Lindsay Pelas is a multi-hyphenate who’s all about smashing preconceived notions. When she posed for Playboy, one of her photos had her in a turtleneck of all things. How preconceived-notion-smashy is that?
Pelas has not only skyrocketed on social media, she’s graced the casts of the feature films Alone at Night, Clown Motel, and will soon feature in the the upcoming series Paper Empire on Amazon Prime. She sat down with us to discuss her stint with Playboy, her secrets to success, and what it means to be a “modern bombshell.”
Playboy: Playboy fans might recognize you from your appearance in the November/December 2018 issue. How was your experience with Playboy?
Lindsey Pelas: My God, it was so much fun! And it’s funny…I have a collection of magazine covers and features in my house and people always walk by and they go, “Wait a minute…you’re in Playboy and you’re fully clothed?” and I’m like, “Yeah, isn’t it kind of fun?” I’m in a turtleneck, and I think it’s so ironic and fun. That’s Playboy.
Playboy: Absolutely. It’s brave honestly, everyone else does bikinis. Why not turtlenecks?
Pelas: I think it’s hilarious. I’m obsessed.
Playboy: You’re a bit of a multi-hyphenate…actor, creator, entrepreneur. When you were younger, what was the first thing you ever dreamed of achieving?
Pelas: I was one of those kids who with a karaoke machine in the living room, and I was putting on shows. Costumes, dances, songs, and a driving around, in my little Barbie Lamborghini. So, I kind of had this little persona. I liked to perform a lot when I was little, and then I got older and my teenage years, I was obsessed with glamour modeling.
More specifically I loved Playmates. I loved NFL cheerleaders. I the divas in the WWF (now WWE). And I just loved glamorous women. I’d literally be outside in my backyard posing, and I had these disposable cameras, making these weird faces to practice. It was insane looking back. “What is she doing?”
Playboy: When you were a little bit older, did that shift a little bit?
Pelas: Well, it just got even worse. I realized that I was spot on, and I was like, “This little thing you wanted to do is actually kind of serious.” I am a petite woman, and I have bigger boobs. And I remember thinking, “I can’t sign with an agency, I don’t really have any kind of connections to this industry.” So, I just decided I wasn’t gonna wait for an invitation.
I’ll just shoot the content I want. I’ll make the swimsuit calendar with just me. I did it without the invitation. So now that’s how you kind of got that multi-hyphenate career, because I just did it myself.
Playboy: That’s awesome. You refer to yourself as a “modern day bombshell.” Can you elaborate on what that means?
Pelas: I feel like, if you’ve got blonde hair and curves, people may call you a bombshell. But to me, when I think about bombshells in history and in the media, I think of a person who goes for it. They wear what they like, they do what they like, they say what they like. They’re not afraid to show who they are.
And when I was younger, I would really push the envelope with what I said. I knew the photos that I posted were controversial 10 years ago. It was a big deal, but I didn’t give a fuck. I was like, “I’m gonna do whatever I’m going to do to get there.” There are women all around this world still fighting for the right to wear whatever they want, say what they want. So it’s a bit of a rebellious thing to me to be a bombshell. Like, “I’m here, deal with it.”
Playboy: Your podcast Eyes Up Here is all about smashing social stereotypes and you’ve landed some awesome guests. Do you have any dream guests in mind for the show?
Pelas: What I love someone who’s a little niche. I love someone with a very specific story. I’ve always been obsessed with Kathleen Zellner, the attorney. She’s a fantastic and amazing. And the Menendez brothers. I would love to interview them.
I think sometimes crime and punishment is the ultimate form of ethics, and it’s the ultimate form of what we think about as a society. How do we view human behavior? I’d probably lean to one of those. Someone who’s got a very unique experience, or someone who’s done something way out of the box. Those are kind of my dream guests. But probably don’t even know who they are yet. You know what I mean?
Playboy: Absolutely. What is your superpower?
Pelas: I’ve got a really unique perspective, I’ve come to realize. I grew up in middle of nowhere in Louisiana. And I came from generations of poverty. When you see and experience poverty for a long time, it comes with some trauma. Things like incarceration, drug abuse, and behavioral issues. And so…I grew up that way, around that.
I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I had these big boobs, and people freaked out about them when I was a teenager. And I remembered being judged for how I look. Even though I had nothing to do with it! It just happened! And I took those boobs and my “I don’t give a fuck” attitude, and I came all the way to Los Angeles. And, I’m amongst celebrities, and stars, and surgeons, and lawyers, and powerful people. I make as much money as they do.
But I know what it’s like to come from nothing. I know what rural American life is like, and now I’ve got this total LA Hollywood life. But I also know what it’s like to be totally judged based off of how you look. You know, instead of your behavior. I know what it’s like to undergo mistreatment non-stop. And I know what it’s like to work for everything you’ve ever had.
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Playboy: Speaking of which, you’ve been on a lot of sets recently. Any experiences getting starstruck?
Pelas: Two weeks ago, I met Dave Chappelle and I saw him perform for a really small group. And I never know how I’m gonna react to when I meet celebrities. I never know who’s gonna make me go, “My God!” But seeing Dave Chappelle, I just thought, “This man, he kind of wowed me.” Then three days later, I saw Stevie Wonder perform! Stevie Wonder literally looks at the crowd and said, “God said ‘I’ll give you all the talents, all the gifts. You just have to go out there and share it.'” And I just bawled like a baby.
Playboy: Your presence across social media is pretty massive to say the least. What do you believe is your secret to success?
Pelas: My authenticity. I think at the end of the day, when it comes to trends and all the lengths people will go to be seen, I still try. I am who I am. There’s no act, there’s no mask. I feel like authenticity will always win, especially as more things become robotic, or based off of some algorithm. I think authenticity is gonna keep winning.
Playboy: I could not agree more. Any advice for aspiring models actors and creators?
Pelas: I think the reason a lot of people want to get into acting or modeling is because of the culture of co-creation. It’s history-defining, humanity-defining in many ways. When we tell stories about human life, through all these different avenues, it’s creating our shared perspectives. And perspective is the most important thing.
So I think, when you want to get into the perspective making business, it’s important to have some really good reason behind it. You should at least, at the bottom line, hoping “I can make the world sweeter or maybe I can make people think in a way that’s more free.” It’s even giving people the permission to say, “Fuck you!” to other people. But I think the best people and entertainment always have deeper meanings.