WEBVTT - 3: Guy with a Camera 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:06.880 Novel. 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:14.640 Hey listeners, this is Ellie Flynn. Before we get started, 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:16.840 I just want to let you know that this episode 0:00:16.920 --> 0:00:21.079 contains swearing and explicit sexual language. It's also a story 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:24.280 of female empowerment and camaraderie thanks to the women who 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:27.720 have shared their stories with us. We contacted the photographer 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:30.680 mentioned in this podcast multiple times for comment, but we 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:33.400 never heard back. He has not been charged with any 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:36.760 crimes and is presumed innocent under the law. We also 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:40.440 contacted Playboy USA. They state that they have asked their 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:43.960 licensees to blacklist the photographer mentioned in this series and 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:46.599 that they prohibit paid to play which you'll hear more 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:50.240 about later in the series. Our research into his association 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:53.239 to Playboy and their statement will be detailed in episode 0:00:53.240 --> 0:00:58.360 four of this series. Let me tell you a little 0:00:58.400 --> 0:01:04.160 story about the power of Playboy. In nineteen ninety two, 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:07.720 Echo Johnson was just an ordinary girl living in Santa Fe, 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:08.560 New Mexico. 0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:11.440 I was eighteen, and I was two months out of 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:13.880 high school, and I was in a restaurant having dinner. 0:01:14.319 --> 0:01:17.080 She noticed the guy a few tables away staring at her. 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:20.480 After a while, he gets up and walks over. 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:25.760 He introduced himself to myself and my mom and invited 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:26.679 us Verger's table. 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:30.520 The guy, a photographer named Greg, said he shot for 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:34.720 a load of magazines like Vigue, Rolling Stone, and Playboy. 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:38.919 He was shooting a Playboy and he wanted to test 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:43.760 me to be in that Playway and I was like, no, 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:46.840 absolutely not. I could not take my clothes off. I 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:49.160 think I'd seen Playway once in my dad's room. Like 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:50.800 that's as much as I knew of it. 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:54.440 Eco's mom was a bit more familiar with Playboy. She 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:57.280 knew how getting discovered and featured in the magazine could 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:01.000 propel you to superstardom, just like it had for Pamela Anderson. 0:02:01.440 --> 0:02:04.640 My mother she saw the opportunity and she said, you're 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:06.240 doing this and then I was off. 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:13.440 Soon, Echo was whisked off to Zion National Park in 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:17.600 Utah for her first Playboy shoot with Greg, the photographer. 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:19.320 I was good in front of the camera. I was 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:20.920 pretty generic. I love the camera. 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:25.200 Echo had done a little bit of local modeling before, catalogs, 0:02:25.240 --> 0:02:27.760 that sort of thing, but this was different. 0:02:28.160 --> 0:02:31.960 Working with the best of the best photographers, makeup, urners, stylus, everything. 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:33.079 It was surreal. 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:37.400 It was I was like, Wow, this is cool. 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:41.400 On the shoot, She's surrounded by a dreamy desert landscape 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:46.160 of pink sand dunes, epic rock formations, and endless skies. 0:02:47.280 --> 0:02:51.320 These beautiful photographs, there's an image of me laying down 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:53.880 in the sand and you can see the perfect outline 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:56.280 of my body in the sand, and it was just 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:59.440 like I was suntanning. Most of the pictures were like that, 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:01.000 and it was it was great. 0:03:01.560 --> 0:03:04.880 When those beautiful desert photographs were published, they caught the 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:06.960 attention of the big guy. 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:10.160 Hugh Hefner saw it and said, I want Echo to 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:11.680 Bemis January nineteen ninety three. 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:16.160 Hugh Hefner, the founder and editor in chief of Playboy. 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:21.120 He chose Echo to be the centerfold, the model featured 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:24.240 in the middle pages of the magazine, the top star 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:28.840 on the bill. Huge names have appeared there, Cindy Crawford, 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:33.040 Drew Barrymore, Sharon Stone, They've all been centerfold. 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:35.440 So it was like this whirlwind and a matter of 0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:38.240 two months out of high school, my whole life totally changed. 