November 5, 2024 • 37 mins
Ellie investigates how Luis became a photographer glamour models would give anything to shoot with.
The Bunny Trap is produced by Novel.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Novel.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hey listeners, this is Ellie Flynn. Before we get started,
I just want to let you know that this episode
contains swearing and explicit sexual language. It's also a story
of female empowerment and camaraderie thanks to the women who
have shared their stories with us. We contacted the photographer
mentioned in this podcast multiple times for comment, but we
never heard back. He has not been charged with any
(00:33):
crimes and is presumed innocent under the law. We also
contacted Playboy USA. They state that they have asked their
licensees to blacklist the photographer mentioned in this series and
that they prohibit paid to play which you'll hear more
about later in the series. Our research into his association
to Playboy and their statement will be detailed in episode
four of this series. Let me tell you a little
(00:58):
story about the power of Playboy. In nineteen ninety two,
Echo Johnson was just an ordinary girl living in Santa Fe,
New Mexico.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
I was eighteen, and I was two months out of
high school, and I was in a restaurant having dinner.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
She noticed the guy a few tables away staring at her.
After a while, he gets up and walks over.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
He introduced himself to myself and my mom and invited
us Verger's table.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
The guy, a photographer named Greg, said he shot for
a load of magazines like Vigue, Rolling Stone, and Playboy.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
He was shooting a Playboy and he wanted to test
me to be in that Playway and I was like, no,
absolutely not. I could not take my clothes off. I
think I'd seen Playway once in my dad's room. Like
that's as much as I knew of it.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Eco's mom was a bit more familiar with Playboy. She
knew how getting discovered and featured in the magazine could
propel you to superstardom, just like it had for Pamela Anderson.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
My mother she saw the opportunity and she said, you're
doing this and then I was off.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Soon, Echo was whisked off to Zion National Park in
Utah for her first Playboy shoot with Greg, the photographer.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
I was good in front of the camera. I was
pretty generic. I love the camera.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Echo had done a little bit of local modeling before, catalogs,
that sort of thing, but this was different.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Working with the best of the best photographers, makeup, urners, stylus, everything.
It was surreal.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
It was I was like, Wow, this is cool.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
On the shoot, She's surrounded by a dreamy desert landscape
of pink sand dunes, epic rock formations, and endless skies.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
These beautiful photographs, there's an image of me laying down
in the sand and you can see the perfect outline
of my body in the sand, and it was just
like I was suntanning. Most of the pictures were like that,
and it was it was great.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
When those beautiful desert photographs were published, they caught the
attention of the big guy.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Hugh Hefner saw it and said, I want Echo to
Bemis January nineteen ninety three.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Hugh Hefner, the founder and editor in chief of Playboy.
He chose Echo to be the centerfold, the model featured
in the middle pages of the magazine, the top star
on the bill. Huge names have appeared there, Cindy Crawford,
Drew Barrymore, Sharon Stone, They've all been centerfold.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
So it was like this whirlwind and a matter of
two months out of high school, my whole life totally changed.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Echo's career with Playboy made her serious money. Her centerfold
appearance earned her twenty grand in nineteen ninety two dollars
aka a lot of cash, and that was just the beginning.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
I worked nan step for gosh, I want to say,
span of like ten years and hanging out on the
Playboy yacht and going to premieres and people would recognize
me all the time in the airport, on the airplanes, whatever.
And you had your you know, loyal fan base, and
I mean I was having time in my life.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Even today, having long since left modeling behind, Echo credits
all her success to that one lucky day in a
New Mexico restaurant when a random photographer noticed her and
changed her life forever.
Speaker 5 (04:32):
Gosh, I don't know, I don't know what my life
would have been. I would have been very different. I
know that, just right down to like the level of
travel that I was able to do and the calor
or people that I was able to meet and work
with and have these amazing resources at my fingertips. I'm
so grateful for the opportunity and I will always be.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
This is the dream that Luis Gomez sells to models today.
Work with me and I'll get you in Playboy. Work
with me and I'll make you a star. It's an
enticing claim. And hey, if Echo being spotted by a
random photographer in a restaurant could launch her career. Couldn't
that just be a pre internet version of being spotted
(05:20):
by Luis Gomes on Instagram today? Well maybe, except that
random photographer that echo met that Greg guy. It was
Greg Gorman. He's one of the most celebrated American portrait
photographers of the last fifty years. He has a master's
in cinematography and he's shot David Bowie, Barbara streisand Leonardo
(05:43):
DiCaprio Al Pacino. He's legit, legit, but it's Luise. I'm
Ellie Flynn and from the team at Novel. This is
the Bunny Trap Episode three, Guy with a camera. So, Ellie,
(06:37):
we made a discovery. Oh my god, very exciting. I'm
sitting with my producer Eleanor and assistant producer rom Alia.
After hearing the model's experiences, we want to figure out
how Luis Gomez rose to power. He seems to be
a big name in the glamour industry, but before starting
this investigation, I'd never heard of him, so we have
(07:00):
to start from scratch.
Speaker 6 (07:02):
So, in looking through a bunch of free public record websites,
we found out Louise's date of birth and full.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Name Luis Eduardo Gomez Lobo. He's from Venezuela and now
lives and works in the US. He's also around sixty,
so a lot older than I thought. I'm fascinated by
who he is as a person. What was he like
when you lived in Venezuela, Who is he and how
do you end up becoming this person in your mid
(07:39):
to late fifties. Luis Gomez is old enough to have
lived multiple lives, including one as a rock star. Once
upon a time, Luis was the guitarist for a rock
band Feedback. They were pretty big in Venezuela in the eighties.
They recorded three albums, festivals, and even appeared on TV
(08:02):
talk shows.
Speaker 7 (08:05):
I guess the.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Labor poor heave.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Horrible well.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Feedback usually stuck to rockier stuff. They weren't afraid of
a left field cover choice, oh.
Speaker 8 (08:21):
Mister pols Mass.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Such as a version of the Motown hit Please Mister Postman.
But even when Luis was living out his rock star dreams,
there were rumors. I learned about them from a local
journalist who did some digging on the ground in Venezuela.
She spoke to a friend in the music industry, and
without naming names, said she'd heard about allegations of sexual abuse.
Speaker 9 (08:49):
The conversation was something like, if I asked to you
about a venezuela and guitarist move away, who comes to
your mind? And these musu chan played well, I imagine
the feedback guy.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Despite their early promise, feedback never hit the big time.
So it seems Louise pursued a load of other ventures
in Venezuela. Around the mid two thousands, he moved to Miami,
got married, and kept pursuing music. We contacted some people
(09:27):
who knew Louise personally, and reviews were mixed. One described
him as someone you either love or hate, and another
wanted to stop recording as soon as I asked about
Louise's photography career, because it's when Louise puts down his
guitar and picks up a camera that things really start
to change. A YouTube video from that time catches my attention.
