If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to prepare for and pose nude for Playboy, Ms. July 2011, Jessa Hinton, can cap your curiosity. She sat down for an interview with Fitzness last week and never stopped talking! She spoke about her fantastic workouts and eating habits which make her worthy of an entire month in the historic nudie magazine. She also gave the inside scoop on parties at the mansion, cheating, the Heff and Crystal breakup, bisexuality and sexy bikinis. She even took time to give some great advice on posing nude for your special someone. If you do it though, make sure your photographers are good like the “pseudo-gynecologists” at Playboy!
Fitzness: You photos reveal all and your clearly in great shape, what do you do to stay fit?
Jessa: I train with Nikki Stevens, who is kind of the fitness guru of Las Vegas. She’s got me on a strict workout schedule when I’m away because I travel so much. I always make sure I hit up a gym at any hotel I stay at or at the Playboy Mansion’s 24 hour gym. My problem is, since I’m so tiny … I look too skinny. So I prefer to work on muscle definition with weights. If I’m in Vegas, I either train at home with Nikki Stevens or at Randy Couture’s MMA gym. There’s a boxing instructor over there whose name is Tim and he kicks my ass. He’s one of the best boxing instructors in Las Vegas. Since I’m a co-host for “Top Boxer” and it’s good for me to know what I’m doing. I do two days a week in town at the MMA Boxing Gym and two days a week with Nikki Stevens doing circuit and core training.
You’ll never see me do anything stationary like an elliptical or treadmill. When I do cardio, I keep it to 20 minutes because any more than that and I lose my muscle definition. My favorite things are my arms, so I’ll do a lot of free weights for them, core and resistance training with bands and stability ball push-ups. Everything I do is to build muscle and keep my muscle definition. I jump rope everywhere. I do crunches, sit ups, push-ups in my hotel room. What I do is I lie on my back, put my butt and legs up against the wall and I do crunches elbows to knees and then visa versa. So, there are always ways to workout on the go, people that make excuses are just lazy. In all, I workout three to four days a week with weights and then try to have at least two off days and one cheat day so I don’t overload myself.
Fitzness: Tell me about your cheat day.
Jessa: My cheat day usually ends up being just one cheat meal; otherwise I’ll go crazy and eat whatever. Now, I don’t starve myself or keep myself from eating things I like. I just do it in moderation. Take Starbucks, I will never cut that out, and Nikki knows this. It’s usually sugary and my one indulgent item I get to have every day. Instead of getting rid of it, I have to get it by a certain time, and if I don’t … I have to order a smaller size and that’s our compromise. I eat a lot of protein. For breakfast, it’s usually eggs or a chicken melt sandwich with all fat free or low-fat cheese. All of my carbs must be eaten before 3 pm.
I don’t believe in those fad diets and cleanses. If you can spread out your meals, make them smaller and stay full throughout the day then you’ll be fine. Once people get off these cleanses they’re just going to binge anyway and gain it all back. So, I’ve never done anything like that, but I just feel bad for the people that are abusing their bodies.
Fitzness: That’s a pretty great plan. Anything else?
Jessa: I drink tons of water, or probably about three gallons of water a day because of the coffee and heat in Vegas. I also cut out all alcohol. I used to do a crazy workout and then go drink, but after I stopped I noticed that my workouts were paying off in just three weeks. Drinking three glasses of wine a night adds empty calories and messes up your system. I think alcohol is one of the biggest vices out there and if people cut it out, they will get the results they want.
Fitzness: With your Playboy shoot just a few days away, what type of last minute adjustments did you make to look your best?
Jessa: A lot of girls will fast at the Playboy Mansion; you’ll see these girls stare at their food and just won’t eat. Many of them have body issues or think that by eating that day they will put a big emphasis on their bulge. I honestly keep flushing myself out with water and I do smaller meals throughout the day. I cut down on my sodium and my bread, but will still have a biscuit every now and again. Am I supposed to, per Nikki and Tim, no of course not, but there’s no way around it. I get tons of greens and proteins. Also, I like working out right before a shoot because I feel firmer and toner. If I do some pushups or jump rope before a shoot, I feel better about myself when I look in the mirror.
Fitzness: What type of stress level is involved in posing nude?
