WEBVTT - 1: The Groupchat 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:06.880 Novel. 0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:14.480 Hey listeners, I'm your host, Ellie Flymm. Before we get started, 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:16.920 I just want to let you know that this episode 0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:21.279 contains swearing, explicit sexual language, and claims of sexual abuse. 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:25.480 It's also a story of female empowerment and camaraderie thanks 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:27.400 to the women who have shared their stories with us. 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:31.440 We contacted the photographer mentioned in this podcast multiple times 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:34.280 for comment, but we never heard back. He has not 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:36.960 been charged with any crimes and is presumed innocent under 0:00:36.960 --> 0:00:41.479 the law. We also contacted Playboy USA. They state that 0:00:41.520 --> 0:00:44.480 they have asked their licensees to blacklist the photographer mentioned 0:00:44.479 --> 0:00:47.240 in this series and that they prohibit paid to play 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:50.639 which you'll hear more about later in the series. Our 0:00:50.680 --> 0:00:53.880 research into his association to Playboy and their statement will 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:55.920 be detailed in episode four of this series. 0:00:56.600 --> 0:00:58.880 But enough of the admin, let's get started. 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:09.600 We've been sitting manning all the entrances and exits for 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:15.080 like two hours now, no sign of him or anyone 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:18.120 that looks like a models of yet. I'm sitting in 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:21.120 a white SUV parked on the edge of the Nevada Desert. 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:25.000 The heat is stifling, so we've wound the windows down 0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:25.520 the whole. 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:27.959 Way a lot of nervous energy. 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:31.920 To my right is a hotel complex, massive orange buildings 0:01:31.959 --> 0:01:35.240 stretching up to a bright blue sky. To my left 0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:38.520 a long freeway which leads back to the sparkling lights 0:01:38.520 --> 0:01:41.720 of the Las Vegas Strip. But I haven't come to 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:44.840 Vegas for a holiday. I'm here for a steakhout. 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:54.160 God, this is fucking stressing. It is really stressful. 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:56.720 In the back of the car is my producer, Eleanor, 0:01:57.080 --> 0:01:59.040 and next to me in the driver's seat is an 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:02.960 armed security agent, an ex cop experienced in tracking down 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:08.120 dangerous criminals. I'm here on the trail of a man 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:11.880 accused of horrendous behavior who I've been investigating for the 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:15.640 past four years, a photographer named Luis. 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:19.880 Do you guys know the vehicles we're looking for? 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:23.880 So a model that was shooting with Luis yesterday uploaded 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:27.399 a video of them doing some shooting in some sort 0:02:27.400 --> 0:02:28.880 of white car. 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:30.760 There's a problem. 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:34.640 We've been staking out the hotel for eight hours and 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:37.359 there's been no sign of him anywhere. Oh now, just 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:39.639 got this horrible anxiety of like what if he left 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:43.120 last night or early this morning and he's just not 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:43.840 here anymore. 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:49.520 Suddenly we spot something Oh my god, that looked like him. 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:49.960 Yeah. 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:53.160 Fuck, okay, shit shit shit, shit shit. 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:55.919 Our agent gets on the phone to another security guard 0:02:56.160 --> 0:03:02.240 who's been monitoring a separate entrance, and jeep four by 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:03.920 just came to the back. 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:07.000 Looks like a wagon. Ear take a look at the 0:03:07.040 --> 0:03:08.840 mail in it. It's a male. 0:03:08.760 --> 0:03:10.320 Subject wearing a ball cap. 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:12.440 Windows are down. 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:17.639 We start to move, letting our third and final agent though. 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:22.280 Hey start looking for a looks like a jeep. 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:25.640 Not a jeep Cherokee, but an actual jeep. 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:27.919 The jeep comes into vision again. 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:30.200 Okay, I've got it up front. 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:34.400 We slip into the traffic behind the car and follow 0:03:34.440 --> 0:03:36.240 it as it weaves down a busy boulevard. 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:40.880 Okay, you guys, get up front and copy this plate. 0:03:43.520 --> 0:03:47.520 Get a camera out, Get a camera out. 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:50.640 The jeep makes a sudden turn. It's picking up speed. 