(09:53):
Working under the Monika Universe one three seven studios, which
he still uses today, Louise posts a video his film
of a Miami runway show. This seems to be the
first time Luis interacts professionally with the world of modeling
and the glamor world is where Luise finds his brand
(10:13):
new career, first as a model promoter and then as
an aspiring photographer.
Speaker 10 (10:21):
So I first met Louise Goilmez probably in twenty fifteen,
and he was inquiring about private training for photography.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
That's Nino Batista. Back in the day. Nino was a
big glamor photographer and in the mid twenty tens he
was running a side hustle in photography workshops. That's how
he and Louise first met.
Speaker 10 (10:42):
He was pretty new at photography, like he didn't get it,
which is fine, that's what people come to my classes for.
And he came out to a lighting worksho a small one,
probably about five or six attendees.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
That I did at my house.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Nino had booked a few models for the training photographers
to shoot, and I.
Speaker 10 (10:58):
Did notice that was It's hard to say, but do
I remember exactly, No, But do I feel like maybe
he was engaging with my models in ways I would
consider unprofessional?
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Yeah, Nino does remember Louise making some inappropriate comments to
the models.
Speaker 10 (11:17):
I think a model just kind of gave him a
tight liped smile, a little quick back kind of to
whatever he said, and I just remember thinking, got to
watch this one. Another thing I did notice, as I recall,
was he didn't pay a whole lot of attention to
the instruction. It kind of fit his sort of archetype
that I already pegged him on, which is I just
(11:37):
want to show up and shoot girls. Everything was about
the girls. Now that's not uncommon. Lots of guys entering
the field are like that.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Nino thought Luis was probably a guy with a camera
or a GWC. It's a term in the glamor business
for someone who, as Nino puts it, just wants to
shoot girls.
Speaker 10 (11:53):
So the concept of guy with camera GWC is a
you know, it's an insulting term, to be clear, okay,
and it should.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Be, Nino says. These men are everywhere in glamour, guys
who get into photography with zero qualifications, and often not
for their love of lighting and lenses.
Speaker 10 (12:13):
This is not a new problem men, especially older men,
praying on young women. This is a problem going back
to the dawn of time.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Think about what it took to call yourself a photographer
in the nineties when Echo was breaking onto the scene.
All that training, not to mention the professional accolades that
Greg Gorman had. Luis Gomez didn't have any of that,
but he had the right equipment, a bit of training,
and stars in his eyes. After the workshop, Nino says
(12:46):
that Luis kept in touch with him enthusiastically via Facebook.
He even suggested they have a jam, come.
Speaker 10 (12:51):
Over and let's play guitar. You know, we should start
a band, and I'm like, no, we shouldn't. Kind of
blue sunshine on my butt and said he wants to
be like me, he wants to.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
Do work like I doe.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Nino was trying to keep his distance. Louise had left
a bad taste in his mouth. But the year after
the workshop, he says, Louise had news.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
He said, Hey, I've.
Speaker 10 (13:12):
Got to publication that I've started some small.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Magazine, Universe one three seven magazine. It was self published,
several pages of glamor models pictured clothed and in bikinis,
along with short articles and interviews. Luis has somehow made
the leap from GWC to magazine publisher. At first, I
was confused by how someone could just start their own magazine,
(13:36):
but Nino tells me that self published magazines are common.
They're everywhere in the industry and the Internet is the
reason why. The first thing you need to understand is
that glamor magazines aren't like they used to be.
Speaker 10 (13:51):
In the old days of magazine was a big production,
there was a lot of costs involved.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
But today it's very different.
Speaker 10 (13:57):
That process has become so streamlined and easy. Now you
can put together a layout and you can flow some
texts and some photos, a couple graphics, cheesy logo, and
export PDFs and now you are publishing.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Magazines basically, just like how any guy with a camera
can call himself a photographer, any guy with the right
software can make a PDF and call it a magazine.
Including Luis Gomez. In twenty sixteen alone, he created eight
different self published magazines. Today he has even more. On
his website, he claims to publish fifteen magazines. So what's
(14:33):
the point of making your own magazines? What does that
even get you?
Speaker 10 (14:36):
It's just ragging rates. Like you know, I run a magazine,
and if you're new to the industry, new model, you
might think that means a lot more than it does.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
It's all about building a reputation to a model. He
looked more legit than ever, but that reputation was built
on a pile of PDFs. With his self published magazines
and a crash course in photography under his belt. Louise
is all set, but now he needs models to shoot.
(15:06):
I managed to track down a model who shot with
him around this time. Jenny's a former glamor model from
the States. She's left the industry now, so asked us
to give her a fake name. The Luis Gomez she
describes shooting with is very different to the man the
UK Glammor models told me about.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
He seemed very passive.
Speaker 11 (15:26):
It was whatever I said went.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
I'm surprised, Jenny says Louise let her take complete control
of their shoot. I was like, listen, here's the deal.
Speaker 11 (15:36):
You're gonna let me pick out the photos that get published.
Speaker 6 (15:40):
I'm going to bring my girlfriend on set.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
I am going to have a drink.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
And when Jenny nearly canceled their second shoot together, she says,
Luis begged her to reconsider.
Speaker 4 (15:51):
He's like, no, no, no, we can't cancel this shoot.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
You're like the only one I had lined up for this. Please, please, please,
I'll do whatever you want.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Sometime between twenty sixteen and twenty twenty something in bold
and Louise to start behaving very differently, and I think
I know what that is. On September third, twenty seventeen,
Luise posts a picture on Facebook of a model in lingerie.
It's a typical glamour shot, but there's something new in
the top left corner, a familiar bunny eared logo. The
(16:23):
post's caption reads, my.
Speaker 8 (16:25):
New editorial lim Playboy.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
This is the moment Luis Gomez first seems to claim
to be a Playboy photographer. This is the moment everything changes.
Speaker 12 (17:01):
So I shot with this photographer and his name was
Louise Gomez.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
This is Izzy, not her real name. Her words are
voiced by a natta.
Speaker 12 (17:09):
His name came up, and he had all these credentials,
he had the publications behind him, So for me it
was exciting. I was assured up and down that he
had connections, that he knew everyone.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
In twenty seventeen, Izzy says Luise offered her an opportunity
to shoot for Playboy, and she jumped at the chance.
Speaker 12 (17:32):
I ended up doing this full photo shoot for hours
at his house. I remember being coaxed a little like
some of the poses and things. I was just I
was not super comfortable with. They were a little more
open than I would have liked, but you know, I
was told this was what needed.
Speaker 8 (17:48):
To be shot.
Speaker 12 (17:49):
And then I think it was at the end of
the shoot. I remember sitting at his table and you know,
just being told I can get you on any Playboy
cover you want. And I'm like, oh, my god, that's
amazing these photos, you know, they're that good.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
I'm that good.
Speaker 12 (18:05):
Like I was excited, and then it became something else.
He reached out, I think, and grabbed my hand and
instantly my heart sunk and I'm like, oh, boundaries, Well,
what's going on? And you know, he said, yeah, I
can really help you, like I want to help you.
