The Sports Stars Next Door

For starters, they’re plant fueled and eat healthy. For Lang Romero, the decision came during her teens. “I made the connection that not eating McDonald’s and not drinking soda could enhance my performance,” she says, a revelation brought on by hearing players on a team she looked up to talk about giving up fast food. (For the record, Sebastian has never tried the stuff.)

Since going vegan at 17, Lang Romero has been passionate about the lifestyle that drastically improved her endurance and recovery, allowing her to train even harder. Post-soccer career, her plant-based diet carried her through a second career as a sports broadcaster. Now, as a mom, she credits her diet with keeping her energy levels up to meet Sebastian’s, sans naps.

Romero, of Mexican descent, was later to convert. He’s now 80 percent plant based, which he has realized helps him sleep better and feel stronger. He has even tried to inspire his extended family to make little changes, like switching to almond milk.*

“When I met Kara [in], it all changed for me as far as nutrition and taking care of my body,” he admits. It was a perfect meet-cute: she was filling in during baseball spring training in Florida for Sportsnet (she usually covered soccer), where she interviewed her future husband. “He asked me out to dinner after that,” she says with a laugh. Conveniently, they both lived in Toronto at the time.

Lang Romero, in her third career as a holistic nutritionist, brings lots of knowledge to her family’s kitchen, where she prepares well-spiced “really good bowls,” says Romero, comprising 80 percent veggies. Sebastian attends a no-sugar Montessori preschool and is hardly exposed to candy, but he doesn’t want for sweet treats—he’s allowed all the antioxidant-rich, fibrous whole fruit he wants. “He knows where everything is in the fridge already, and he comes out with fruit, and mom is really excited,” says Romero.

“I’m like, ‘Oh, good choice!’” says Lang Romero, adding that “not keeping junk food in the house is big—if it’s not around, your kids won’t ask for it.” To that end, they don’t buy or eat anything they wouldn’t want him consuming.

Balance is everything

Lang Romero stepped back from her travel-heavy role as a soccer analyst after having Sebastian, opting to work only every four years covering women’s soccer during the World Cup and Olympics. Seeing clients at her home gives her a flexible schedule that includes lots of family togetherness. But she also makes time for herself.

It’s her best advice to moms who want to balance work with family. “Prioritizing your health is number one. My biggest trick is waking up before the rest of my house and having that quiet time to myself before I’m needed, because moms are always needed when someone’s awake.” She cherishes her early a.m. opportunity for yoga (she’s a certified teacher), meditation or getting a workout in. (Sebastian practices yoga too—at school. “He’s always excited to show off his downward dog,” she says.)

Lang Romero’s routine ensures there’s no resentment and she can give of herself for the rest of the day. “It’s so I can, as I say, fill my cup before I have to fill anybody else’s,” says the mom. “That’s been a game changer for me.”

Go play outside

Screens aren’t a big part of Sebastian’s life—in fact, devices are an emergency-only option on airplanes. “We don’t put an iPad or iPhone in front of him in the car,” says Romero. “We don’t let him watch it at home. He’s very observant, and ever since he started forward facing in the car seat, he’s in love with all the different stuff [he]. He’s always pointing out trucks. It keeps his head on a swivel.”

The super active boy spends at least half of each day playing in real life. “Ricky and I grew up spending most of our time outside, and we live in an area where the weather is beautiful year-round, so there’s no reason he shouldn’t be outside,” says Lang Romero, who allows her son to watch limited TV only while she prepares dinner.

When it comes to competitive sports, they’re doing as their parents did: not pushing. “We played sports because we loved them, and we hope that’s how it’s going to be for Sebastian,” says Lang Romero. “If he doesn’t love organized sports, then we’ll just encourage him to be active.”

The pair has been asked to privately coach other children, but they refuse. “Everyone raises their kids differently,” says Romero, “but when you force your kids, they’ll lose their love for the game. And at the end of the day, the only reason they should be playing is because they enjoy it.”

Relationship goals

He and Lang Romero prove the couple that trains together stays together. A majority of their alone time is spent doing something physical. When they get a babysitter, it’s for weekend morning “dates” to hike and brunch at a vegan restaurant. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, no matter what, they work out in tandem at Poise Fitness, where HIIT classes involve one-minute rotations on the treadmill, strength training and functional movement, helping prevent injuries and correct imbalances.

“It’s one of the best workouts I’ve ever done,” says Lang Romero, “and I’ve tried absolutely everything you can imagine. I love it.”

The two are reliable support systems for each other too. Romero proudly talks about his wife’s induction into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame. “I don’t care who you are—that’s a cool accomplishment to be called a Hall of Famer,” he boasts. When their son was six months old, Lang Romero began studying holistic nutrition, a path that took a lot of reinforcement from her hubby while she worked.

And they’ve grown together. Since becoming parents, they’ve learned patience (him) and loosening control (her). “Learning not to worry and to be present is huge,” says Lang Romero, “because every day is like a little miracle with a baby, and we learn so much from Sebastian because he is so present. He literally stops to smell every rose we pass. It’s an amazing reminder to see how in awe of everything he is about these little things we take for granted.”

*Feeling inspired? Milk that feeling for all it’s worth. Check out our ultimate guide to plant-based milk to learn how to choose the best one for your fam.

photography / Carla Coffing