Jessa: Every girl has those problem areas that they worry about and mine is my butt. People always say “oh you have such a nice body”. No, no, no, my butt is the worse part of my body and I can’t stand it. If I had a Kim Kardashian or J. Lo butt I would be happy. It’ll never happen for me regardless of how many squats and lunges I do, and it’s something I have come to grips with. A lot of girls need to realize that their bodies are genetically engineered. Don’t mess it up with plastic surgery, butt implants and injections, just accept it and make the best of it. I still work out my glutes and legs but as far as being nude, the hardest part was making sure my butt looked the best it could and positioning myself to make it look good. With everything else, I feel comfortable because of the people at Playboy. They’ve seen so many girls, they’re like gynecologists. No one is walking around trying to make you feel weird. With the lighting and positioning they’re trying to make you look amazing, so you just trust them.
Fitzness: What are your thoughts on the Heff and Crystal Breakaup?
Jessa: Because it’s on the cover of my issue, I’ve been asked that many times. At my signings, some people assume I’m her because of our similarities. I always tell them it’s not me on the cover, open it up and that’s me. Also, I’ve been asked if I’m his new girl. When I was there they were fine, just cuddling and talking. There was no fighting, nothing. For me to hear it on twitter and facebook that they broke up it was a shock and I thought it was just a PR stunt. They were filming behind the scenes of the wedding and the family had flown in, so it was just bad. He still has his girlfriends Sara and Anna, but I just think it’s sad that it was so soon before the wedding. After all, Heff is such a good guy that I just hope it was mutual and they’re both happy now.
Fitzness: Would you ever date Heff?
Jessa: No, I’m in a relationship right now with a professional poker player who’s also an ex-Navy Seal. I need someone that’s super fit and motivates me to work out. This guy is a beast and he trains MMA everyday just for fun. He wants to be an MMA fighter, not for money or exposure, but for fun. It has to be somebody that will push me both physically and mentally and I’m not interested in Heff in that way. He’s one of the best guys I know, I love him to death and he’s probably the only guy that would give the shirt off his back to every girl that’s ever been there, but not romantically interested at all.
Fitzness: What’s a typical party at the Playboy Mansion like?
Jessa: I have actually never been to one of their crazy parties, because the Karma foundation throws them, not Playboy. They have a thing called “Fun in the Sun” every Sunday and I go to those. It’s basically like a big party and every Playmate is invited. Our names are all on a list and we’re always allowed into the mansion whether it is for Fun in the Sun, lunch or anything like that. If I ever want to bring girlfriends or other girls want to come they have to submit pictures and be accepted. It’s an open bar, we lay out by the pool, some girls choose to tan topless and nude. It’s Disneyland for adults. I’ve never seen any celebrities hit on anybody. It’s usually all playmates and cyber girls that all come and hang out with each other. It’s a great bonding experience for us girls. People are always like, “what celebrities have hit on you?” But it’s always all girls. As for the big parties, I can’t answer that.
Fitzness: What’s your advice for women who’d like to pose for playboy or take a sexy personal photo for a significant other?
Jessa: Great lighting, find the lighting that you feel most flattering, because you’ll feel more confident and be more likely to bend the rules. Don’t let it be too harsh to where it points out every flaw. Also, find your best body parts, something you’re proud of and feel comfortable with. If you want to pose for Playboy, they ask for one full frontal nude, side nude and back nude. Again, make sure the lighting is good, position your body right and prep it with your camera to get it how you like it. My response, when people ask me about Playboy is that every girl or guy has taken a nude picture of themselves and sent it to someone. The only difference is that more people are viewing my nude photos. Also, I’m happy with my photos and I think they look great.
Fitzness: Where does being Ms. July take you from here?
Jessa: It’s gotten me great exposure, which was kind of overshadowed by Crystal leaving Heff. At the beginning, it was kind of negative. Everyone that interviewed me asked about Crystal and Heff, but not so much about me being Ms. July. For a while it took time to get out of that shadow, but now people are calling me the next Playmate of the Year, the next Jenny McCarthy and the next Pamela Anderson. I’m getting so many great responses, because I don’t give the cookie cutter answers. I’m a blunt girl and a big tomboy. I like to go paintballing, shoot guns at the gun range, boxing/MMA. I’m unlike those girls that like to get all dolled up.
Right now, I’m running errands in ripped jeans, a white t-shirt no makeup and my hair in a pony tail. I don’t get glammed up to go to the gym or go grocery shopping, so I’m one of the realest girls you will ever find. I think that’s refreshing to a lot of women because I don’t come off as a threat. I’m more your friend and I’m not trying to steal your husband. A lot of girls also respond to me because I’ve been openly bisexual since I was 13. I’ve had more female fans come up to me than male fans. I’ve had more girls ask for pictures of me for their husbands, boyfriends and dads. I’m just one of the guys. Ms. July has opened a lot of doors and networking has been amazing for all of these new ventures. I’m not going to stop, I’m going to keep going and hopefully come out with a workout video and keep the snowball affect rolling.