0:03:51.680 --> 0:03:55.280 This guy I think he does. We're followeeno. The jeep's 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:58.480 heading north, away from the strip, the casinos and the 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:02.320 hotel complex. He's going towards the desert with red canyons 0:04:02.360 --> 0:04:04.080 stretching out in all directions. 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:07.440 As we slip onto a dirt road, we're moving closer. 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.800 Oh yeah. As we gain on him, He's winding and weaving, 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:11.960 trying to shake us. 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:15.560 This is so intense. We get ready to face him. 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:17.719 I'm just gonna pull right at Barney. 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:21.400 I can't believe that I might finally be coming face 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:24.680 to face with the man I've been after since twenty twenty. 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:30.000 Suddenly the jeep speed drops. We lurched the side after him, 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:31.120 slamming on the brakes. 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:34.920 Let's see, he's gonna all over. 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:37.240 It all comes down to this. 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:49.159 The story of how I came to be chasing that 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:52.080 jeep through the Nevada Desert began in the summer of 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:57.640 twenty twenty. What started as an investigation into one man 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:00.760 ended up going much much deeper. 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:02.320 It became a. 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:05.520 Journey into the fringes of the sex industry, a world 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:11.279 full of smoke and mirrors where exploitation is rife. Unraveling 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:14.760 this story has taken years and has sent me around 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:18.200 the world as I uncovered a rotten industry with scams 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:22.560 more outlandish than I ever thought possible, a world where dreams. 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:23.760 Are twisted into nightmares. 0:05:25.600 --> 0:05:28.240 But I'd never have taken on this mission if it 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:30.599 weren't for a group of around a dozen brave women 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:34.440 who came together first to share their allegations of abuse. 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:43.000 I'm Ellie Flynn and from the team at Novel. This 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:55.760 is the Bunny Trap, Episode one the group chat. 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:25.120 It all began with an email. 0:06:26.360 --> 0:06:29.200 I'm an investigative journalist and I've dug into a lot 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:32.799 of different stories over the years, but mostly my work's 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:37.040 about women and the abuses and injustices they face. A 0:06:37.080 --> 0:06:39.560 fair bit of that has taken me into the sex industry, 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:45.000 where experiences of abuse are depressingly common. I get a 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:48.360 lot of emails tipping me off about news stories, and 0:06:48.440 --> 0:06:51.800 most of the time they don't lead anywhere. But every 0:06:51.839 --> 0:06:54.520 now and then you get a tip that catches your attention. 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:56.840 It's like you get a. 0:06:56.800 --> 0:07:00.440 Gut feeling that this could be something big, and this 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:03.440 email was one of them. It was addressed to me 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:08.160 and the news desks of twelve international newspapers. The subject 0:07:08.160 --> 0:07:13.680 line read sexually abused by Playboy photographer. The writers were 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:16.200 a group of models on a mission to expose the 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:24.640 alleged behavior of a glamour photographer named Luis Gomes. If 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:27.280 you grew up in the UK like me, you probably 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:30.480 know what I mean by the glamour industry. It's basically 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:34.560 soft porn, adult modeling, anything from lingerie and bikinis to 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:38.600 nude centerfold spreads. It used to be all about magazines, 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:44.920 but now it's mainly moved online. In a London recording studio, 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:47.520 I'm meeting one of the models behind that email. 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:50.120 I love your bag. It's fake? 0:07:50.440 --> 0:07:51.360 Oh is it so good? 0:07:51.800 --> 0:07:53.400 My real bags? Because I just trashed them. 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:57.600 Yeah, obviously we're not here to talk about her bag. 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:00.960 We're here to talk about Luis Gomes, who, I want 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:04.480 to be clear, is the photographer based in Austin, Texas. 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:07.559 There are other photographers named Luis Gomes around the world, 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:09.640 but I'm not talking about them. 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:11.440 What do you want me to call you? 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:12.280 Emily's fine? 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:13.960 Is that fine? Yeah? 