As
the photographer snaps away in a Hollywood studio, 21-year-old
Leilani Rios dreams of stardom while posing for Playboy.com.
She says, "When I was younger I always wanted to be
in Playboy. It's a classy magazine, when they offered
this I said yes."
But this college junior says she never planned to be
doing this. Instead, she was devoted to tack and field.
She was a track team hopeful at California State University
at Fullerton. But the coach kicked her off the team
when he learned Leilani worked as an exotic dancer.
The coach said it 'violated schools code of conduct
that says athletes should be positive role models.
She says, "If I was doing something illegal then maybe
that's a good reason to kick me off the team. But not
for doing what I do.''
So Leilani had a choice between running and stripping.
Photographer Mark Edward Harris, who's been doing this
for 10 years, says politely while she's not obvious
Playboy material, but there's potential. "Her figure
is not a typical Playboy figure but she plays to camera
really well. If she could play in front of a film camera
like this there's no telling what she could do."
But her track career isn't over; she has an invitation
from a coach at another college to join his team. But
for now Leilani thinks this might be the best place
to devote her energy.
