is lame given the amount of time she had to train; I've seen girls the same weight as her lift, easily, twice that weight. The same goes for all her high rep leg workouts. She doesn't have a butt, nor any muscle on her legs and yet posts videos about "toning" yet there's really no such thing. If you're going to workout, either do so to build a bit of muscle or strength. Definition or toning all comes with it depending on rep ranges, and zanna doesn't seem to have a clue about what these are.

I'd argue she would look the same, if she didn't work out.

One thing that made me laugh a while back, was she posted a vlog on her Canada Goose jacket that she was given but loved wearing. She was getting pulled up on it, because of the companies ethics and the use of fox fur, and her response was to remove the label so it couldn't be identified and yet still wear it. I mean, .

Ultimately, for someone in her position (Global brand advocate for Adidas along with with working for many other large companies) and she is preaching about sustainability, and how we should use less plastics, become vegans, lower your carbon footprint and yet, she she has travelled to more countries this year than most people will in their lifetimes, and is set to do so well into 2020 and beyond. It's hypocrisy in every sense.

Lewis Hamilton was slated the other week by other F1 drivers for coming out and saying how much we should all be doing to save the planet, and yet he travels the planet weekly, not to mention partakes in a career that is known for it's significantly large carbon footprint. So he was rightly pulled up by others on not being the greatest advocate for sustainability, and Zanna I'm afraid as much as she likes to think she is, simply isn't.

I would like for her to be interviewed live on this at some stage, and someone pulls her up as well as others have done here on her global carbon footprint to date. I suspect, for once in her life, she might actually be speechless.

Ultimately, if she cared about the planet, wanted to be a proper vegan, she would not be travelling, she wouldn't be working with unsustainable brands, nor would she be supporting brands such as Addidas or Apple who are known for their employment of workers in slave labour conditions, and where goods are manufactured in the developing world.. It's as simple as that.

For now I continue to watch and enjoy some of the comments posted her on her, knowing that I wasn't the only one thinking how daft she is.

 

[notrealjobs]

I used to like Zanna and to a certain extent still do but was very uncomforatble on her "humble brag" about Anna Wintour talking with. About how she "never bigs herself up" - isn't that what she always does. And has mentioned recently again how she "never does"

She is constantly bigging herself up and patting herself on the back for all the great work she does and how much she "gives back" to her fans. I feel similar to you, I really used to like her, and I want to like her - she's a bit weird, she's not particularly good looking, and she has a very annoying voice and speech impediment. All things that I think actually make her quite likeable, are endearing qualities in some ways, and which are some of the reasons I'm really rooting for her - she's not a super polished barbie doll.

I think one of her biggest issues is she constantly refers to any criticism as 'trolling'. I've liked so many of her posts in the past, although don't tend to like them now, and have never left a negative or even questioning comment on anything she's posted. I joined this forum because I'm super eco conscious (sorry for patting myself on the back here but at least I don't have a blog or run an instagram telling everyone how great I am) and it is really disheartening and frustrating to see someone constantly representing sustainability so poorly.

There are of course tonnes of bloggers out there doing very damaging things to the environment, and yes, I think they really need to change their behaviour, but at least they aren't misrepresenting what it is to be sustainable.

Her latest blog post admits her hypocrisy, and that is a good, honest thing to be clear about. I totally agree with her - we don't need a handful of people to do things perfectly, we need billions of people doing sustainability imperfectly.

HOWEVER, there is a big difference between what is imperfect for the average person (buying food in plastic because they don't live near a farmer's market or can't get to a refill shop and perhaps taking one short-haul flight a year on holiday or to see family) and Zanna's level of 'imperfection' which is taking many flights per month and still trying to present herself as a sustainability blogger. I get that people need to travel for work, sometimes it's unavoidable, and there will be a lot of people (myself included) who sometimes have to fly for work when I would much rather take the train but time and money just don't allow for it.

The difference is that I'm not encouraging 287K people to also fly as much as I do. I'm not posting endless pictures and 'guides' on a website and Instagram page that aim to get other people to book unsustainable flights. Most people travelling for work aren't asking 10 people to come with them on a 'retreat', they're just quietly doing their thing. It doesn't matter if they all pick up 10 pieces of rubbish whilst they're there - it pails in comparison to the emissions from their flights. Why can't she do retreats in the UK or nearby countries? And then encourage only the people who can travel there sustainably to join her?

