In what is animal rights charity PETA's inaugural 'Hottest Vegan Over 50 Competition', a Cork man by the name of Brian O'Sullivan has been shortlisted as one of the 12 finalists.

The 54-year-old fashion designer and vegan health coach was vegetarian for 23 years but opted for the vegan lifestyle nearly three years ago as it was the only way he could truly show mercy, love, and compassion for all sentient beings.

Hot + heart of gold = perfect candidate!

Here's the criteria entrants had to meet:

Are you over 50? Rules are rules.

Are you attractive? We don’t mean having great headshots or a certain body mass index. We’re looking for vegans who are compassionate, enthusiastic, dedicated, optimistic, smart, fun, encouraging, and uplifting – all these virtues are super-attractive.

Do you take action for animals? There are many, many ways to help make the world a kinder place for animals, and we want to hear yours. From organising protests to rescuing abused and neglected animals to sharing delicious vegan meals with your community, the sky’s the limit.

Baz Ashmawy, who's covering on Dermot and Dave, chats to Brian about his transition from vegetarian to vegan and learns why the father-of-six was compelled to enter the comp. - so as to be "a voice for the animals".

To hear the interview in full and find out who one of his surprising role models is, press the play/listen button on screen.