The Playboy brand has fascinated me for as long as I can remember, partly because it’s shrouded in mystery and mainly because its stamp is the epitome of sex appeal. Ever since seeing my idol Naomi Campbell on the cover of Playboy, I vowed to one day pose myself, and if nothing else attach the brand of Playboy to my own in some way.
Typically, the thought of Hugh Hefner’s empire recalls imagery of blonde haired, blue-eyed busty babes with alabaster skin and a “girl-next-door” raunchy innocence. So it’s always a surprise for many when they find out that this chocolate sexpert has landed a radio show with Playboy Radio.
Yes, after years of dreaming, I finally achieved (a portion of) my goal by having one of the largest names in adult entertainment attached to my name, but many often wonder how I made this happen. The process in itself took some years of branding on my part, but it’s been fun every step of the way.
Like EBONY, Chicago is the birthplace of Playboy and also happens to be my own hometown. So when I made a trip back to my childhood home, I found remnants of Playboy in various areas of my room: a Playboy bunny flight attendant costume I wore three years ago for Halloween; a “I posed for Playboy” T-shirt from auditioning to model for the magazine that same year; and a few sets of lingerie with bejeweled bunnies, now several sizes too small for my curvy frame. I realized that my goal of repping the brand had permeated my life in more ways than one.
So how does a brown girl go from being rejected by the magazine’s editorial editors to snagging her own show on Playboy Radio? Ambition and persistence is the most honest answer I can provide. Over the past four years of my blogging career, many radio platforms have taken an interest in how I approach sexuality, but the challenge has been to find a network open to candid sex talk. Several stations offered me the opportunity to host my own show, but every opportunity ended the same: with me being told that my views on sexuality were appreciated but not needed on a commercial platform.
And then one day it happened. I received a tweet from a woman by the name of Maya Jordan, a former Scores dancer turned psychotherapist who was a new personality on Playboy Radio. She had taken interest in my Glameroica101 site and my openness towards sexuality, and wanted to interview me for her show. I happily obliged, and through our on-air conversation, I quickly learned that we were women of the same frame of mind: open, liberated and sexually confident.
I had such a great time interviewing with Maya that I had to look into how she landed the opportunity at Playboy Radio, in hopes of securing a show of my own. I cast my net with an optimistic mind and asked Maya about her journey onto the liberated platform.
“You would be great on the platform,” Maya wrote via email. “It would be great to have another female, sex-positive voice on the platform, but also a woman of color. We rarely get to hear the person of color’s point of view in the field of sexuality.” Finally, someone saw my vison and was more than happy to give me an in.
Without hesitation, she connected me with the executive producer of Playboy Radio and the rest has been history. Given my colorful background in sexuality and my extensive résumé of accomplishments, the opportunity to pitch ideas for a show was granted almost immediately. Through several conversations and brainstorming sessions, the powers that be decided it would be wise for me to develop a show based on my own sex academy. I couldn’t be more thrilled.
A development producer actually remembered me from a previous year at the annual Exxxotica sex exposition during his stint of working with adult film starlet Nyomi Banxxx (who I often get mistaken for). So his enthusiasm for helping create a show that fits my brand and that of Playboy Radio was genuine. After placing my stamp of approval on the show concept, I created a demo as my last piece of requested material for the interview process. And thanks to the collaborative efforts of my brother-in-law—an accomplished producer and audio engineer—we created a format that wowed our critics.
The process took a total of five months to fully materialize, but every moment was worth the wait. After years of dreaming and months of planning, Glamazon Tyomi’s Sex Academy went live April 21, 2015 on playboyradio.com, making me the first African-American sexpert to broadcast on the their platform. Diligent work, solid faith and a dedication to learning all there is to know about sexuality afforded me the opportunity, and they couldn’t be happier to have me.
This is just the beginning of my journey into radio broadcasting, but it sure does feel good to be down with another brand that has my back in broadcasting sex education to the masses from the brown girl perspective.
If you would like to enroll in my sex academy on Playboy Radio, sign up to access my archived shows at PlayboyRadio.com.
Glamazon Tyomi is a freelance writer, model and sex educator with a deeply rooted passion for spreading the message of sex positivity and encouraging the masses to embrace their sexuality. Her website, www.glamerotica101.com, reaches internationally as a source for advice and information for the sexually active/curious. Follow her on Twitter at @glamazontyomi.