I think she has fundamentally misunderstood the impact that her advocacy for unsustainable and frivolous travel has on the environment. She tries to talk about sustainability whilst encouraging as many people as possible to take unsustainable and damaging actions. That's absolutely not the same level as most normal people's imperfections. And trying to claim that she's still being sustainable in her life will make so many thousands of people following her think that it's okay for them to take 20+ flights a year as long as they buy an organic fruit and veg box. At least the bloggers not even talking about sustainability aren't pretending that they are somehow saviours of the planet.

I think if her travel blogging was worthwhile then I wouldn't feel quite as strongly. Say it had a real focus on the socio-political context of a region, was actually educational or informative, or really delved into the culture of a location rather than just being a photo opportunity and another destination ticked off the list. But she writes really banal 'guides' with all of the same info that you could find anywhere else online.

Does anyone else think both Sea Shepherd and the Rainforest Alliance have been duped into having her as an ambassador? Her actions and values just don't align with them at all. How can she possibly be a credible advocate for them?

Sorry for the long rant! Just someone feeling incredibly disheartened by the lack of care that so many 'eco-influencers' really have for the planet and how damaging this is going to be in the long run for everyone.

 

[Pinchme]

A day in the life of busy, busy Zanna.

5.30am....Gym
7.30....B'fast.. crap shake & green slop with nuts,
8am...coffee
9am..check emails, check insta posts for any that mention my flying & delate & block
11am..coffee @ The Conduit
12.30pm...Lunch..most expensive as possible
2pm...check emails, push cook books on insta, look for long haul flights for holidays,
3pm..check insta again for anyone not licking my arse, and delete & block.
4pm...quick coffee
4.30pm...head home
5pm...check insta, do some swipe up's & any deleting as needed.
6pm..shower, I'm stinking, been so busy.
7pm..go play at Escape room, dinner expensive as usual.
9.30pm.. Post & brag about my busy day on insta, tell the sheeples how busy I've been.
10pm...bed..soooo tired..

Phew!! a day in the life of a busy Saleswoman.

 

[Luli]

I stopped following Zanna about 2 years ago...I’m embarrassed to admit this but back in 2015 when Zanna was a personal trainer I bought a (very expensive) block of sessions with her...the narcissism was in full flow even then. For the 5 sessions (out of the 12 I paid for) that we had together, all she did was wang on about herself, her love life and...as is now the constant theme of her insta...how busy she is. Yawn.
I hired her as I was trying to get well after a period of ill health - suffice to say the well-being of her clients was the last thing on her mind, her phone never left her hand the whole time I was with her...one session I ran off to be sick but she didn’t even notice until I got back. I could go on and on about how bad she was.
What grates so much is how entitled she is about everything...the constant superiority and boasting about being busy is really tiresome.
She used to tell me about how her parents paid her London rent. But then talked of the pain of the ‘social exclusion’ she experienced at Uni...if she had an ounce of self awareness she would probably understand why people at uni didn’t want to be around her.
I’m so sad / angry that so many people like her are able to make a living from duping people on social media

 

[poollounger]

Does she really have a healthy relationship with exercise though? She can't go on holiday without having to work out every day and forces Steph to do it with her even though I don't think Steph exercises daily. She woke up at 4 am to go on a hike and then straight after breakfast was in a boot camp style fitness class. She regularly wakes up stupidly early off her own accord just to be in the gym at 5 am when she doesn't actually have to be (i.e. she doesn't have to be in the office by 8) and it seems like a few days without the gym breaks her. Doesn't seem that healthy to me...

 

[Kiki999]

This might be slightly off topic (more because I don't think Zanna is too guilty off this, it's more because she is on the fit and fearless podcast. Let me know if there is a better thread for this) but I find myself getting more an more annoyed at these previously 'Fitness influencers' who have now changed their tune completely and are all about body positivity now e.g Tally, Vick, Chessie King etc. They have got so many followers and profited off their fitness message doing these competitions etc only to turn around to all these people who have followed and bought stuff from them and say aaaactually that wasn't very healthy and I was totally miserable but.... you should now buy my new book or prints on body positivity!! It makes me very feel really cheated and it's so disingenuous. I understand that people are allowed to grow and alter their message but they take no accountability for the fact that what they used to promote could have got people into a potentially 'unhealthy' place with fitness. Maybe I'm being silly but I think if they are so against what they used to think they should apologise to people they influenced about it. The Fit and Fearless podcast even did a whole episode about all the things they used to say that they now think is really damaging.