Fitzness: What inspired you to work with Affliction?
Jessa: I wanted to start my own bathing suit company since I started designing when I was 14. I took some design classes in college and it was kind of a hobby that I wanted to make a side job and make money at. I used to buy clothes and rip up the back and tie ties on the side and customize my clothes. I probably have more rhinestones in my house than you have furniture. I am the rhinestone queen. People never used to believe that I made a lot of what I was wearing. When I made my bathing suit line, I sampled out a bunch of different seamstresses around town. I went to the LA fashion district and spent three days walking the trimming and fabrics. I was there for three days and everything started to look the same.
I took everything that I wanted, went to the seamstress I wanted and made everything from scratch. Everything that I created was my designs. So when I was talking to my MMA coaches they were wearing Affliction shirts and it was the Harley Davidson/Rocker look and I liked that. So, I set up a meeting with Affliction, showed them my bathing suits and we signed that day. So it’s my design with Affliction’s twist and flare on it. It’s both of us partnering up together and cross promoting it together.
Fitzness: Where do you want it to take you and how do you feel it will impact your acting career?
Jessa: Acting isn’t the route I want to take. Being a child actress, I didn’t like the constant auditions and letdowns. Hosting is what I love doing. I’m a host for “Top Rank Boxing” and that’s a lot of fun. I find it easier to sit and talk to people rather than playing a character. Now, if someone wanted me to act though, I would. I actually just did a music video for my friends’ band Otherwise. And it’s the most acting I’ve done in the last 10 years. It was crazy, I die in the scene, I overdose in it and I just remember it being a crazy emotional three days of filming. It’s easy for me, but it’s not something I see myself doing on a regular basis. I see myself maybe hosting for ESPN, E!, VH1, or a place where I can interact with people and get the best out of them rather than playing a character.
Fitzness: As the host for “Top Rank Boxing” you get to interview boxers like Sugar Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao, what’s that like? Do any of them ever hit on you?
Jessa: I was nervous at first, because I didn’t know how they were going to react. Some have English as their second language and others … I just didn’t know what kind of answers to expect. With Manny and Shane it was like talking to a friend. It was pretty easy. Boxers are so passionate about what they do and they interact with so many fans. There was a fight in Texas Station where I got to interview Diego Magdalena. This guy was a charmer, and as soon as I sat down he asked for my number and to take me out to dinner, all on camera. Those kinds of people are the best to interview, because once you start you can just forget your script and bullet points because they hand it all to you. They know what they want to get out to their fans and they’re so thankful for what they do. That’s why I would stick with ESPN or Top Boxing because it’s just an easy interview.
As far as being hit on, a couple of the young kids hit on me, but a lot of them were respectful and didn’t. So many girls throw themselves at these guys that they really don’t have to do any work. For me it’s great to come in, be taken seriously and not have guys staring at my boobs all day like I have nothing important to say. These guys actually care about what I have to say and want to talk to me. I’m being sought out because I bring out the best in their interviews. It’s a great feeling.
Fitzness: I’ve asked a lot of questions, but is there anything else that you would like everyone to know about Jessa Hinton?
Jessa: I want to be taken more seriously than just a playmate. Jenny McCarthy started from scratch, did Playboy and blew up. For me it’s to be known for more than just being Ms. July 2011. I want people to know my name for all that I do, whether that is charity work, clothing or pictures I sell. I want to be taken seriously and that’s my goal everyday when I wake up. There are some girls that are selling their pictures who were Playmates in the 90’s. They tell me they’re trying to act when they should have been trying that in their prime years. It’s all about me making my own money. A lot of the girls can live at the mansion if they want, and they do that and get caught up in the glamour of being a Playmate for that month. Now, what happens when the next girl comes in?
I know Ms. August is signing this weekend, so her issue will be in stands soon. For me, I hooked her up with my hair and makeup person in Vegas. I’m inviting her to a club party tonight at the Hard Rock. I have no animosity and no jealousy because Karma is a Bitch! There’s enough work and enough beauty around that I think it’s so stupid how these women get caught up in bringing people down. I’m going to go to her signing and I’m having my PR Company help with her big launch party. That’s what I want people to know about me. I can be your best friend, I will never steer you wrong, I will always give you great advice, I will always be there for you and just help me along my way and don’t hate on me. You only get one life to live, so why spend so much time in a negative way?
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