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:16.960 Emily's in her late twenties. We're not using her last 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:19.880 name because it's risky for glammor models to reveal their 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:22.960 real identities online, so in her work she goes by 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:30.559 a pseudonym, Emily Ray. On Instagram, Emily's your quintessential modern 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:34.400 day glamor model. Her profile is littered with glamorous photos 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:37.720 of her in lingerie or latex costumes. But the first 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:40.760 thing Emily wants me to know is that she's much 0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:42.280 more than her sex bond persona. 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:46.800 I am very goofy. I am so goofy. I'm a 0:08:46.840 --> 0:08:52.559 bit of a nerd. I am the most squishy emotional person. 0:08:52.800 --> 0:08:55.760 I cry at the Andrex advert with the puppies. I 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:59.720 love musical theater. I'm just a regular person and people 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:01.360 do forget actually that we. 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:03.440 Are real people. I'm a big family. 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:06.000 Emily grew up in a market town in the southeast 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:09.200 of England with her mum, dad and brother, and it 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:12.880 was there, in her completely normal, far from glamorous home 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:16.920 that she first became interested in glamor modeling. In the 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:20.120 early noughties, when Emily was around eleven years old, she 0:09:20.240 --> 0:09:22.679 saw something in her older brother's bedroom. 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:25.360 This massive poster of this blonde girl dressed in an 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:28.319 army outfit and she had these tiny little shorts on, 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:34.840 fake bullets, blonde hair, big eyelashes, and these massive, massive boobs. 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:37.680 She'd creep into her brother's room when he was out 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:40.840 with his mates just to stare at this poster. To 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:43.680 little Emily, who was skinny and a bit of a tomboy, 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:47.760 the model in the poster represented everything she longed to be, 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:51.439 but it was about much more than just her massive, 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:52.720 massive boobs. 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:56.640 She looks so sexy and happy and like she looked 0:09:56.640 --> 0:09:58.560 like a strong, independent female. 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:03.679 Like her confidence. That's what Emily wanted the most. 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:08.000 Let me take you back to Britain in the early 0:10:08.080 --> 0:10:11.400 noughties when I was growing up. Craig David and the 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:13.920 Sugar Babes are on the radio, the Olsen Twins are 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:19.400 on TV, and glamour magazines are everywhere. I remember standing 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:22.160 outside the newsagents with my mates, all of us sniggering 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:25.160 as we passed around copies of FHM, feeling my cheeks 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:27.600 go bright red as we leave through page after page 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:33.400 of gorgeous women in skimpy bikinis. It felt funny and embarrassing, 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:37.320 but also we secretly aspired to be like those girls. 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:40.000 There was just something about the models in those days. 0:10:40.720 --> 0:10:43.959 It wasn't just their looks, hour glass figures, perfect teeth 0:10:43.960 --> 0:10:44.760 and big boobs. 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:46.040 It was something else. 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:49.400 They had a kind of relatability that didn't exist on 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:52.680 high fashion catwalks. Glamour girls were cheeky, they had a 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:55.360 sense of humor. They seemed like they'd be fun to 0:10:55.400 --> 0:10:58.360 hang out with, which, of course, for young girls like Emily, 0:10:58.880 --> 0:10:59.800 was the point. 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:04.520 I just loved the look, and then that sort of 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:06.880 started a I'd love to be a glamor model, but 0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:07.800 I don't look like that. 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:10.199 So Emily gave up on the dream. 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:13.760 She finished school, worked a series of jobs, and got 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:17.920 a steady boyfriend. But one day in twenty eighteen, her 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:22.559 boyfriend introduced her to OnlyFans. OnlyFans burst onto the scene 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:26.839 in twenty sixteen. It's an online platform, but unlike Instagram 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:30.160 and Facebook, its subscription model means followers have to pay 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:34.400 to see your posts. It also allows explicit content for 0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:39.320 the sex industry, it changed everything. It blurred the lines 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:43.040 between influencing glamor modeling and sex work and opened the 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:46.719 doors to anyone who wanted to post explicit content for cash. 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:49.360 I thought, well, I used to take pictures of myself 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:51.920 from lingerie all the time. I had two years worth 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:53.280 of photos on my camera roll. 