Penticton pilot takes another crack at being Maxim's next cover girl

Penticton’s Brandi Hansen is taking another crack at being a Maxim cover girl in the magazine’s online contest for U.S. and international applicants, but her messaging and overall goal will remain the same.

Hansen, a volunteer search and rescue technician with B.C. Search and Rescue Association, previously participated in the Canadian version of the contest, garnering thousands of votes for her online profile and finishing second in the semi-finals. Exactly like her approach last time, for this new contest, Hansen is choosing to submit only photos that show her completely clothed and doing some of the various outdoor activities she enjoys.

“My message remains the same, that you can attain and achieve your goals without following the crowd. So I expect to see myself up against women in bathing suits and professionally-taken photos and I’m still in the same camouflage and fishing photos and pilot photos,” said Hansen with a laugh.

Hansen added that she believes it’s important to love your body and be comfortable in your skin, but you don’t have to market that part of yourself to be successful in life.

She noted that, again, like the last contest, she seems to be the only applicant taking this approach and using the contest to support a good cause. Hansen credits her previous success to the outpouring of support she received from strangers online who had heard about her story and why she entered the contest but said this time both the audience and competition will be different so she is not sure what will happen.

“This one is different because it has international models and Instagram models applying, so I don’t know if I’ll get the same sort of response that I received in the Canadian contest,” said Hansen, who admitted while she is a little intimidated, she isn’t shying away from competing. “But, I don’t think many people knew about the Canadian contest, but now with the American one, it’s going to be much bigger. And people can still vote from Canada since it’s international.

“I don’t really have anything to lose, so if I get kicked out of the contest right away then that’s okay but, it’s a shame. I think it’s an important message to get out there.”

Another difference between Hansen and her competition is what she plans to do with the winnings if she is voted the next Maxim covergirl, with her pledging half of the USD $25,000 to the Wounded Warriors Project in the U.S. and Canada and the other half to an aviation scholarship for women. The charitable organization provides resources and supports to veterans and first responders in both countries.

“I will name the (scholarship) fund The Higher, Further Faster Aviation Scholarship and it will be available to U.S. and Canadian applicants,” wrote Hansen in her contest profile. “It’s meant to inspire more women into the aviation industry. The scholarship will be available to pilots who have already obtained the Professional Pilots Licence (PPL) and are applying for the Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL).”

Currently a student pilot working towards a career as a flight instructor, Hansen said she also wants to explore the possibility of joining the U.S./Canadian Air Force or RCMP as a pilot for her future career.

“I have military on both sides of my family, so I’m very patriotic. I think it’s important for our vets and these people that fight for our country overseas, and they come back and sometimes they have catastrophic injuries or things like that … and the government only gives so much to our soldiers,” said Hansen. “So the Canadian organization will get half (of U.S. $12,500) and the U.S. organization will get the other half — I want to give to both countries since I’m a dual-citizen.”

Voting for the Maxim Cover Girl 2019 contest opens online on Sept. 2 at 1 p.m. PT. To view Brandi Hansen’s profile and vote for her in the contest, click here.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

Jordyn Thomson | Reporter

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