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:49.560 Echo's career with Playboy made her serious money. Her centerfold 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:53.520 appearance earned her twenty grand in nineteen ninety two dollars 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:57.720 aka a lot of cash, and that was just the beginning. 0:03:58.280 --> 0:04:02.400 I worked nan step for gosh, I want to say, 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:04.760 span of like ten years and hanging out on the 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:09.160 Playboy yacht and going to premieres and people would recognize 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:11.800 me all the time in the airport, on the airplanes, whatever. 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:15.320 And you had your you know, loyal fan base, and 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:19.040 I mean I was having time in my life. 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:22.880 Even today, having long since left modeling behind, Echo credits 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:25.599 all her success to that one lucky day in a 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:30.080 New Mexico restaurant when a random photographer noticed her and 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:31.840 changed her life forever. 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:34.200 Gosh, I don't know, I don't know what my life 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:36.000 would have been. I would have been very different. I 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:38.960 know that, just right down to like the level of 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:42.480 travel that I was able to do and the calor 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:44.760 or people that I was able to meet and work 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:49.120 with and have these amazing resources at my fingertips. I'm 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:52.240 so grateful for the opportunity and I will always be. 0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:04.279 This is the dream that Luis Gomez sells to models today. 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:07.920 Work with me and I'll get you in Playboy. Work 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:11.839 with me and I'll make you a star. It's an 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:15.240 enticing claim. And hey, if Echo being spotted by a 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:18.839 random photographer in a restaurant could launch her career. Couldn't 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:20.920 that just be a pre internet version of being spotted 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:27.279 by Luis Gomes on Instagram today? Well maybe, except that 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:31.479 random photographer that echo met that Greg guy. It was 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:35.280 Greg Gorman. He's one of the most celebrated American portrait 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:38.919 photographers of the last fifty years. He has a master's 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:43.520 in cinematography and he's shot David Bowie, Barbara streisand Leonardo 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:54.640 DiCaprio Al Pacino. He's legit, legit, but it's Luise. I'm 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:57.480 Ellie Flynn and from the team at Novel. This is 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:37.159 the Bunny Trap Episode three, Guy with a camera. So, Ellie, 0:06:37.640 --> 0:06:41.760 we made a discovery. Oh my god, very exciting. I'm 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:44.840 sitting with my producer Eleanor and assistant producer rom Alia. 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:49.240 After hearing the model's experiences, we want to figure out 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:54.640 how Luis Gomez rose to power. He seems to be 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:57.640 a big name in the glamour industry, but before starting 0:06:57.640 --> 0:07:00.839 this investigation, I'd never heard of him, so we have 0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:01.760 to start from scratch. 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:08.360 So, in looking through a bunch of free public record websites, 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:15.080 we found out Louise's date of birth and full. 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:20.040 Name Luis Eduardo Gomez Lobo. He's from Venezuela and now 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:24.080 lives and works in the US. He's also around sixty, 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:29.320 so a lot older than I thought. I'm fascinated by 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:31.720 who he is as a person. What was he like 0:07:31.880 --> 0:07:34.800 when you lived in Venezuela, Who is he and how 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:39.040 do you end up becoming this person in your mid 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:42.400 to late fifties. Luis Gomez is old enough to have 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:51.120 lived multiple lives, including one as a rock star. Once 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:53.520 upon a time, Luis was the guitarist for a rock 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:57.840 band Feedback. They were pretty big in Venezuela in the eighties. 0:07:58.400 --> 0:08:02.800 They recorded three albums, festivals, and even appeared on TV 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:03.520 talk shows. 0:08:05.560 --> 0:08:06.000 I guess the. 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:09.320 Labor poor heave. 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:11.240 Horrible well. 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:18.000 Feedback usually stuck to rockier stuff. They weren't afraid of 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:20.520 a left field cover choice, oh. 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:23.760 Mister pols Mass. 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:31.360 Such as a version of the Motown hit Please Mister Postman. 