I want to skyrocket your career, like take you to
(18:27):
the next level. So you know, basically, you can do
me some favors. And then i kind of caught on
to what was going on, and I'm like, oh, no,
that's what this is. I'm like, no, you told me
you could get me into Playboy. That's why I'm here today.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
This is the earliest allegation I've heard of Luise requesting
sexual favors in exchange for promises of getting published in Playboy.
Speaker 12 (18:51):
I said no, I'm sorry, I don't want to, and
he said, well, I can get these photos in a
small publication. I said, said, well, what's the publication and
he showed me and it was nothing. It was like
a nothing magazine. I don't want to be in it.
I said, I came here to shoot for Playboy and
he said, well, I told you what it is, and
(19:14):
I was like, okay, well, I guess i'll take the publication.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Is These photos ended up in one of Luis's self
published magazines.
Speaker 12 (19:22):
I remember the publication coming out and how goofy and
embarrassing it was. I didn't even want to post about it.
It was an awful magazine. I just I remember being
so upset.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
In just one year, the balance seems to have shifted
in Luise's favor. He was no longer a nobody. Now
he had power and he was ready to use it.
A lot of networking in the glamour industry is done
at what's called shoot camps. There are events where models
and photographers can meet, mingle, and expand their portfolios. They
(20:03):
can be up to a week long and are often
held at all inclusive luxury hotels in exotic locations. By
twenty eighteen, Luise was becoming one of their main attractions,
but he was also gaining a reputation.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I was specifically told not to work with Luis.
Speaker 10 (20:22):
Go means.
Speaker 4 (20:23):
I was, like, everybody keeps.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Saying that that's Alex. One of the many models I
spoke to who attended events with Luis over the years, they.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Basically told me, you know, he has a tendency of
trying to sleep with the models or getting ultimatums. I
was just like, okay, I mean, he's got great work,
but you know, I'm not going to put myself at risk.
So I legit just did not work with him. Yeah,
that's not my scene.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
But that didn't seem to put off event organizers.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
He said he had access to major publics, which meant
him coming to the event guaranteed that anyone he shot
with was published in Playboy. His associations are vital to
his reach.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
This is a source who attended many shoot camps with
Louise and witnessed his behavior there. She doesn't want to
be identified or named, and her words are voiced by
an actor. The source tells me about an incident she
witnessed at a twenty eighteen event where Louise was the
star attraction. A model had been shooting.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
With him, and this girl comes running and crying out
of the bedroom saying that Louise attacked her. All of
these women are now trying to comfort and protect this
young girl. She was eighteen. Louise was asked to leave,
and he refused to leave the property because he didn't
have all of his equipment. So you know, you had
(21:48):
people going up trying to locate and gather his equipment,
and you know, throwing it out on the law and saying,
don't ever fucking come back. How dare you? We trusted you,
and if you don't leave, the authorities will be called.
And he packed up his stuff.
Speaker 11 (22:03):
And he left, and that was it.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Seven other women from that same event then came forward
with accusations against Luise.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
It became this entire thing where these other women came in,
like this morning, he said that to me last night,
he said that to me yesterday. He made me feel
like if I didn't sleep with him, that I would
never be a model.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
They all made accusations that will sound depressingly familiar to
you by now, level pushing and requesting sexual.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
Favors, and he was banned right then, right there.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Banning Luise came at a cost. His magazine connections had
been a big draw for the models.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
They want Playboy Maxim fhm. They want these major brand deals.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Other photographers just didn't seem to be as established.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
None of them have the reach that Louis Gomez has.
He's not a morally sound person, but he is connected
very deep in the publication world.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
So shockingly, the event organizers invited Luis back on the
condition that he wouldn't behave inappropriately with any more models.
But according to the source, Luise was immediately up to
his old tricks, and when he was confronted, he played
the victim and made excuse after excuse.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
I didn't do that. I didn't, I wouldn't, I can't.
It's not me. He was crying, and he was saying
that he doesn't want his wife to find out. He
loves his wife. She would leave him if she found out.
I think English is his third language, so he uses
that to his advantage, making it seem like he doesn't understand,
or he doesn't comprehend, or he doesn't remember certain words,
(23:45):
or oh, I'm sorry, I'm foreign. That's not what I
meant my English isn't very good. It's a lie. He's
very fluent in English. He understands and he speaks it
as well as you and I. He plays stupid. You
know who he is because of his pattern of behavior.
(24:08):
You can reach across the globe and find out that
he has done the same thing in multiple countries to
multiple girls, and it goes on and on and on
and on.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Allegedly, it only took Luise two events to get banned again.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
He will not change the people that are like him
or the people that enable him. They are the same.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
So who are the people Luise works with? My producer
Eleanor and I go to Luis's website to try and
find out. There's a page of collaborators and partners, so
it's like a bio of each collaborator. There's loads of photographers,
another photographer, photographer, photographer. On his website, Luise has posted
(24:58):
thumb nails of eighty so uciates and collaborators from around
the world, each of them with a little bio in
English and Spanish about what they do and their relationship
with his business universe. One three seven studios. We reached
out to all eighty of these so called collaborators. Some
of them said they hardly knew Luis at all, that
they just met him once and was surprised to be
(25:19):
on his website. Others, yes, little shit.
Speaker 8 (25:25):
Where do I start with Lewis? Oh my god, it's
way darker and way deeper than I could ever imagine.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
But there's one collaborator who really catches my eye. Oh
this is interesting. Niz Operations, director of Universe one three
seven studios in the UK. I recognize niz His full
name is niz Uddin and he acted as Luis's fixer
in the UK. For a fee, he would help Louise
(25:53):
find models to shoot with. He said, okay, you.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Should book this news left the room and left me
on my own with that Louise.
Speaker 7 (26:05):
This is our opportunity to for the first time speak
to someone who was close with Louise. I mean, we
kind of heard tale of this from the girls, but
it seems that Nis and Louise are no longer associated.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
No, and I think we need to try and get
him on record.
Speaker 11 (26:44):
Hi to all our Universe one three seven followers first
shoots in the UK.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
By twenty twenty, niz Arden had worked in the British
glamour industry for years. He helped Luis Gomez, a photographer
living stylesands of miles away, make connections and book models
for shoots. Here's a clip of both of them, which
was posted to the Universe one through seven Studios Facebook.
You can even hear Louise.
Speaker 11 (27:10):
We're in Newcastle upon Time, which is north east of England.
Speaker 8 (27:15):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
But when the UK Glamor Models spoke to Nears about
their allegations, he opted to keep working with Louise. This
is an excerpt of Nears talking to hera, one of
the group's leaders, on a call that she recorded.
Speaker 8 (27:38):
I called a girl who welcome takes female friends again.
Speaker 13 (27:42):
Instead of doing that just do you know what I mean? Like,
instead of putting them in a position where they've got
to take a friend with them, just don't let it happen.
Why why do you why let a girl go into
that type of like environment O a shoe that just
shouldn't happen, Like no one should ever feel so I'm
say that they should have someone sat.
