Shayna Loren attends Boston University on a presidential scholarship, started her own online retailer in high school, revels in being a nerd – and, oh yeah, happens to be a Playboy Club creator too. Not bad at 21, huh?
“Calling me a nerd is the best compliment I can get,” laughs Shayna, a native of Olympia, Washington. A Dean’s List student and social media maven, Shayna carved out some time in her packed schedule to discuss the hows, whys, and whens of her Playboy life.
PLAYBOY: Being a Boston University Terrier is a huge part of your public persona. Why have you tied your branding to your school?
SHAYNA LOREN: B.U. is known for being hard to get into. It’s a very rigorous school, but it’s also known for having good sports…and parties. It’s kind of perfect [for me] in that I can act like I’m everyone’s campus crush, like the girl they want to see both in class and on the weekends. Instead of just being some girl at a good school, I’m the girl who’s doing fun things through which people want to live vicariously.
PLAYBOY: Is some or all of the B.U. student body aware that you posed (on) Playboy?
SHAYNA: It spread around campus very quickly my freshman year, and it seemed like everyone knew, Oh, that’s the girl who did Playboy. Some people realize that [posing was] an accomplishment, while others were just like, She’s the one who does…that. And I don’t hide it at all—I mean, I have a Playboy sticker on my laptop. [Laughs]
PLAYBOY: Another one of your brands is “Soapy Shayna.” Intriguing. Please elaborate.
SHAYNA: When I was a little kid, I started weirdly obsessing over soap. I taught myself how to make soap, and began selling it professionally starting when I was 16, and I thought that Soapy Shayna had a ring to it. I stopped [the business] a year or two ago because I got busy with social media and Playboy, but I hope to [start it up] again one day.
Shayna Loren x Playboy
PLAYBOY: Take us on your modeling journey.
SHAYNA LOREN: I knew from a young age that I wanted to get away from Olympia and go somewhere big. I had been accepted to Boston University with a presidential scholarship, so I already knew I was heading east, and I was like, I’m going to try something super different…super out of the blue….I’m going to start doing social media and modeling. I wanted to see if the business skills I acquired from selling soap would translate into selling photos of myself. I grew up in a very conservative family, so this was nothing I ever had in mind.
PLAYBOY: Did you have an eye towards something bigger, or was this just step two in your entrepreneurial life?
SHAYNA: A little bit of both. The social media was more of an experiment. [At first], I kept it kind of quiet, and then I found myself gaining an audience and getting a lot of views. Then I started selling photos, and that blew up my social.
PLAYBOY: Was your early social media modeling rated PG, PG-13, or R?
SHAYNA: Probably R. I knew I was in the adult industry, for sure.
PLAYBOY: How did you make the leap from Instagram to Playboy?
SHAYNA: When Playboy Club launched the centerfold platform, I instantly was like, Okay, I need to do that. One morning after I posted a comment on Playboy’s TikTok, I got an Instagram DM from Playboy inviting me to be on the platform. That might have been the most excited I’ve ever been in my life—it probably beat getting accepted into B.U.
PLAYBOY: Let’s hear about your first professional modeling shoot.
SHAYNA: I flew from Boston to L.A.—I was taking a class over the summer to get ahead, so I skipped a couple days of school—where I did the shoot. It wasn’t a Playboy photographer; it was something my then-manager set up—and the photos were terrible. The lighting was off, the backdrop was plain white, and it looked almost like it had been done by someone who’d never taken a photo in their life. I cried and thought, I guess modeling’s not for me.
PLAYBOY: What turned it around? What kept you on the Playboy track?
SHAYNA: After I calmed down, I thought, I can do better, so I got a new photographer who was absolutely amazing. They had this cute little studio that had a pink, fuzzy bed and a pretend bathtub, which was so cool because I could be Soapy Shayna in a tub! And then came Playboy.
PLAYBOY: Have you ever worn a bunny costume?
SHAYNA: I have one in pink and one in black, and I have worn them many, many times, even around campus.
Shayna’s Life Advice
PLAYBOY: Finally, what’s the coolest thing about being (in Playboy)?
SHAYNA LOREN: Being able to show that your beauty is also about your personality, your intelligence, and your creativity. I think I’m so much more than my appearance, because anyone can look good. It’s hard to have a unique personality, or to be smart, like how I’m a presidential scholar. I love being able to tell people—especially younger girls—that you shouldn’t just aspire to be the prettiest person in the room. You should aspire to walk in and make sure that you know that you are the smartest, because beauty fades and intelligence doesn’t.
