EDGEWATER — Annie Fosnacht may not have won PETA's competition to find the country's sexiest vegan, but she's still the sexiest in Chicago.
Fosnacht, 35, of Edgewater, was the only Chicago finalist in this year's Sexiest Vegan Next Door contest, but when the votes were tallied and the judges considered other factors, like enthusiasm, she lost to a worthy opponent, Bolingbrook's Yerika Sojo.
"I’m a little sad and disappointed," Fosnacht said, "but I’d rather lose to her than anyone else."
Sojo and Fosnacht, both active in the Chicago-area vegan scene, had been friends before and are working together to publish a calendar of vegans and their pets for next year.
"I’m feeling kinda shocked because the competition was pretty tough, but I’m happy and really honored that they picked me," said Sojo.
She said she works as a runway model on the weekends and spends most of her time baking vegan cupcakes for her company, Azucar Vegan Bakery.
Although she beat out the nine other finalists, she's sharing the prize — a trip for two to Maui — with her vegan buddy Fosnacht. Sojo said she'd be taking her "significant other," but invited Fosnacht and her boyfriend to share the resort accommodations for up to eight people this winter.
Fosnacht's already saving up for the airfare.
Both vegans submitted photos to the contest, available for viewing on PETA's website, that showed bodies made by veganism.
Fosnacht posed for her boyfriend who snapped a picture of her back to the camera, topless and dressed in a red plaid skirt.
Sojo, a native of Puerto Rico, submitted a photo taken on a boat at night while dressed in skimpy lingerie, including thigh-high stockings and high heels.
Sojo's family couldn't be happier with the contest's results.
"Most of my family are in Puerto Rico or in Germany," she said. "They’re far, but they were really excited about the contest and really happy that I was in the finals."
Fosnacht and Sojo said Chicago's vegans had a tough time choosing their favorite between the two in the stiff competition.
"I was hopeful," said Fosnacht, "but I wasn’t going to count my eggs before they hatch."