Speaker 8 (28:01):
There with them. It's just it's just you know why,
people who know me, they know I'm in it for,
you know, the progress myself and make my money and
go home. I'm not in it for the pussy mate.
I'll be with my mid for twenty two years, so
I'm in it for the pussy at all.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
So the models named and shamed Nis alongside Luise in
their big social media call out. I want to talk
to Nis about what happened in twenty twenty. Why did
he continue to work with Luis even after hearing the
women's allegations of abuse. Hi, yas that, Liz. I'm fully
expecting Nis to hang up on me, yes speaking, but
(28:43):
not only will he talk to me, he says he's
happy to be in the podcast. I'm not gonna lie.
It catches me off guard. If you're happy for me
to use this conversation as part of it, then we
can do that. And I've just there's a couple of
things that would be helpful to clear up while I've
got you now, then if that's okay, good, Niz says
he You've got a fee for every British model he
booked for Luise to shoot.
Speaker 8 (29:03):
The way it worked Earie was also commission based. Okay,
I get the bookings and you've given me commission, so
it's my job to really puts it, promote it, and
really get it out there kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
What was your commission? What did you earn?
Speaker 8 (29:16):
It can be anything from fifty pounds to one hundred pounds.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
Per you know, peripheral.
Speaker 8 (29:21):
Yeah, I'm sure with thetall bookings.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Were you aware of anything that Louise would ask for
instead of having payment?
Speaker 8 (29:30):
I know he's sent me a pup from our escort
and he just say, you know, come from one service
or service or whatever. But I'm not. I don't want
to hear about it. It's between you lot. I don't
get involved in any of that. You know, it's not
our business.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
There's no way of knowing when there's first heard allegations
against Louise, but I do know that he definitely heard.
By September twenty twenty, the models gave me a trove
of evidence proving that they told Nis about Luise's alleged behavior.
Emily sent this voice note to the WhatsApp group describing
a conversation she says she had with Niznis called me
(30:07):
the day after my shoot, in the morning of my shoe.
He had a forty minute conversation.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
I said, he's a fucking pervert.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
He crossed the line. He asked me if I was
going to sleep with him. I've also seen multiple text
messages in which models reach out to Niz informing him
about bad experiences while shooting with Luis Tony.
Speaker 8 (30:25):
Good keep it quiet for a while, because he's thought
holding on to a lot of commissions. If he was
to get some books. Now, you'll back you into the
space for whatever.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
And I wanted to see a single penny of it, right, Okay,
So you were concerned that you wouldn't get paid if
he was to disappear at that time.
Speaker 8 (30:45):
Obviously the individuals wait two three days extra or even
during the shoot shoot, you know, wait a bit longer, okay.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
I suppose on the from the model side, though, they
were very anxious to get the word out there to
stop those shoots. They didn't want any more models to
have to come into contact with him.
Speaker 8 (31:05):
So I guess through when you know the money is
being elected.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Literally, what the fuck isn't it saying what I think
he's saying that he wanted the models to delay outing
an alleged sexual predator just so that he could get paid.
Speaker 8 (31:24):
I had to right off frands worth of bookings.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Do you have any sympathies with the girls you know
from what they've been through with Louise.
Speaker 8 (31:36):
You know, a week longer, you know, I could have
come out and said something, but they wait a few days.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Do you think there's any responsibility in that.
Speaker 8 (31:48):
Or not at all? I mean they look cherone with you.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
I'm only taking bookings. Take a chaperone with you. This
is all making me feel really uneasy undone.
Speaker 8 (32:02):
Yeah, you know I deserve but why did I get done?
I'm the guy bang in the middle of all this,
you know, I'm the guy who is just taking bookings
and their fit.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
What do you think the models have lost from this?
Speaker 8 (32:21):
It would be a bit of a safety and security
I guess.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Do you think that would have had a long lasting
impact on them?
Speaker 8 (32:29):
Of course, of course it's actress it caused. I mean,
I mean, if it supports me this kind of kind
of distress, I'm sure it's probably called them the same
thing as well.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
I'm wasting for is to take some accountability. I'm giving
him every opportunity I can think of. Does it make
you regret anything that's happened over the pastor years.
Speaker 8 (32:51):
I just wish I'd never been him. It's actually made
me put my up even more and makes me among that.
You know, no one could be trusted out there.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
Niz just turns the spotlight back on himself.
Speaker 8 (33:04):
I've lost my recation. I've lost a lot for its
out there people who trust me, you know, I've lost that.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
To me, it feels like Nis is still seeing himself
as a victim in all this, whereas I can't help
but think of the models who say they suffered at
the hands of Luis Gomes. They were truly on their own.
(33:32):
I feel like I have a better picture of Luis
Gomes now. He started out like any old GWC, but
he teuted connections to Playboy, which made him a start,
and from twenty seventeen onwards, his behavior seems to have
escalated claims of sexual abuse with a consistent emo called
out by the women who say it's happened to them.
(33:53):
It's like the anonymous source said to me, you know
who he is because of his pattern of behavior. He
has done the same thing in multiple countries to multiple girls,
and it goes on and on.
Speaker 8 (34:05):
And on and on.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
My producer Eleanor and I are left feeling frustrated.
Speaker 7 (34:16):
The accountability lies with the people that are enabling this
behavior as well nobody is doing anything about it, and
it's sort of like, oh, well, we'll just turn a
blind eye until he's arrested or until what Why why
aren't people taking this seriously? Why isn't there more of
a stand within the industry where people say, actually, that's
(34:38):
not on. And then.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
We get a message it's from another collaborator. Hello, Ellie,
thanks so much for reaching out to me. Assuming I
am correct and who this person is, I have suffered
more than anyone at his hand. His offenses go well
beyond sexual harassment and abuse. I would like nothing more
than to see him behind the far turns out there's
(35:02):
a whole other side to what Luis is up to,
because the allegations aren't just sexual, they're financial too. Coming
up on the bunny.
Speaker 7 (35:13):
Trap, he said, for five pounds, I could be the
playboy paymade.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
Effectively, any woman can be a covered all these days
if you're willing to pony up the dell.
Speaker 10 (35:23):
They call him the venezuela and tapeworm really, and he's
the definition of parasite. It's an organism that feeds off
of others to their detriment.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
Thanks to the women who shared their stories with us,
we contacted Luis Gomez multiple times for comment, but we
never heard back. He has not been charged with any
crimes and is presumed innocent under the law. We also
sought comment from Playboy USA. They declined our request for
an interview, but you can hear their statement later in
the series. The Bonnie Trap is produced by Novel. For
(36:19):
more from Novel, visit novel dot Audio. The show is
hosted by me Ellie Flynn. You can find me on
social media by searching my name that's eb l i
E Fly double N. This season is produced by Eleanor
Biggs and written by me Ellie Flynn and Eleana Biggs.
Our assistant producer is Amalia Sortland, with additional production from
(36:41):
Lee Meyer and Saskia Collette. Additional research by Valeria Rocker.
The editors are Georgia Moody and Austin Mitchell. Our executive
producers are Max O'Brien and Craig Strachan. Our fact checker
is Frendall Fulton. Production management from Scherie Houston and Charlotte Wolf.