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:55.360 So I was like, kil what have I got to lose? 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:59.280 She unlocked her phone and started browsing for the perfect 0:11:59.360 --> 0:11:59.960 first post. 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:02.840 I think it was a thirty second video of me 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:08.760 pulling shorts over my bum. You can just hear the 0:12:09.559 --> 0:12:11.760 as the jeans go up open my bum and this 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:13.640 little jiggle, and I absolutely loved it. 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:15.560 I was like, that will be the first one. 0:12:18.840 --> 0:12:21.200 So I uploaded and I started advertising it on my 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:25.240 social media and it just took off. 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:31.920 To Emily's surprise, dozens of people started subscribing to her 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:34.200 only Fans account, and then hundreds. 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:37.120 She was kind of a hit, and with each new 0:12:37.160 --> 0:12:38.560 fan she got paid. 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:41.000 And then you go on your balanced and you keep 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:42.680 refreshing it, and it's just going up and up and 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:43.400 up and up. 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:45.960 Emily says that in her first twenty four hours on 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:49.040 the site, she made about two grand and. 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:50.679 I thought, oh my god, if I can keep this 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:53.560 up for six months, I'll quit my job. 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:55.520 And that's exactly what happened. 0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:59.040 Soon OnlyFans was her full time job, led by her 0:12:59.080 --> 0:12:59.840 online autery. 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:01.600 Emily Ray, You've. 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:02.640 Got to get out of bed and you've got to 0:13:02.679 --> 0:13:04.559 create the content otherwise you're not going to get paid. 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:08.360 So there was a bit of anxiety, but nice to 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:10.720 know that your sort of destinies in your hands. 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:13.880 It's not somebody else's decision to make. I had the 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:15.480 free run of the world. It was lovely. 0:13:19.120 --> 0:13:21.520 A typical post might be a photo of Emily Ray 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:24.840 in a lingeriser, something like a lace balconet bra with 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:28.160 a thong and suspenders. She's usually on her bed with 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:31.040 a sultry half smile or pout, a tattoo of a 0:13:31.160 --> 0:13:35.079 rose winding around her waist. Her captions are short, snappy, 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:38.559 and often flirty, like the one of her looking sunkissed 0:13:38.559 --> 0:13:43.280 on holiday that says Pamela t Anderson, she ooses confidence 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:48.640 and sex appeal. Emily Ray was strong and tough, sexually empowered. 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:52.640 She didn't take any shit, and her fans ate it up. 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:55.720 But the Emily Ray persona was also a way for 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:58.480 the real Emily to come to terms with a difficult past. 0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:04.120 I suffered trauma, a sexual abuse thing when I was fifteen, 0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:07.880 so that's always been in my mind. That's always been 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:10.480 a big, big part of me, but I didn't really 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:13.400 talk about it for a long time. I found it 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:18.000 quite liberating doing only Fans because I regained control of 0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:21.200 my body and I was getting almost like reparations I 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:23.200 call it from men. 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:25.240 Not that it was all men that hurt me. 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:28.280 But it just felt like it was nice to get 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:32.040 that control back and have control over my images and 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:34.240 my body, and I think that helped me cope. 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:39.040 When Emily started doing OnlyFans, it didn't take long for 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:41.760 her to go all in. What photos and videos did 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:45.880 you post on OnlyFans when you first started cool? 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:49.560 I went straight into it, Honestly, I did not hold back, 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:51.520 putting everything out there from day dot. 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:55.680 Overnight, her boyfriend became her own personal photographer. 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:58.240 If I was going for a shower, he would literally 0:14:58.280 --> 0:14:59.200 be there by the door. 0:14:59.240 --> 0:15:01.560 I'm like, can you oh wait, I just want five minutes, 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:03.880 five minutes of peace to wash my hair. 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:08.880 They quickly graduated to filming sex scenes together. It's not 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:11.920 something everyone on OnlyFans does, but it is pretty common. 