Rob here for one more post. It’s been a year since we last posted anything, and whilst I’ve been checking emails and replying to comments and tweeting away, as a blog Vegangstaz is no more. Have no fears – I am still alive, I am still vegan, Kylie and I are still together and very much in love. The truth is, Vegangstaz is just the tip of the iceberg of what I want to achieve.

We have had an incredible ride. I’ve learnt the ins and outs of blogging and WordPress. And we’ve been overwhelmed with the support from people for this little blog we started for fun. Some of our posts have been shared far wider than we ever imagined, and some of our more popular days have seen us hit over 1500 unique visitors in 24 hours. Whether you’re someone who’s currently viewing this post for the first time years after it was first put online, or someone who’s avidly followed everything we’ve done from day 1 (somewhere back in early 2011) – THANK YOU! You’ve all helped make Vegangstaz nothing short of a huge success for us.

So, the tip of the iceberg thing. It’s time to move onward and upward. Vegangstaz may be gone, but my new project is just beginning. What is it?

It’s called True Icon.

It’s a news site on all things ethical – from culture, to vegan food, to fitness, to technology.

And it’s a business. An ethical fashion business to be exact.

Currently, the business side is yet to come, but everything we sell will fit stringent ethical guidelines – and all of it will of course be vegan.

It would mean the world to me if you continued to support this work. I’ll continue to provide the high quality content of Vegangstaz, but covering a wider set of issues. You may have noticed my Twitter handle has changed to @robjtrounce, and a new handle, @becometheicon is set up for the new site. In addition, sign up to receive emails about us and what we’re up to here.

By signing up to the mailing list, you’ll be the first to hear about our product range when it’s launched, as well as some early exclusive discount codes.

I really hope to see you guys over at www.trueicon.co.uk soon.

Vegangstaz will remain online, but I will no longer be active on it. I hope it has and always will prove to be a useful repository of vegan info and news.

As for True Icon, we are always searching for talented writers, artists, illustrators etc. to join us, so if you’re interested please get in touch. Drop me an email at rob@trueicon.co.uk.

I’ve already mentioned that True Icon will cover news for the ethical consumer, and also be an ethical, vegan fashion business. But I hope it’ll become more than that too. I hope it’ll become something of a movement. The capitalist system is here to stay, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t make it our own – make it a system that cultures everyone’s ambitions, make it a system that’s fair to everyone, make it a system where we look at profits in terms of people’s wellbeing and not a series of figures in a bank account.

I look forward to you joining this movement. Become the Icon.

See you on the other side.