Sound design, mixing and scoring by Daniel Campsen and Nicholas Alexander.
(37:02):
Music supervision by Nicholas Alexander Eleanor Biggs and Max O'Brien.
Original music composed and performed by Jake Long, and additional
production by Nicholas Alexander, Louisa Gersteine and Daniel Kempson. The
series artwork was designed by Christina Limcold Willard Foxton, its
creative director of development. Izzy was played by Florian Claire
(37:22):
and the anonymous source was played by Maddie Ingram. Luisco
Mers was played by Juan Solari. The Venezuelan talk show
you heard was from Programma de Gala
Speaker 4 (37:40):
Novel
Novel.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hey listeners, this is Ellie Flynn. Before we get started,
I just want to let you know that this episode
contains swearing and explicit sexual language. It's also a story
of female empowerment and camaraderie thanks to the women who
have shared their stories with us. We contacted the photographer
mentioned in this podcast multiple times for comment, but we
never heard back. He has not been charged with any
(00:33):
crimes and is presumed innocent under the law. We also
contacted Playboy USA. They state that they have asked their
licensees to blacklist the photographer mentioned in this series and
that they prohibit paid to play which you'll hear more
about later in the series. Our research into his association
to Playboy and their statement will be detailed in episode
four of this series. Let me tell you a little
(00:58):
story about the power of Playboy. In nineteen ninety two,
Echo Johnson was just an ordinary girl living in Santa Fe,
New Mexico.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
I was eighteen, and I was two months out of
high school, and I was in a restaurant having dinner.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
She noticed the guy a few tables away staring at her.
After a while, he gets up and walks over.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
He introduced himself to myself and my mom and invited
us Verger's table.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
The guy, a photographer named Greg, said he shot for
a load of magazines like Vigue, Rolling Stone, and Playboy.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
He was shooting a Playboy and he wanted to test
me to be in that Playway and I was like, no,
absolutely not. I could not take my clothes off. I
think I'd seen Playway once in my dad's room. Like
that's as much as I knew of it.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Eco's mom was a bit more familiar with Playboy. She
knew how getting discovered and featured in the magazine could
propel you to superstardom, just like it had for Pamela Anderson.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
My mother she saw the opportunity and she said, you're
doing this and then I was off.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Soon, Echo was whisked off to Zion National Park in
Utah for her first Playboy shoot with Greg, the photographer.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
I was good in front of the camera. I was
pretty generic. I love the camera.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Echo had done a little bit of local modeling before, catalogs,
that sort of thing, but this was different.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Working with the best of the best photographers, makeup, urners, stylus, everything.
It was surreal.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
It was I was like, Wow, this is cool.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
On the shoot, She's surrounded by a dreamy desert landscape
of pink sand dunes, epic rock formations, and endless skies.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
These beautiful photographs, there's an image of me laying down
in the sand and you can see the perfect outline
of my body in the sand, and it was just
like I was suntanning. Most of the pictures were like that,
and it was it was great.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
When those beautiful desert photographs were published, they caught the
attention of the big guy.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Hugh Hefner saw it and said, I want Echo to
Bemis January nineteen ninety three.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Hugh Hefner, the founder and editor in chief of Playboy.
He chose Echo to be the centerfold, the model featured
in the middle pages of the magazine, the top star
on the bill. Huge names have appeared there, Cindy Crawford,
Drew Barrymore, Sharon Stone, They've all been centerfold.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
So it was like this whirlwind and a matter of
two months out of high school, my whole life totally changed.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Echo's career with Playboy made her serious money. Her centerfold
appearance earned her twenty grand in nineteen ninety two dollars
aka a lot of cash, and that was just the beginning.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
I worked nan step for gosh, I want to say,
span of like ten years and hanging out on the
Playboy yacht and going to premieres and people would recognize
me all the time in the airport, on the airplanes, whatever.
And you had your you know, loyal fan base, and
I mean I was having time in my life.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Even today, having long since left modeling behind, Echo credits
all her success to that one lucky day in a
New Mexico restaurant when a random photographer noticed her and
changed her life forever.
Speaker 5 (04:32):
Gosh, I don't know, I don't know what my life
would have been. I would have been very different. I
know that, just right down to like the level of
travel that I was able to do and the calor
or people that I was able to meet and work
with and have these amazing resources at my fingertips. I'm
so grateful for the opportunity and I will always be.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
This is the dream that Luis Gomez sells to models today.
Work with me and I'll get you in Playboy. Work
with me and I'll make you a star. It's an
enticing claim. And hey, if Echo being spotted by a
random photographer in a restaurant could launch her career. Couldn't
that just be a pre internet version of being spotted
(05:20):
by Luis Gomes on Instagram today? Well maybe, except that
random photographer that echo met that Greg guy. It was
Greg Gorman. He's one of the most celebrated American portrait
photographers of the last fifty years. He has a master's
in cinematography and he's shot David Bowie, Barbara streisand Leonardo
(05:43):
DiCaprio Al Pacino. He's legit, legit, but it's Luise. I'm
Ellie Flynn and from the team at Novel. This is
the Bunny Trap Episode three, Guy with a camera. So, Ellie,
(06:37):
we made a discovery. Oh my god, very exciting. I'm
sitting with my producer Eleanor and assistant producer rom Alia.
After hearing the model's experiences, we want to figure out
how Luis Gomez rose to power. He seems to be
a big name in the glamour industry, but before starting
this investigation, I'd never heard of him, so we have
(07:00):
to start from scratch.
Speaker 6 (07:02):
So, in looking through a bunch of free public record websites,
we found out Louise's date of birth and full.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Name Luis Eduardo Gomez Lobo. He's from Venezuela and now
lives and works in the US. He's also around sixty,
so a lot older than I thought. I'm fascinated by
who he is as a person. What was he like
when you lived in Venezuela, Who is he and how
do you end up becoming this person in your mid
(07:39):
to late fifties. Luis Gomez is old enough to have
lived multiple lives, including one as a rock star. Once
upon a time, Luis was the guitarist for a rock
band Feedback. They were pretty big in Venezuela in the eighties.
They recorded three albums, festivals, and even appeared on TV
(08:02):
talk shows.
Speaker 7 (08:05):
I guess the.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Labor poor heave.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Horrible well.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Feedback usually stuck to rockier stuff. They weren't afraid of
a left field cover choice, oh.
Speaker 8 (08:21):
Mister pols Mass.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Such as a version of the Motown hit Please Mister Postman.
But even when Luis was living out his rock star dreams,
there were rumors. I learned about them from a local
journalist who did some digging on the ground in Venezuela.
She spoke to a friend in the music industry, and
without naming names, said she'd heard about allegations of sexual abuse.
Speaker 9 (08:49):
The conversation was something like, if I asked to you
about a venezuela and guitarist move away, who comes to
your mind? And these musu chan played well, I imagine
the feedback guy.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Despite their early promise, feedback never hit the big time.
