Turmoil and obstacles in Malorie Mackey's life take center stage in "My Playboy Story: Hopping from Richmond to Hollywood" and reveals real experiences from the modeling world.
The journey leads readers through changes in Mackey's life, people she came across and a growth which lead her to realize her goals and so much more.
Although the journey is hopefully far from over, Mackey is able to give a view into the starting points of model life in Los Angeles and some of the dangers of going after that life.
Life changed when Mackey moved from Virginia to LA in pursuit of her dream.
"Honestly, at the time the cost of living was the biggest stress for me. Everything in Los Angeles costs so much more than it does in Virginia," Mackey said. "And adjusting to that wasn't easy. There were months where we survived off of Ramen."Mackey was already part of pageantry, but felt she wanted to be a model.
Playboy seemed like the goal, because of the unity the models for Playboy showed.
"Playboy seemed more like a sisterhood than a competition," Mackey said. "Pageantry was a bunch of girls competing with each other. Playboy was a group of friends hanging out and having fun together."Through "My Playboy Story" Mackey keeps mentioning her vision of what Playboy was and how she strived to get there.
There were people who she looked up to and who she saw herself in.
The path to the Playboy Mansion was tricky for Mackey, but she drew inspiration from the models she had seen in Playboy.
"Sara Underwood always inspired me because she was so innocent looking, like myself, but she still found a way to be considered sexy regardless. She also found a way to market herself with what she loved to do — gaming and cosplay. And I thought it was amazing that she could make the career she wanted with her hobbies," Mackey said. "Amanda Cerny was the first Playmate I met and connected with. She's come so far, and I admire her for that, too."Playboy held prestige for Mackey. The lifestyle which looked to be of unity and family among the models seemed great.
There were still things that Mackey saw through her journey that weren't positive.
Mackey said, "The girls that sleep around to try to get in with Playboy give Playboy a bad name."Her path wasn't one of sleeping around, but through the book she covers how she set on one path, which made her weary and showed her one side of LA, and then her introduction to Playboy came through another path.
For Mackey she first went to audition at a night club, which she felt was weird but she was eager to start her journey to Playboy and she really didn't know any other way to begin.
"I'm sure it still happens. I haven't heard of anything recently, but I know it still does. If a model goes to one of those castings, she should be wary. It most likely won't be a very valid job, and if it is, you should stay on guard with the casting director since they're meeting at clubs. I wouldn't drink unless you trust them," Mackey said.With her introduction to Russell, what she believed would be her introduction to Playboy, Mackey saw first had some of the people who gave Playboy a bad name.
"I mean Russell was always Russell. He always acted like he did the first night," Mackey said with a chuckle. "I never really went out to clubs after leaving Russell's group so nothing like that ever came up again."With some family history of alcoholism, and not fully trusting Russell, Mackey always held back and figured she couldn't allow herself to be brought into the lifestyle she was exposed to.
"It was always very clear that I couldn't trust Russell. The lack of trust definitely made me want to avoid losing control," Mackey said. "I also just don't get drunk. I have a history of alcoholism in my family so I've always made the choice to be responsible and not drink much."Mackey would keep going forward hoping to be put into a situation where she could reach her goals, but kept finding more and more situations that seemed to be bad.
Few situations became silly because it wasn't reflective of the nightlife in LA but rather the nonsensical manner of Russell.
"I knew what Russel did was his own actions and didn't reflect that of others regarding the Mansion," Mackey said. "I was shocked more than anything to watch Russell do those things, but I was confident that I wouldn't allow myself to be put in danger by that."The time spent with the group would eventually lead her to the path she was suppose to be.
Mackey learned many of the things she should not do and which she now shares through "My Playboy Story."
"I think hanging with Russel led me down the path I was supposed to be on. So I don't regret it. I don't think it was good, though, either, Mackey said laughing a bit. "I didn't like my time with that group, but I think I had to go through it to become who I am today."
Aside from the journey she details in "My Playboy Story," Mackey said her advice to those following their dream to be a model, "I think it's great that they would be following their dreams and I'd tell them to go for it and give it their all. I'd tell them to just know that all of their actions have consequences, so to be sure that they always stayed true to themselves no matter what. And I would, of course, recommend reading my book so they can learn about the Russell types and know to avoid them."
"My Playboy Story: Hopping from Richmond to Hollywood"
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