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:35.960 But even when Luis was living out his rock star dreams, 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:39.160 there were rumors. I learned about them from a local 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:41.760 journalist who did some digging on the ground in Venezuela. 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:45.160 She spoke to a friend in the music industry, and 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:49.240 without naming names, said she'd heard about allegations of sexual abuse. 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:53.360 The conversation was something like, if I asked to you 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:57.679 about a venezuela and guitarist move away, who comes to 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:02.760 your mind? And these musu chan played well, I imagine 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:03.800 the feedback guy. 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:09.360 Despite their early promise, feedback never hit the big time. 0:09:10.120 --> 0:09:12.600 So it seems Louise pursued a load of other ventures 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:16.440 in Venezuela. Around the mid two thousands, he moved to Miami, 0:09:16.760 --> 0:09:27.240 got married, and kept pursuing music. We contacted some people 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:32.000 who knew Louise personally, and reviews were mixed. One described 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:34.640 him as someone you either love or hate, and another 0:09:34.800 --> 0:09:37.320 wanted to stop recording as soon as I asked about 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.920 Louise's photography career, because it's when Louise puts down his 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:44.520 guitar and picks up a camera that things really start 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:52.240 to change. A YouTube video from that time catches my attention. 0:09:53.120 --> 0:09:56.280 Working under the Monika Universe one three seven studios, which 0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:59.880 he still uses today, Louise posts a video his film 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:06.679 of a Miami runway show. This seems to be the 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:10.600 first time Luis interacts professionally with the world of modeling 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:13.400 and the glamor world is where Luise finds his brand 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:17.199 new career, first as a model promoter and then as 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:18.439 an aspiring photographer. 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:25.199 So I first met Louise Goilmez probably in twenty fifteen, 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:29.000 and he was inquiring about private training for photography. 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:33.120 That's Nino Batista. Back in the day. Nino was a 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:36.559 big glamor photographer and in the mid twenty tens he 0:10:36.679 --> 0:10:39.959 was running a side hustle in photography workshops. That's how 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:41.280 he and Louise first met. 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:44.880 He was pretty new at photography, like he didn't get it, 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:47.160 which is fine, that's what people come to my classes for. 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:49.840 And he came out to a lighting worksho a small one, 0:10:49.960 --> 0:10:52.480 probably about five or six attendees. 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:53.199 That I did at my house. 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:57.280 Nino had booked a few models for the training photographers 0:10:57.320 --> 0:10:58.720 to shoot, and I. 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:04.719 Did notice that was It's hard to say, but do 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:06.960 I remember exactly, No, But do I feel like maybe 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:10.480 he was engaging with my models in ways I would 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:11.400 consider unprofessional? 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:16.280 Yeah, Nino does remember Louise making some inappropriate comments to 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:16.880 the models. 0:11:17.200 --> 0:11:18.880 I think a model just kind of gave him a 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:21.679 tight liped smile, a little quick back kind of to 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:25.040 whatever he said, and I just remember thinking, got to 0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:30.000 watch this one. Another thing I did notice, as I recall, 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:32.559 was he didn't pay a whole lot of attention to 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:35.400 the instruction. It kind of fit his sort of archetype 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:37.400 that I already pegged him on, which is I just 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:40.160 want to show up and shoot girls. Everything was about 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:43.080 the girls. Now that's not uncommon. Lots of guys entering 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:43.959 the field are like that. 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:46.920 Nino thought Luis was probably a guy with a camera 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:50.199 or a GWC. It's a term in the glamor business 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:52.719 for someone who, as Nino puts it, just wants to 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:53.319 shoot girls. 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:56.640 So the concept of guy with camera GWC is a 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:00.760 you know, it's an insulting term, to be clear, okay, 0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:02.160 and it should. 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:07.400 Be, Nino says. These men are everywhere in glamour, guys 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:11.160 who get into photography with zero qualifications, and often not 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:12.960 for their love of lighting and lenses. 