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:15.360 There was filming couple stuff. Extreme levels. 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:21.680 Levels are a crucial concept in the glamour world. All 0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:25.360 models know the different levels because they're about boundaries about 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:27.600 how much of your body you're willing to expose. 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:33.360 With glamour, you can do lingerie topless implied nude, which 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:37.480 is where you would essentially, for example, have your legs open, 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:41.440 but you have your hand in front of your genitals, 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:44.160 so you're fully nude but there's nothing on show. You've 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:47.200 got obviously full nude, and then you've got explicit, which 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:49.080 is when you move towards sort of like the porn. 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:54.080 Industry, but Here's another important thing about levels. They can 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:58.120 change depending on who's behind the camera. Just because Emily 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:01.680 had high levels and was comfortable filming open leg herself, 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:04.840 that doesn't mean that she'd be comfortable with anyone else 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:08.440 filming her that way. But with her boyfriend behind the camera, 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:12.600 Emily was happy, and soon she was earning up to 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:16.160 eight grand a month. She did so well that she 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:21.000 bought a house with her earnings. In twenty twenty, COVID 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:25.160 hit and after an early boom on OnlyFans, Emily's incomes 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:27.200 started to drop and I. 0:16:27.280 --> 0:16:29.880 Was starting stressing about money because of my mortgage payments. 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:31.800 You know, I've got used to living a lifestyle. 0:16:32.040 --> 0:16:35.000 All that forward momentum was gone. She wondered if this 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:37.600 was the end of her financial freedom and also the 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:39.720 end of the modeling career that she dreamed about all 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:44.720 her life. But then she caught a photographer's attention, who 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:47.240 said he shot for one of the most iconic glamour 0:16:47.320 --> 0:16:51.680 brands in the world, Playboy magazine, and that he wanted 0:16:51.720 --> 0:17:19.679 to make her a star. In the spring of twenty twenty, 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:22.640 when the world was under lockdown and Emily was desperate 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:28.439 for opportunities, a photographer named Luis Gomez messaged her he 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:30.320 was coming to the UK as soon as the board 0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:32.800 has opened up and he wanted to shoot with her. 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:35.280 Emily had heard of Luis. 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:38.240 I thought he was an amazing photographer. I'd always admired 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:38.720 his work. 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:42.320 He's from Venezuela but had been based in the United 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:46.119 States for years. He did photoshoots all over the world, 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:50.200 had forty five thousand Instagram followers and was a big 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:54.919 deal in the industry. Instagram is, without a doubt, the 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:58.600 foundation of a successful career in glamour. It's where photographers 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:01.840 and models find each other, where everyone builds their reputation. 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:06.399 Luisa's profile was full of photos he'd taken of women 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:07.879 on Playboy covers. 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:13.959 And how big a deal was Playboy to you at 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:14.359 the time. 0:18:15.119 --> 0:18:17.879 It's just the name, I think, the legacy. You know, 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:22.399 everybody loves Playboy. Everybody knows Playboy. It's universal. It just 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:25.920 sort of became a little dream that I didn't really 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:28.159 know that i'd had, because I still love Playboy. Just 0:18:28.240 --> 0:18:32.959 have the necklace, the watch, the bedding all of us 0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:34.080 did remember. 0:18:34.480 --> 0:18:36.560 I remember one of my friends had it as a wallpaper. 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:40.720 It's crazy, insane as it seems now there was once 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:45.080 a time where preteen girls in the UK loved Playboy. 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:48.600 The bunny logo was a staple of Naughty's Fashion and 0:18:48.680 --> 0:18:51.840 The Girls next Door. The reality TV program showing life 0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:55.480 inside the Playboy Mansion ran for season after season. 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:57.440 It had this very. 0:18:57.240 --> 0:19:00.560 Catchy theme tune about candy that invite you into the 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:01.400 world of Playboy. 0:19:02.440 --> 0:19:03.800 Welcome to the Playboy Mansion. 0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:06.800 Come on to my house and the house I'm gone, 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:07.480 give me. 