I personally just find it annoying that now they sit on their moral high ground telling you to listen to your body and eat intuitively blah blah blah but completely ignore the fact that they actively profited off of people following their old message for years. Influencers need to be held accountable to the fact that when they say something people follow and if that turns out actually be really damaging then they have played a role in that.

 

[hello0986]

long time lurker, first time poster but considering I have been blocked for what I can only assume is LIKING the above instagram comment....I am kind of lost for words as to how someone can expect to operate both in the public eye and as a business but be so afraid of conversation and critique.

I used to really love her stuff but the refusal to accept her air miles make her carbon footprint infinitely worse than that of an everyday person she is encouraging to "make small changes" and go plant based makes her content so unauthentic. She could easily play the "no one is perfect" card if people were criticising her for going on an annual summer holiday and maybe a long weekend here and there. Not flying to bloody Cape Town at the drop of a hat cause a volcano erupted in the Philippines. You just can't engage in that sort of behaviour and expect to be respected as a credible voice in the climate conversation.

 

[HereWeGoAgain101]

Oh for fuck sake, she’s now charging £5 for people to go for a walk with her . STOP! This THING is sub-human. Who does she think she is. She’s charging it in case people don’t show up. FOR A WALK! Whatever happened to just being gracious and just inviting people along, if they make it, they make it, but £5 to be in her company. She thinks she’s a celebrity

 

[Greencatfysh]

Just had to...

 

[Kangaroo123]

Hey Zanna, please can you acknowledge the height difference between you and Ant again today? Because he didn’t go to South Africa with you I’ve really been missing the reminders so could do that today please! Thanks!

 

[lauraa]

No you are not the only one. Her accent and voice drives me nuts
I am also really irritated by "fitness influencers" who have clear genetic advantages. Her vegan diet made no difference to her weight or her gains. She is just built like that. If I was 6 feet tall with her build and metabolism I would have long lean limbs. I don't think its anything to do with her diet and exercise.
I don't see any fitness progress or expertise which is why I stopped watching her.
My personal view is that vegan diets don't work for everyone, although I respect people's individual choices, I think metabolically and health wise they are not good for women in particular and it would be easy for some people to put on weight with a vegan diet which essentially is higher in carbs/starches and sugars.That's why I object to this being preached as a superior lifestyle when not everyone can participate.
Also don't forget her food also has air miles. And the more exotic it is,. e.g tropical fruit and non-native, its hard to argue that veganism is more environmentally friendly.

 

[Pinchme]

Have I missed how much she is charging for dogs to join her in 'her' very special £5, hike?

To charge a baby being carried by their mother in a carrier, is this even legal??


Would anyone like to join me, I'm going into Bristol Xmas shopping, ONLY £7 each, hot chocolate & lunch (not included in price) I can walk us to all the best shops with the best Christmas decorations. It's gonna be bloody amazing, might even give proceeds to charity, depends.
HURRY HURRY, SELLING FAST.

SWIPE (only joking)



don't all rush to come shopping with me, Id much prefer to do it alone.

 

[Hasanah123]

I can see her new bio on instagram: emergency surgery and tropical disease survivor

 

[Kangaroo123]

Hey don’t know if any of you guys are new here, but do you know Zanna’s bf is shorter than her?

If you didn’t know, she’s made a brand new post to tell you that fact and how unbothered she is by it, despite the number of previous times she feels she needs to mention this information. Glad we are all up to date now.

 

[MaryMary]

Jesus wept, she wants this dumb sheeple to pay £5 for the one year old in a backpack. I’m gobsmacked. Most airlines don’t charge for a lap baby to fly but you gotta pay for your baby, in a backpack, to hike with this bitch. If this isn’t the most vivid example of what a hideous person she is, then I don’t know what is. I’m just surprised she didn’t ask her to pay for the whippet. Wake up idiots, you’re kissing the arse of the devil!
View attachment 63191

wow. Also, if she’s taking money for this hike then it becomes an organised event rather than a bunch of chums out for a ramble...so she surely needs public liability insurance?!