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:17.000 This is not a new problem men, especially older men, 0:12:17.400 --> 0:12:20.040 praying on young women. This is a problem going back 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:20.880 to the dawn of time. 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:27.679 Think about what it took to call yourself a photographer 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:30.520 in the nineties when Echo was breaking onto the scene. 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:34.319 All that training, not to mention the professional accolades that 0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:37.760 Greg Gorman had. Luis Gomez didn't have any of that, 0:12:38.600 --> 0:12:41.880 but he had the right equipment, a bit of training, 0:12:42.320 --> 0:12:46.200 and stars in his eyes. After the workshop, Nino says 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:49.200 that Luis kept in touch with him enthusiastically via Facebook. 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:51.800 He even suggested they have a jam, come. 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:53.720 Over and let's play guitar. You know, we should start 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:57.040 a band, and I'm like, no, we shouldn't. Kind of 0:12:57.040 --> 0:12:58.679 blue sunshine on my butt and said he wants to 0:12:58.720 --> 0:12:59.600 be like me, he wants to. 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:00.760 Do work like I doe. 0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:04.199 Nino was trying to keep his distance. Louise had left 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:07.680 a bad taste in his mouth. But the year after 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:10.280 the workshop, he says, Louise had news. 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:12.960 He said, Hey, I've. 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:15.600 Got to publication that I've started some small. 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:20.480 Magazine, Universe one three seven magazine. It was self published, 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:24.199 several pages of glamor models pictured clothed and in bikinis, 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:28.640 along with short articles and interviews. Luis has somehow made 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:33.400 the leap from GWC to magazine publisher. At first, I 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:36.440 was confused by how someone could just start their own magazine, 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:39.760 but Nino tells me that self published magazines are common. 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:43.640 They're everywhere in the industry and the Internet is the 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:48.280 reason why. The first thing you need to understand is 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:50.520 that glamor magazines aren't like they used to be. 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:53.080 In the old days of magazine was a big production, 0:13:53.160 --> 0:13:54.719 there was a lot of costs involved. 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:56.679 But today it's very different. 0:13:57.080 --> 0:14:01.280 That process has become so streamlined and easy. Now you 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:03.640 can put together a layout and you can flow some 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:06.520 texts and some photos, a couple graphics, cheesy logo, and 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:08.680 export PDFs and now you are publishing. 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:11.840 Magazines basically, just like how any guy with a camera 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:14.560 can call himself a photographer, any guy with the right 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:16.880 software can make a PDF and call it a magazine. 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:22.680 Including Luis Gomez. In twenty sixteen alone, he created eight 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:27.840 different self published magazines. Today he has even more. On 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:33.080 his website, he claims to publish fifteen magazines. So what's 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:35.320 the point of making your own magazines? What does that 0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:35.920 even get you? 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:39.760 It's just ragging rates. Like you know, I run a magazine, 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:42.480 and if you're new to the industry, new model, you 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:44.400 might think that means a lot more than it does. 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:49.280 It's all about building a reputation to a model. He 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:53.400 looked more legit than ever, but that reputation was built 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:57.479 on a pile of PDFs. With his self published magazines 0:14:57.560 --> 0:15:00.400 and a crash course in photography under his belt. Louise 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:03.880 is all set, but now he needs models to shoot. 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:08.560 I managed to track down a model who shot with 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.800 him around this time. Jenny's a former glamor model from 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:14.880 the States. She's left the industry now, so asked us 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:17.800 to give her a fake name. The Luis Gomez she 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:20.840 describes shooting with is very different to the man the 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:22.680 UK Glammor models told me about. 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:25.840 He seemed very passive. 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:28.240 It was whatever I said went. 0:15:29.480 --> 0:15:33.480 I'm surprised, Jenny says Louise let her take complete control 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:36.640 of their shoot. I was like, listen, here's the deal. 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:39.200 You're gonna let me pick out the photos that get published. 0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:42.880 I'm going to bring my girlfriend on set. 