So it seems Louise pursued a load of other ventures
in Venezuela. Around the mid two thousands, he moved to Miami,
got married, and kept pursuing music. We contacted some people
(09:27):
who knew Louise personally, and reviews were mixed. One described
him as someone you either love or hate, and another
wanted to stop recording as soon as I asked about
Louise's photography career, because it's when Louise puts down his
guitar and picks up a camera that things really start
to change. A YouTube video from that time catches my attention.
(09:53):
Working under the Monika Universe one three seven studios, which
he still uses today, Louise posts a video his film
of a Miami runway show. This seems to be the
first time Luis interacts professionally with the world of modeling
and the glamor world is where Luise finds his brand
(10:13):
new career, first as a model promoter and then as
an aspiring photographer.
Speaker 10 (10:21):
So I first met Louise Goilmez probably in twenty fifteen,
and he was inquiring about private training for photography.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
That's Nino Batista. Back in the day. Nino was a
big glamor photographer and in the mid twenty tens he
was running a side hustle in photography workshops. That's how
he and Louise first met.
Speaker 10 (10:42):
He was pretty new at photography, like he didn't get it,
which is fine, that's what people come to my classes for.
And he came out to a lighting worksho a small one,
probably about five or six attendees.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
That I did at my house.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Nino had booked a few models for the training photographers
to shoot, and I.
Speaker 10 (10:58):
Did notice that was It's hard to say, but do
I remember exactly, No, But do I feel like maybe
he was engaging with my models in ways I would
consider unprofessional?
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Yeah, Nino does remember Louise making some inappropriate comments to
the models.
Speaker 10 (11:17):
I think a model just kind of gave him a
tight liped smile, a little quick back kind of to
whatever he said, and I just remember thinking, got to
watch this one. Another thing I did notice, as I recall,
was he didn't pay a whole lot of attention to
the instruction. It kind of fit his sort of archetype
that I already pegged him on, which is I just
(11:37):
want to show up and shoot girls. Everything was about
the girls. Now that's not uncommon. Lots of guys entering
the field are like that.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Nino thought Luis was probably a guy with a camera
or a GWC. It's a term in the glamor business
for someone who, as Nino puts it, just wants to
shoot girls.
Speaker 10 (11:53):
So the concept of guy with camera GWC is a
you know, it's an insulting term, to be clear, okay,
and it should.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Be, Nino says. These men are everywhere in glamour, guys
who get into photography with zero qualifications, and often not
for their love of lighting and lenses.
Speaker 10 (12:13):
This is not a new problem men, especially older men,
praying on young women. This is a problem going back
to the dawn of time.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Think about what it took to call yourself a photographer
in the nineties when Echo was breaking onto the scene.
All that training, not to mention the professional accolades that
Greg Gorman had. Luis Gomez didn't have any of that,
but he had the right equipment, a bit of training,
and stars in his eyes. After the workshop, Nino says
(12:46):
that Luis kept in touch with him enthusiastically via Facebook.
He even suggested they have a jam, come.
Speaker 10 (12:51):
Over and let's play guitar. You know, we should start
a band, and I'm like, no, we shouldn't. Kind of
blue sunshine on my butt and said he wants to
be like me, he wants to.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
Do work like I doe.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Nino was trying to keep his distance. Louise had left
a bad taste in his mouth. But the year after
the workshop, he says, Louise had news.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
He said, Hey, I've.
Speaker 10 (13:12):
Got to publication that I've started some small.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Magazine, Universe one three seven magazine. It was self published,
several pages of glamor models pictured clothed and in bikinis,
along with short articles and interviews. Luis has somehow made
the leap from GWC to magazine publisher. At first, I
was confused by how someone could just start their own magazine,
(13:36):
but Nino tells me that self published magazines are common.
They're everywhere in the industry and the Internet is the
reason why. The first thing you need to understand is
that glamor magazines aren't like they used to be.
Speaker 10 (13:51):
In the old days of magazine was a big production,
there was a lot of costs involved.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
But today it's very different.
Speaker 10 (13:57):
That process has become so streamlined and easy. Now you
can put together a layout and you can flow some
texts and some photos, a couple graphics, cheesy logo, and
export PDFs and now you are publishing.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Magazines basically, just like how any guy with a camera
can call himself a photographer, any guy with the right
software can make a PDF and call it a magazine.
Including Luis Gomez. In twenty sixteen alone, he created eight
different self published magazines. Today he has even more. On
his website, he claims to publish fifteen magazines. So what's
(14:33):
the point of making your own magazines? What does that
even get you?
Speaker 10 (14:36):
It's just ragging rates. Like you know, I run a magazine,
and if you're new to the industry, new model, you
might think that means a lot more than it does.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
It's all about building a reputation to a model. He
looked more legit than ever, but that reputation was built
on a pile of PDFs. With his self published magazines
and a crash course in photography under his belt. Louise
is all set, but now he needs models to shoot.
(15:06):
I managed to track down a model who shot with
him around this time. Jenny's a former glamor model from
the States. She's left the industry now, so asked us
to give her a fake name. The Luis Gomez she
describes shooting with is very different to the man the
UK Glammor models told me about.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
He seemed very passive.
Speaker 11 (15:26):
It was whatever I said went.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
I'm surprised, Jenny says Louise let her take complete control
of their shoot. I was like, listen, here's the deal.
Speaker 11 (15:36):
You're gonna let me pick out the photos that get published.
Speaker 6 (15:40):
I'm going to bring my girlfriend on set.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
I am going to have a drink.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
And when Jenny nearly canceled their second shoot together, she says,
Luis begged her to reconsider.
Speaker 4 (15:51):
He's like, no, no, no, we can't cancel this shoot.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
You're like the only one I had lined up for this. Please, please, please,
I'll do whatever you want.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Sometime between twenty sixteen and twenty twenty something in bold
and Louise to start behaving very differently, and I think
I know what that is. On September third, twenty seventeen,
Luise posts a picture on Facebook of a model in lingerie.
It's a typical glamour shot, but there's something new in
the top left corner, a familiar bunny eared logo. The
(16:23):
post's caption reads, my.
Speaker 8 (16:25):
New editorial lim Playboy.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
This is the moment Luis Gomez first seems to claim
to be a Playboy photographer. This is the moment everything changes.
Speaker 12 (17:01):
So I shot with this photographer and his name was
Louise Gomez.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
This is Izzy, not her real name. Her words are
voiced by a natta.
Speaker 12 (17:09):
His name came up, and he had all these credentials,
he had the publications behind him, So for me it
was exciting. I was assured up and down that he
had connections, that he knew everyone.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
In twenty seventeen, Izzy says Luise offered her an opportunity
to shoot for Playboy, and she jumped at the chance.
Speaker 12 (17:32):
I ended up doing this full photo shoot for hours
at his house. I remember being coaxed a little like
some of the poses and things. I was just I
was not super comfortable with. They were a little more
open than I would have liked, but you know, I
was told this was what needed.
Speaker 8 (17:48):
To be shot.