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:09.640 Good morning. 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:12.800 I could probably have told you the names of more 0:19:12.840 --> 0:19:14.960 people living in the Playboy Mansion than I could have 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:17.440 world leaders at the time. But Playboys and Law was 0:19:17.480 --> 0:19:20.159 about more than cute March and Hugh Hefner. It was 0:19:20.200 --> 0:19:24.959 about fame, beauty, and most of all, power. For Emily, 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:29.000 it wasn't just about clout or fulfilling a childhood fantasy. 0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:31.879 She also saw being published in Playboy as a huge 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:36.280 business opportunity. This was a chance to set herself apart 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:40.000 from all the other thousands of models on Instagram and OnlyFans. 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:42.960 Maybe this could lead to a ton of new followers. 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:46.200 Maybe big brands would want to work with her. I mean, 0:19:46.400 --> 0:19:51.480 this could be huge. Luis could be the one to 0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:54.320 help her get there. But if she wanted him, a 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:57.960 Playboy photographer, to take her photos, she'd have to pay 0:19:58.560 --> 0:19:59.000 a lot. 0:20:00.400 --> 0:20:02.639 The rates to shoot with him were sort of like 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:06.879 three thousand pounds up if you wanted to pay for it. 0:20:06.960 --> 0:20:09.920 This might sound weird. Louise asked Emily to shoot. Why 0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:13.200 is she paying? But actually it's pretty common for models 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:15.760 to pay photographers. It's like an actor paying for a 0:20:15.800 --> 0:20:18.160 new headshot. But his rates were too expensive. 0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:19.640 I said I can't. I'm sorry. 0:20:19.680 --> 0:20:21.240 I don't have any spare money. It's all tied up 0:20:21.240 --> 0:20:23.120 in my new house. And then he said, yeah, that's fine. 0:20:23.280 --> 0:20:26.120 We'll give you a golden ticket. We give out golden tickets. 0:20:28.560 --> 0:20:33.240 A golden ticket the chance to shoot with Luis Gomez 0:20:33.600 --> 0:20:36.560 world class photos that might just get published in Playboy, 0:20:36.960 --> 0:20:37.680 all for free. 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:41.440 I thought it was this Charlie the chocolate factory. So yeah, 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:45.000 got my golden ticket and we booked a shoot date. 0:20:51.600 --> 0:20:55.600 On August eighth, twenty twenty, a swelteringly hot summer day. 0:20:56.240 --> 0:20:58.840 Emily arrives at the venue Louise has chosen for the shoot. 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:03.240 It's an air in a victorian townhouse in London. It's 0:21:03.280 --> 0:21:05.239 taken Emily a couple of hours to get here from 0:21:05.280 --> 0:21:07.520 the town where she lives. She's going to stay in 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:10.280 a hotel nearby and is lugging a suitcase of outfit 0:21:10.320 --> 0:21:14.119 options and accessories. Her friend's going to join her, because 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:16.880 even with a well known photographer, it's best to take 0:21:16.920 --> 0:21:20.359 someone with you, especially for a first shoot. But her 0:21:20.359 --> 0:21:24.040 friend's running late, so for now Emily's alone and it's 0:21:24.080 --> 0:21:26.520 not quite the glamorous location she expected. 0:21:27.400 --> 0:21:31.560 There were bin bags everywhere, like nappy bags, all piled 0:21:31.640 --> 0:21:34.320 up on the porch, and I was like, surely I'm 0:21:34.359 --> 0:21:36.919 at the wrong place. Rang the buzzer, rang the buzzer, 0:21:36.960 --> 0:21:37.520 rang the buzzer. 0:21:37.720 --> 0:21:38.080 Nothing. 0:21:39.160 --> 0:21:42.200 Just when Emily's wondering if she should leave, Luise. 0:21:41.920 --> 0:21:46.959 Comes flying down the stairs, absolutely driven with sweat and 0:21:47.119 --> 0:21:52.120 was like hello. It was like, Hi, he's five for eight, 0:21:52.240 --> 0:21:55.920 he's quite a strong build, dark brown hair, He's got 0:21:56.080 --> 0:21:58.760 dark olive skin, brown eyes. 0:21:59.280 --> 0:22:02.440 Louisa's dre all in black with a cap on backwards 0:22:02.440 --> 0:22:04.960 and a Star Wars T shirt. He's wearing knee length 0:22:05.000 --> 0:22:09.240 cargo shorts with pulled up socks and black lace up boots. 0:22:11.640 --> 0:22:14.359 Luise leaves Emily into the building and up a narrow 0:22:14.400 --> 0:22:18.800 spiral staircase. It opens up onto a landing with two bedrooms, 0:22:19.200 --> 0:22:22.560 each with a small balcony overlooking tiny terraced gardens below. 0:22:23.320 --> 0:22:26.400 The balcony doors are open, allowing some of the stifling 0:22:26.440 --> 0:22:32.240 heat to escape. They walk together up to the top floor, 0:22:32.600 --> 0:22:35.240 into a small kitchen area and sit down to talk. 0:22:35.960 --> 0:22:39.200 He was asking me why I wanted to be in Playboy, 0:22:39.840 --> 0:22:41.960 how long I've wanted to be in it. What are 0:22:41.960 --> 0:22:45.280 my goals and expectations for shooting? Like, what did I 0:22:45.320 --> 0:22:46.600 want to do going forward? 0:22:48.400 --> 0:22:50.840 Emily says she's doing this for the exposure, for the 0:22:50.960 --> 0:22:53.880 chance to build her portfolio and set herself apart from 0:22:53.880 --> 0:22:56.639 the crowd, and she explains her levels for the shoot. 0:22:57.040 --> 0:23:00.360 She's happy to shoot clothed, implied, and nude. She wants 0:23:00.400 --> 0:23:04.040 to get a range of beautiful images. Luise tells her 0:23:04.040 --> 0:23:07.000 he can also shoot some more X rated content for her. 0:23:07.720 --> 0:23:10.760 Emily's open to the idea. She shoots with sex toys 0:23:10.760 --> 0:23:13.240 for her OnlyFans, so she has a couple in her bag. 0:23:13.520 --> 0:23:15.600 I think I literally took like one dildo and a 0:23:15.640 --> 0:23:17.199 vibrator and that was it. It wasn't going to be 0:23:17.240 --> 0:23:19.000 like a crazy shoot. I just thought, oh, if you've 0:23:19.000 --> 0:23:21.560