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:44.480 I am going to have a drink. 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:49.600 And when Jenny nearly canceled their second shoot together, she says, 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:51.520 Luis begged her to reconsider. 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:54.160 He's like, no, no, no, we can't cancel this shoot. 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:58.480 You're like the only one I had lined up for this. Please, please, please, 0:15:58.560 --> 0:15:59.440 I'll do whatever you want. 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:03.840 Sometime between twenty sixteen and twenty twenty something in bold 0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:07.360 and Louise to start behaving very differently, and I think 0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:13.080 I know what that is. On September third, twenty seventeen, 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:16.400 Luise posts a picture on Facebook of a model in lingerie. 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:19.360 It's a typical glamour shot, but there's something new in 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:23.080 the top left corner, a familiar bunny eared logo. The 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:24.800 post's caption reads, my. 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:27.200 New editorial lim Playboy. 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:31.560 This is the moment Luis Gomez first seems to claim 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:36.840 to be a Playboy photographer. This is the moment everything changes. 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:03.680 So I shot with this photographer and his name was 0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:04.560 Louise Gomez. 0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:08.000 This is Izzy, not her real name. Her words are 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:08.919 voiced by a natta. 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:12.080 His name came up, and he had all these credentials, 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:14.680 he had the publications behind him, So for me it 0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:17.920 was exciting. I was assured up and down that he 0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:20.640 had connections, that he knew everyone. 0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:26.040 In twenty seventeen, Izzy says Luise offered her an opportunity 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:28.879 to shoot for Playboy, and she jumped at the chance. 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:34.240 I ended up doing this full photo shoot for hours 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:38.800 at his house. I remember being coaxed a little like 0:17:38.920 --> 0:17:40.960 some of the poses and things. I was just I 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:43.560 was not super comfortable with. They were a little more 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:47.840 open than I would have liked, but you know, I 0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:49.080 was told this was what needed. 0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:49.240 To be shot. 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:51.520 And then I think it was at the end of 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:54.440 the shoot. I remember sitting at his table and you know, 0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:58.960 just being told I can get you on any Playboy 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:02.040 cover you want. And I'm like, oh, my god, that's 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.760 amazing these photos, you know, they're that good. 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:05.360 I'm that good. 0:18:05.480 --> 0:18:10.440 Like I was excited, and then it became something else. 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:14.040 He reached out, I think, and grabbed my hand and 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:17.520 instantly my heart sunk and I'm like, oh, boundaries, Well, 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:22.080 what's going on? And you know, he said, yeah, I 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:24.480 can really help you, like I want to help you. 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:27.280 I want to skyrocket your career, like take you to 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:30.760 the next level. So you know, basically, you can do 0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:33.960 me some favors. And then i kind of caught on 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:36.480 to what was going on, and I'm like, oh, no, 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:39.840 that's what this is. I'm like, no, you told me 0:18:39.880 --> 0:18:42.080 you could get me into Playboy. That's why I'm here today. 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:46.960 This is the earliest allegation I've heard of Luise requesting 0:18:47.040 --> 0:18:50.480 sexual favors in exchange for promises of getting published in Playboy. 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:55.359 I said no, I'm sorry, I don't want to, and 0:18:55.440 --> 0:18:58.119 he said, well, I can get these photos in a 0:18:58.200 --> 0:19:02.800 small publication. I said, said, well, what's the publication and 0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:04.359 he showed me and it was nothing. It was like 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:07.480 a nothing magazine. I don't want to be in it. 0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:10.800 I said, I came here to shoot for Playboy and 0:19:10.920 --> 0:19:13.399 he said, well, I told you what it is, and 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:18.280 I was like, okay, well, I guess i'll take the publication. 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:21.240 Is These photos ended up in one of Luis's self 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:22.280 published magazines. 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:25.720 I remember the publication coming out and how goofy and 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:29.320 embarrassing it was. I didn't even want to post about it. 