Speaker 12 (17:49):
And then I think it was at the end of
the shoot. I remember sitting at his table and you know,
just being told I can get you on any Playboy
cover you want. And I'm like, oh, my god, that's
amazing these photos, you know, they're that good.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
I'm that good.
Speaker 12 (18:05):
Like I was excited, and then it became something else.
He reached out, I think, and grabbed my hand and
instantly my heart sunk and I'm like, oh, boundaries, Well,
what's going on? And you know, he said, yeah, I
can really help you, like I want to help you.
I want to skyrocket your career, like take you to
(18:27):
the next level. So you know, basically, you can do
me some favors. And then i kind of caught on
to what was going on, and I'm like, oh, no,
that's what this is. I'm like, no, you told me
you could get me into Playboy. That's why I'm here today.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
This is the earliest allegation I've heard of Luise requesting
sexual favors in exchange for promises of getting published in Playboy.
Speaker 12 (18:51):
I said no, I'm sorry, I don't want to, and
he said, well, I can get these photos in a
small publication. I said, said, well, what's the publication and
he showed me and it was nothing. It was like
a nothing magazine. I don't want to be in it.
I said, I came here to shoot for Playboy and
he said, well, I told you what it is, and
(19:14):
I was like, okay, well, I guess i'll take the publication.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Is These photos ended up in one of Luis's self
published magazines.
Speaker 12 (19:22):
I remember the publication coming out and how goofy and
embarrassing it was. I didn't even want to post about it.
It was an awful magazine. I just I remember being
so upset.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
In just one year, the balance seems to have shifted
in Luise's favor. He was no longer a nobody. Now
he had power and he was ready to use it.
A lot of networking in the glamour industry is done
at what's called shoot camps. There are events where models
and photographers can meet, mingle, and expand their portfolios. They
(20:03):
can be up to a week long and are often
held at all inclusive luxury hotels in exotic locations. By
twenty eighteen, Luise was becoming one of their main attractions,
but he was also gaining a reputation.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I was specifically told not to work with Luis.
Speaker 10 (20:22):
Go means.
Speaker 4 (20:23):
I was, like, everybody keeps.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Saying that that's Alex. One of the many models I
spoke to who attended events with Luis over the years, they.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Basically told me, you know, he has a tendency of
trying to sleep with the models or getting ultimatums. I
was just like, okay, I mean, he's got great work,
but you know, I'm not going to put myself at risk.
So I legit just did not work with him. Yeah,
that's not my scene.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
But that didn't seem to put off event organizers.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
He said he had access to major publics, which meant
him coming to the event guaranteed that anyone he shot
with was published in Playboy. His associations are vital to
his reach.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
This is a source who attended many shoot camps with
Louise and witnessed his behavior there. She doesn't want to
be identified or named, and her words are voiced by
an actor. The source tells me about an incident she
witnessed at a twenty eighteen event where Louise was the
star attraction. A model had been shooting.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
With him, and this girl comes running and crying out
of the bedroom saying that Louise attacked her. All of
these women are now trying to comfort and protect this
young girl. She was eighteen. Louise was asked to leave,
and he refused to leave the property because he didn't
have all of his equipment. So you know, you had
(21:48):
people going up trying to locate and gather his equipment,
and you know, throwing it out on the law and saying,
don't ever fucking come back. How dare you? We trusted you,
and if you don't leave, the authorities will be called.
And he packed up his stuff.
Speaker 11 (22:03):
And he left, and that was it.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Seven other women from that same event then came forward
with accusations against Luise.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
It became this entire thing where these other women came in,
like this morning, he said that to me last night,
he said that to me yesterday. He made me feel
like if I didn't sleep with him, that I would
never be a model.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
They all made accusations that will sound depressingly familiar to
you by now, level pushing and requesting sexual.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
Favors, and he was banned right then, right there.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Banning Luise came at a cost. His magazine connections had
been a big draw for the models.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
They want Playboy Maxim fhm. They want these major brand deals.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Other photographers just didn't seem to be as established.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
None of them have the reach that Louis Gomez has.
He's not a morally sound person, but he is connected
very deep in the publication world.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
So shockingly, the event organizers invited Luis back on the
condition that he wouldn't behave inappropriately with any more models.
But according to the source, Luise was immediately up to
his old tricks, and when he was confronted, he played
the victim and made excuse after excuse.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
I didn't do that. I didn't, I wouldn't, I can't.
It's not me. He was crying, and he was saying
that he doesn't want his wife to find out. He
loves his wife. She would leave him if she found out.
I think English is his third language, so he uses
that to his advantage, making it seem like he doesn't understand,
or he doesn't comprehend, or he doesn't remember certain words,
(23:45):
or oh, I'm sorry, I'm foreign. That's not what I
meant my English isn't very good. It's a lie. He's
very fluent in English. He understands and he speaks it
as well as you and I. He plays stupid. You
know who he is because of his pattern of behavior.
(24:08):
You can reach across the globe and find out that
he has done the same thing in multiple countries to
multiple girls, and it goes on and on and on
and on.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Allegedly, it only took Luise two events to get banned again.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
He will not change the people that are like him
or the people that enable him. They are the same.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
So who are the people Luise works with? My producer
Eleanor and I go to Luis's website to try and
find out. There's a page of collaborators and partners, so
it's like a bio of each collaborator. There's loads of photographers,
another photographer, photographer, photographer. On his website, Luise has posted
(24:58):
thumb nails of eighty so uciates and collaborators from around
the world, each of them with a little bio in
English and Spanish about what they do and their relationship
with his business universe. One three seven studios. We reached
out to all eighty of these so called collaborators. Some
of them said they hardly knew Luis at all, that
they just met him once and was surprised to be
(25:19):
on his website. Others, yes, little shit.
Speaker 8 (25:25):
Where do I start with Lewis? Oh my god, it's
way darker and way deeper than I could ever imagine.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
But there's one collaborator who really catches my eye. Oh
this is interesting. Niz Operations, director of Universe one three
seven studios in the UK. I recognize niz His full
name is niz Uddin and he acted as Luis's fixer
in the UK. For a fee, he would help Louise
(25:53):
find models to shoot with. He said, okay, you.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Should book this news left the room and left me
on my own with that Louise.
Speaker 7 (26:05):
This is our opportunity to for the first time speak
to someone who was close with Louise. I mean, we
kind of heard tale of this from the girls, but
it seems that Nis and Louise are no longer associated.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
No, and I think we need to try and get
him on record.
Speaker 11 (26:44):
Hi to all our Universe one three seven followers first
shoots in the UK.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
By twenty twenty, niz Arden had worked in the British
glamour industry for years. He helped Luis Gomez, a photographer
living stylesands of miles away, make connections and book models
for shoots. Here's a clip of both of them, which
was posted to the Universe one through seven Studios Facebook.
You can even hear Louise.
Speaker 11 (27:10):
We're in Newcastle upon Time, which is north east of England.
Speaker 8 (27:15):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
But when the UK Glamor Models spoke to Nears about
their allegations, he opted to keep working with Louise. This
is an excerpt of Nears talking to hera, one of
the group's leaders, on a call that she recorded.
