Carlos Garcia never imagined he’d one day be a PETA “poster boy,” yet earlier this year, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals nonprofit named him 2018’s “Sexiest Vegan Over 50.”

This heady recognition wasn’t a long-held dream penned with painstaking intent in his childhood diary. He wasn’t voted by teachers and classmates as “Most likely to be vegan” in his high school yearbook. Garcia was just a regular Puerto Rican kid growing up in the Bronx, living on rice, beans and copious amounts of meat. Like most youngsters (and many adults), he gave little thought to where his food came from as long as it tasted good and filled his belly.

As life unfolded, the Earth spinning days into weeks and months into years, Garcia kept consuming whatever he wanted with little care or conscience, unaware that the commercial harvesting of meat and dairy involved practices that were diametrically opposed to his core values.

Then everything changed.

Sixteen years ago, at the age of 45, an impromptu viewing of Shaun Monson’s documentary, “Earthlings,” slapped him awake.

“I was watching the movie, seeing all the abuse of animals so you could have a leather couch or a leather belt, so you can have your pork chops, your chicken breast, your steak,” he remembers, “and I was like, ‘Wait a minute — I’m paying for this?’ ”

Using hidden cameras, the film chronicles the day-to-day inner workings of mega-food industries that profit from animals, highlighting rampant cruelty and inhumane conditions.

He stumbled upon the graphic expose of factory farms while developing a Los Angeles magazine’s distribution plan — a business that has sustained him for years — after discovering a flyer about a music and health food festival. As a musician who has played hand drums and percussion with several notable Maui bands and artists, including Mick Fleetwood and John Cruz, Garcia was intrigued.

“At the bottom of the flyer it said, ‘Volunteers wanted.’ I called them up and told them that I’ve done a lot of stage setup for bands and could definitely help with that,” Garcia recalls. “I don’t really know what drew me to the event — maybe it was part of my subconscious journey.”

What Garcia didn’t know at the time was that the food portion of the festival centered on veganism.

“They didn’t advertise it as such so they wouldn’t scare anyone away,” he observes. “Everyone’s interested in getting healthier, but ‘vegan’ can be a scary word.”

After one of the meetings, volunteers were invited to the “Earthlings” screening.

“Sitting in that theater, I felt aware for the very first time,” he says. “Once I knew the suffering I was involved in and supporting, that was it. My spirit, body — something — said, ‘I can’t participate in this anymore.’ ”

Although most vegans and vegetarians wean themselves off animal protein gradually and in stages, Garcia went cold turkey — or tofurkey in his case.

“I went from McDonald’s to vegan in less than 24 hours,” he says with a laugh. “And I’ve never looked back.”

For Garcia, adopting a vegan diet dovetailed perfectly into his “do no harm” worldview.

“It went along with all the other things I believe in — women’s rights, gay rights, equality for all. Animal rights was the next logical step,” he explains.

Living on Maui since 2007, Garcia has had ample opportunities to indulge his love and compassion for creatures great and small. Eager to lend a hand to help a paw or hoof, he has worked on and volunteered at holistic farms and animal sanctuaries.

After a relationship termination forced him to find new accommodations, he even lived a short time at Leilani Farm Sanctuary in Haiku where he assisted in landscaping, gardening, tours and caring for the animals.

While standing on a wall trimming trees, an errant gust of wind caught the branch he was holding onto and hurled him to the ground, fracturing his femur. It was during his lengthy rehabilitation period that Garcia decided to enter PETA Prime’s Sexiest Vegan over 50 campaign.

“I had heard about it last year, but I was too late and too busy to apply,” Garcia admits. “So this year, I’m sitting around on my behind recovering, and the campaign came up again.”

He notes that his motivation for entering the national contest was to “get more exposure for the sake of the animals.”

“I don’t care about more exposure for me or my music, but if I can get information out to the media that people should respect all creatures, that’s what’s important.”

Several weeks later, he was alerted that he was a finalist and then came the news that he won, along with a woman from California who took the women’s title.

“It was a total surprise,” he says.

Next month, the PETA media blitz begins with a photo shoot in Los Angeles. Garcia, almost fully recovered from his freak accident, is looking forward to using the platform to educate others about the individual and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet — from improved health to a reduced carbon footprint.

The recent Nutrition 2018 conference — the flagship meeting of the American Society for Nutrition — introduced a rash of studies from the Netherlands to Brazil linking plant-based diets to lower risks of coronary heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. On the environmental front, scientists have long determined that a shift away from animal-based foods could augment the global food supply without expanding croplands, which would significantly reduce carbon emissions and waste byproducts, as noted in an article by UCLA faculty member Dr. Dana Hunnes on the university’s website.

Regardless of the studies and science supporting a plant-based diet, Garcia still finds it difficult to convince others of its merit — especially his family.

“They don’t really understand,” he says with a wry smile. “My mother still asks me if I want bacon when I visit while my uncle’s wife wonders why she needs to have her knees replaced. Well, her knees aren’t built to carry an additional 250 pounds. But she can’t talk about it.”

After one visit home to New York, Garcia was told by family members that he needed mental health because he’s always trying to “get these crazy ideas into their heads.”

“I love them, but their minds are so closed,” he says. “They just don’t seem to care. So when I see my relatives committing slow suicide — or homicide (I don’t know which one it is) — I just have to bite my tongue and watch ‘The Price is Right’ with them.”

For Garcia, the positive effects of cutting out animal fat and protein on his physical body is a pleasant tangential side effect.

“I can’t really say that I feel all that different [since becoming vegan], because I’ve always been pretty healthy,” he surmises.

But he says he did notice that he wasn’t getting sick as much. He used to get colds two or three times a year prior to making the dietary switch.

“I didn’t think much about it, but a few years went by, and one day I felt this weird thing happening to my nose and face,” he recalls with a chuckle. “It was a cold! I didn’t even know what it was at first because I had forgotten the feeling.”

And, he notes, his endurance has ramped-up even as he ages.

“I was distributing 25,000 magazines on four islands over two and a half weeks,” he acknowledges. “I don’t think most 18-year-olds can do that.”

In addition, Garcia is publisher of Living Aloha, a “mainstream health magazine with a strong vegan message” which is presently on hiatus as he secures additional funding and finds his footing after the whirlwind of the last several months.

While Garcia relishes feeling better and stronger, the roots of his life-affirming decision to go vegan stem from a deeply entrenched passion for life — all life.

“As far as I’m concerned, if a doctor told me I’d live a few years less not eating animals, I’m OK with that,” he says. “I live with a clear conscience every day. I don’t abuse anything — people or animals.”

When asked what is the sexiest thing about being vegan, Garcia pauses, then grins and says, “Well, I would have rather it been called ‘Most Compassionate Vegan Over 50.’ The ‘sexy thing’ feels a little weird, but I think compassion is a beautiful and sexy trait.”

And compassion bleeds from the heart, Garcia suggests.

“When I talk to people about veganism, I first try to get them to appreciate their heartbeat,” he explains. “Without a heartbeat, we’re nothing, so I really treasure and value that heartbeat. It’s the most valuable thing we have in this life.

“I wouldn’t want anyone to stop my heartbeat, and I don’t want to be involved in stopping the beating heart of another creature,” he concludes. “Respect the heartbeat. That’s what it’s all about for me.”

* Mona de Crinis can be reached at mdecrinis@mauinews.com