Tampa model in 'Playboy' (but don't tell her mom)
By Dalia Wheatt
Published June 4, 2007
Her parents don't know about this.
Rebecca Reyes isn't much in contact with her folks, who live in her hometown of Queens, N.Y. But the 20-year-old Temple Terrace resident still has ties to Montauk, a Long Island vacation town where she used to spend her summers.
That's how she wound up in Playboy.
Reyes, who models under the name Reby Sky, happened to be visiting New York in September, when a photographer friend contacted her to say he was shooting a "Girls of Montauk" feature for July. He offered to include her in the issue, which hits newsstands Friday.
She is focusing full time on her modeling and dancing careers, and she says she has been in Stuff, GQ's German edition, an Axe body spray commercial and several music videos, including one with N.O.R.E. and Fat Joe. In July, Reyes will attend a party at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Here are excerpts from a conversation with tbt*.
How did your parents react?
My parents don't know yet. (laughs) I don't really talk to my parents, but I think I'm gonna send them an autographed copy and be like, "Hi, Mom!" ... They know I model. So I think they'll be happy for me.
You're bilingual and you're an accomplished dancer. So why do this?
I've been modeling for about two years now, and the opportunity for new work comes up a lot, and I turn it down a lot. But I think Playboy is an American cultural thing. It's the highest you can go if you want to be a printed model in the U.S. So I figured it's in good taste, and there's nothing sleazy about it. It's all beautiful; it's just a human art form. So it's like, well why not?
Through this process, what did you learn about how the industry works?
No matter who you are, or regardless of your height or the extra two pounds that you might have, if you really work and dedicate yourself - not just "Yeah, I'm a model. Whatever." - but really work, you'll get somewhere. Because I'm not all that tall (5 foot, 6 inches), and I don't have the big boobs, and I got Playboy.
What's your dream job?
Probably a Rockette. A Rockette or something on Broadway.
What's your ideal romantic date in Tampa Bay? (Guys, pump your brakes, she has a boyfriend.)
Probably going to Busch Gardens and then head out to a nice restaurant somewhere, and maybe a drink in Ybor.
What's your biggest turnoff?
Arrogance. People that are cocky. I cannot stand that.