Rebel modeling

Rebel is an international woman of mystery. She flies around the country using aliases fit for a Bond villain, like Mandi Rivers and Brandi Buns. She visits cinematic locations in sexy disguises, or in nothing at all. Sometimes her laser beam eyes and her raw sex appeal are enough to win over her clients. Others require torturing.

A rising fetish model based out of Seattle, Rebel is paid to fly around the country to shoot kinky scene and photo sets. Her beauty alone has not facilitated this jet-setting lifestyle. This natural hustler is constantly networking and booking new shoots. After she approached me at Fetish Con, we managed to cram in an interview between the 10 shoots she had booked over the four day weekend.

How did you become a traveling fetish model?

I started modeling for fun when I was 18. I started a Model Mayhem account when I was about 20. People said they liked my stuff and they wanted to work with me. When they started asking what my rates were I started making money. Someone asked me if I would go to Hawaii for a shoot. I was 20 or 21 at the time. I was like, "Yeah, I'll go on a free trip to Hawaii for a shoot." … Then I was like, "Wait a second. I could do this anywhere in the world. I could find a place, shoot there, then explore the town." By the time I was 24, I was caught in a dead-end job at a restaurant. I decided I could make all my income off photo shoots. I've been actively booking shoots ever since. I'm online almost every day actively seeking work, mostly through Model Mayhem, Fetlife, or Craigslist, which is hit and miss.

Have you had a weird Craigslist encounter?

Haven't we all. Actually, no. Craigslist is really cut and dry. It's either a legitimate gig or it's not a legitimate gig. If it's not a legit gig, you will know, because they will keep on asking you to send pictures, and they will never set a shoot date. They're just trying to get free pictures. If it is a legitimate gig, they will be overly apologetic for using Craigslist. They'll say things like, "I know there are a lot of freaks on this website, so I just want to provide you with a lot of assurance, references, and links to my website, and this and that, to prove that I'm not one of those freaks. People make themselves standout on Craigslist if they are legit.

Are you building a personal website to house all your content?

I am. It's not up yet. It's going to be under a pseudonym: MandiRivers.com.

What is the business strategy behind having so many stage names?

Mostly because I have been modeling for so long. Rebel is my all encompassing stage name that I use for most of my modeling pictures. Then there is more kinky, bondage type stuff that I don't necessarily want my Facebook fans to know about. Some of those people are freaked out by bondage or fetish or damsel in distress scenarios. I don't want my Facebook fans to worry about me, so I make a stage name for kinkier stuff.

The reason I came up with Mandi Rivers is because I'm getting a website built by this company that builds websites for models. They said, "You've been doing so much modeling under the name Rebel. Everyone has already seen your crotch and all that, so we kind of want to make you up like a new model." I have such a young look, I can still pass for 20.

What is your hard limit for a fetish shoot?

My hard limit for everything is, I'll pose spread legged, with a spread pussy, but I don't do any insertions or toys or vibrators or sex. As far as fetish and kink, I am always being thrown new ideas like, would you like to be spanked? Will you pee on camera? I had never even thought about setting limits for most of these things. Sometimes I have to make a decision on the spot … I want to handle every situation as professionally as I can. Say for example, someone asked, "Is it okay if you get cock-slapped on camera?" I would stop and go, "Okay, I don't think I want that to be featured of me on the Internet." If I wanted to, I could make a pseudonym for that type of stuff. But, when it comes down to it, I have to ask how comfortable as a person I am having that done to me. Let's say when I am getting married, and my future husband finds that video and says, "You never told me about this." I don't want to have to say, "I just did it for the money." So that is where I draw the line. It's kind of a zig-zagged line, but It's important to be as sure as you can about your limits, and vocal.

Do you ever worry about getting bruises or rope burns in one fetish scene that won't translate well for another photo shoot?

Here at Fetish Con people know you might get bruises. I have survived so far without bruises, which is good because I bruise easily. Depending on the bondage, if they use thick rope, you don't really bruise, unless they are hanging you from something. Generally it hasn't been a problem and Photoshop does wonders.

As a traveling fetish model, do you go on a road trip and book shoots along the way, or do you just fly out to one city at a time?

I usually fly out of Seattle about once a month. I'll just go to one city. I'll shoot there for five or six days in a row. I like to find group events like glamour workshops where they will have like five models and twenty photographers. I'll pass out my business card and find more photographers who want to work with me. I usually don't drive across country. I'm thinking about doing that one of these days, but I am kind of grounded in Seattle because I don't just do modeling. I've also started an organization for models and photographers called FemPhotoLTD. I host group shoots where new models and amateur photographers can get together and take turns taking pictures. I have themes, like a bikini shoot, a Halloween one, or a set with a bunch of cars.

As a fetish model, what profession would you compare your income level to?

I probably make as much as a public school teacher … If I wanted to break my comfort zone and cross over into more erotic stuff, I could easily make $100,000 a year, but I don't want to do that. The door is always open. It's my ace in the hole.

That sounds so dirty.

Yeah. My ace in the hole.

What's the strangest shoot you have schedule this weekend?

I'm doing a humiliation shoot where I'll humiliate someone on the other side of the camera, the viewer. It will pretty much be me acting like a brat and saying things like, "You stupid little loser. You probably live in your mom's basement. You're dirty. Lick my feet. You like that shit don't you." Or I just make fun of them for having a small penis.

Do you every contemplate the psychology behind these fetishes?

I try to stay as open minded as possible because I know there are all kinds of people out there. I am open minded to different kinks and fetishes. I'm not going to be like, that is stupid, or that is gross. I know that those fetishes exist. I can't fully wrap my mind around some stuff. Like foot fetish. I like my feet. I think they are really freaking cute, but feet don't turn me on like they do for some people. The weirdest one to me is balloon popping. What's the deal with that?

I've heard it has something to do with the genuine fear of not knowing when the balloon will pop, or the model's knee-jerk reaction when it does pop.

I did a shoot once, and then they were like, "Now we're going to do a balloon popping video." I was like, "Oh shit, I heard about this on clips4sale." So I was just sitting on a balloon. It popped and I was kind of like, "Ahhh!" when it snapped my leg. But there was that anticipation. I've seen some chicks blow it up until it pops in their face. There is definitely fear involved in that.

What are some of your goals as a fetish model?

I want to expand to every state. I want to be able to have networks in every state where photographers and models can get together in group settings and take photos, but it is a work in progress. I haven't even been doing it for a year. November will be my one year mark for FemPhotoLTD.

Is Fetish Con the best place for a fetish model to make professional connections?

This is my first Fetish Con so I don't really know. I am trying to network as much as I can, and this is a good place to do it. I have passed out a ton of business cards already. I was told there's one in Europe called Bound Con. My roommate, Leia — she runs a bondage bed and breakfast in Portugal — she says Bound Con attracts more lifestyle kinksters rather than just photographers and models. For someone who is trying to promote themselves as a model, photographer, or rigger, Fetish Con is the place to go for sure.

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Follow Rebel on Facebook, at facebook.com/RebelSeattle or on Twitter at @MandiRivers and @BrandiBuns.

Check out explicit photos of her work on iRebel87.tumblr.com.

Follow Alfie on Twitter or Facebook and email him here

This article appears in Sep 5-11, 2013.