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:32.920 It was an awful magazine. I just I remember being 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:33.480 so upset. 0:19:40.240 --> 0:19:42.919 In just one year, the balance seems to have shifted 0:19:42.960 --> 0:19:47.400 in Luise's favor. He was no longer a nobody. Now 0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:50.399 he had power and he was ready to use it. 0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:55.520 A lot of networking in the glamour industry is done 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:58.879 at what's called shoot camps. There are events where models 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:03.040 and photographers can meet, mingle, and expand their portfolios. They 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:05.280 can be up to a week long and are often 0:20:05.359 --> 0:20:10.119 held at all inclusive luxury hotels in exotic locations. By 0:20:10.200 --> 0:20:14.200 twenty eighteen, Luise was becoming one of their main attractions, 0:20:14.920 --> 0:20:17.080 but he was also gaining a reputation. 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:22.399 I was specifically told not to work with Luis. 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:23.000 Go means. 0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:25.360 I was, like, everybody keeps. 0:20:25.200 --> 0:20:28.359 Saying that that's Alex. One of the many models I 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:32.240 spoke to who attended events with Luis over the years, they. 0:20:32.200 --> 0:20:35.800 Basically told me, you know, he has a tendency of 0:20:36.560 --> 0:20:39.840 trying to sleep with the models or getting ultimatums. I 0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:44.480 was just like, okay, I mean, he's got great work, 0:20:44.600 --> 0:20:47.320 but you know, I'm not going to put myself at risk. 0:20:47.840 --> 0:20:51.040 So I legit just did not work with him. Yeah, 0:20:51.119 --> 0:20:51.880 that's not my scene. 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:55.480 But that didn't seem to put off event organizers. 0:20:58.320 --> 0:21:00.920 He said he had access to major publics, which meant 0:21:01.000 --> 0:21:03.760 him coming to the event guaranteed that anyone he shot 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:09.440 with was published in Playboy. His associations are vital to 0:21:09.600 --> 0:21:10.040 his reach. 0:21:11.800 --> 0:21:14.080 This is a source who attended many shoot camps with 0:21:14.200 --> 0:21:17.040 Louise and witnessed his behavior there. She doesn't want to 0:21:17.040 --> 0:21:19.399 be identified or named, and her words are voiced by 0:21:19.400 --> 0:21:22.240 an actor. The source tells me about an incident she 0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:25.000 witnessed at a twenty eighteen event where Louise was the 0:21:25.080 --> 0:21:27.960 star attraction. A model had been shooting. 0:21:27.640 --> 0:21:32.080 With him, and this girl comes running and crying out 0:21:32.119 --> 0:21:35.000 of the bedroom saying that Louise attacked her. All of 0:21:35.040 --> 0:21:37.359 these women are now trying to comfort and protect this 0:21:37.480 --> 0:21:43.600 young girl. She was eighteen. Louise was asked to leave, 0:21:44.359 --> 0:21:46.400 and he refused to leave the property because he didn't 0:21:46.440 --> 0:21:48.879 have all of his equipment. So you know, you had 0:21:48.920 --> 0:21:52.000 people going up trying to locate and gather his equipment, 0:21:52.080 --> 0:21:53.840 and you know, throwing it out on the law and saying, 0:21:54.160 --> 0:21:58.159 don't ever fucking come back. How dare you? We trusted you, 0:21:58.960 --> 0:22:00.960 and if you don't leave, the authorities will be called. 0:22:01.720 --> 0:22:03.280 And he packed up his stuff. 0:22:03.080 --> 0:22:04.840 And he left, and that was it. 0:22:07.280 --> 0:22:10.280 Seven other women from that same event then came forward 0:22:10.359 --> 0:22:12.119 with accusations against Luise. 0:22:12.720 --> 0:22:15.480 It became this entire thing where these other women came in, 0:22:15.720 --> 0:22:18.679 like this morning, he said that to me last night, 0:22:18.800 --> 0:22:21.080 he said that to me yesterday. He made me feel 0:22:21.119 --> 0:22:22.920 like if I didn't sleep with him, that I would 0:22:22.960 --> 0:22:23.720 never be a model. 0:22:24.320 --> 0:22:27.600 They all made accusations that will sound depressingly familiar to 0:22:27.680 --> 0:22:30.680 you by now, level pushing and requesting sexual. 0:22:30.440 --> 0:22:33.080 Favors, and he was banned right then, right there. 0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:42.239 Banning Luise came at a cost. His magazine connections had 0:22:42.320 --> 0:22:44.200 been a big draw for the models. 0:22:44.840 --> 0:22:49.919 They want Playboy Maxim fhm. They want these major brand deals. 0:22:50.920 --> 0:22:54.080 Other photographers just didn't seem to be as established. 0:22:54.600 --> 0:22:57.080 None of them have the reach that Louis Gomez has. 0:22:57.840 --> 0:23:01.360 He's not a morally sound person, but he is connected 0:23:01.680 --> 0:23:03.480 very deep in the publication world. 0:23:03.960 --> 0:23:08.720 So shockingly, the event organizers invited Luis back on the 0:23:08.800 --> 0:23:12.720 condition that he wouldn't behave inappropriately with any more models. 0:23:13.600 --> 0:23:16.639 But according to the source, Luise was immediately up to 0:23:16.720 --> 0:23:19.800 his old tricks, and when he was confronted, he played 0:23:19.840 --> 0:23:22.360 the victim and made excuse after excuse. 0:23:23.560 --> 0:23:26.280 I didn't do that. I didn't, I wouldn't, I can't. 0:23:26.359 --> 0:23:28.920 It's not me. He was crying, and he was saying 0:23:28.960 --> 0:23:31.159 that he doesn't want his wife to find out. He 0:23:31.320 --> 0:23:33.840 loves his wife. She would leave him if she found out. 0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:37.240 I think English is his third language, so he uses 0:23:37.400 --> 0:23:41.160 that to his advantage, making it seem like he doesn't understand, 0:23:41.359 --> 0:23:45.240 or he doesn't comprehend, or he doesn't remember certain words, 0:23:45.520 --> 0:23:48.600 or oh, I'm sorry, I'm foreign. That's not what I 0:23:48.680 --> 0:23:52.320 meant my English isn't very good. It's a lie. He's 0:23:52.480 --> 0:23:56.159 very fluent in English. He understands and he speaks it 0:23:56.760 --> 0:24:05.280 as well as you and I. He plays stupid. You 0:24:05.400 --> 0:24:07.680 know who he is because of his pattern of behavior. 0:24:08.359 --> 0:24:10.440 You can reach across the globe and find out that 0:24:10.560 --> 0:24:13.480