Speaker 8 (27:38):
I called a girl who welcome takes female friends again.
Speaker 13 (27:42):
Instead of doing that just do you know what I mean? Like,
instead of putting them in a position where they've got
to take a friend with them, just don't let it happen.
Why why do you why let a girl go into
that type of like environment O a shoe that just
shouldn't happen, Like no one should ever feel so I'm
say that they should have someone sat.
Speaker 8 (28:01):
There with them. It's just it's just you know why,
people who know me, they know I'm in it for,
you know, the progress myself and make my money and
go home. I'm not in it for the pussy mate.
I'll be with my mid for twenty two years, so
I'm in it for the pussy at all.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
So the models named and shamed Nis alongside Luise in
their big social media call out. I want to talk
to Nis about what happened in twenty twenty. Why did
he continue to work with Luis even after hearing the
women's allegations of abuse. Hi, yas that, Liz. I'm fully
expecting Nis to hang up on me, yes speaking, but
(28:43):
not only will he talk to me, he says he's
happy to be in the podcast. I'm not gonna lie.
It catches me off guard. If you're happy for me
to use this conversation as part of it, then we
can do that. And I've just there's a couple of
things that would be helpful to clear up while I've
got you now, then if that's okay, good, Niz says
he You've got a fee for every British model he
booked for Luise to shoot.
Speaker 8 (29:03):
The way it worked Earie was also commission based. Okay,
I get the bookings and you've given me commission, so
it's my job to really puts it, promote it, and
really get it out there kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
What was your commission? What did you earn?
Speaker 8 (29:16):
It can be anything from fifty pounds to one hundred pounds.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
Per you know, peripheral.
Speaker 8 (29:21):
Yeah, I'm sure with thetall bookings.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Were you aware of anything that Louise would ask for
instead of having payment?
Speaker 8 (29:30):
I know he's sent me a pup from our escort
and he just say, you know, come from one service
or service or whatever. But I'm not. I don't want
to hear about it. It's between you lot. I don't
get involved in any of that. You know, it's not
our business.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
There's no way of knowing when there's first heard allegations
against Louise, but I do know that he definitely heard.
By September twenty twenty, the models gave me a trove
of evidence proving that they told Nis about Luise's alleged behavior.
Emily sent this voice note to the WhatsApp group describing
a conversation she says she had with Niznis called me
(30:07):
the day after my shoot, in the morning of my shoe.
He had a forty minute conversation.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
I said, he's a fucking pervert.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
He crossed the line. He asked me if I was
going to sleep with him. I've also seen multiple text
messages in which models reach out to Niz informing him
about bad experiences while shooting with Luis Tony.
Speaker 8 (30:25):
Good keep it quiet for a while, because he's thought
holding on to a lot of commissions. If he was
to get some books. Now, you'll back you into the
space for whatever.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
And I wanted to see a single penny of it, right, Okay,
So you were concerned that you wouldn't get paid if
he was to disappear at that time.
Speaker 8 (30:45):
Obviously the individuals wait two three days extra or even
during the shoot shoot, you know, wait a bit longer, okay.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
I suppose on the from the model side, though, they
were very anxious to get the word out there to
stop those shoots. They didn't want any more models to
have to come into contact with him.
Speaker 8 (31:05):
So I guess through when you know the money is
being elected.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Literally, what the fuck isn't it saying what I think
he's saying that he wanted the models to delay outing
an alleged sexual predator just so that he could get paid.
Speaker 8 (31:24):
I had to right off frands worth of bookings.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Do you have any sympathies with the girls you know
from what they've been through with Louise.
Speaker 8 (31:36):
You know, a week longer, you know, I could have
come out and said something, but they wait a few days.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Do you think there's any responsibility in that.
Speaker 8 (31:48):
Or not at all? I mean they look cherone with you.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
I'm only taking bookings. Take a chaperone with you. This
is all making me feel really uneasy undone.
Speaker 8 (32:02):
Yeah, you know I deserve but why did I get done?
I'm the guy bang in the middle of all this,
you know, I'm the guy who is just taking bookings
and their fit.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
What do you think the models have lost from this?
Speaker 8 (32:21):
It would be a bit of a safety and security
I guess.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Do you think that would have had a long lasting
impact on them?
Speaker 8 (32:29):
Of course, of course it's actress it caused. I mean,
I mean, if it supports me this kind of kind
of distress, I'm sure it's probably called them the same
thing as well.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
I'm wasting for is to take some accountability. I'm giving
him every opportunity I can think of. Does it make
you regret anything that's happened over the pastor years.
Speaker 8 (32:51):
I just wish I'd never been him. It's actually made
me put my up even more and makes me among that.
You know, no one could be trusted out there.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
Niz just turns the spotlight back on himself.
Speaker 8 (33:04):
I've lost my recation. I've lost a lot for its
out there people who trust me, you know, I've lost that.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
To me, it feels like Nis is still seeing himself
as a victim in all this, whereas I can't help
but think of the models who say they suffered at
the hands of Luis Gomes. They were truly on their own.
(33:32):
I feel like I have a better picture of Luis
Gomes now. He started out like any old GWC, but
he teuted connections to Playboy, which made him a start,
and from twenty seventeen onwards, his behavior seems to have
escalated claims of sexual abuse with a consistent emo called
out by the women who say it's happened to them.
(33:53):
It's like the anonymous source said to me, you know
who he is because of his pattern of behavior. He
has done the same thing in multiple countries to multiple girls,
and it goes on and on.
Speaker 8 (34:05):
And on and on.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
My producer Eleanor and I are left feeling frustrated.
Speaker 7 (34:16):
The accountability lies with the people that are enabling this
behavior as well nobody is doing anything about it, and
it's sort of like, oh, well, we'll just turn a
blind eye until he's arrested or until what Why why
aren't people taking this seriously? Why isn't there more of
a stand within the industry where people say, actually, that's
(34:38):
not on. And then.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
We get a message it's from another collaborator. Hello, Ellie,
thanks so much for reaching out to me. Assuming I
am correct and who this person is, I have suffered
more than anyone at his hand. His offenses go well
beyond sexual harassment and abuse. I would like nothing more
than to see him behind the far turns out there's
(35:02):
a whole other side to what Luis is up to,
because the allegations aren't just sexual, they're financial too. Coming
up on the bunny.
Speaker 7 (35:13):
Trap, he said, for five pounds, I could be the
playboy paymade.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
Effectively, any woman can be a covered all these days
if you're willing to pony up the dell.
Speaker 10 (35:23):
They call him the venezuela and tapeworm really, and he's
the definition of parasite. It's an organism that feeds off
of others to their detriment.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
Thanks to the women who shared their stories with us,
we contacted Luis Gomez multiple times for comment, but we
never heard back. He has not been charged with any
crimes and is presumed innocent under the law. We also
sought comment from Playboy USA. They declined our request for
an interview, but you can hear their statement later in
the series. The Bonnie Trap is produced by Novel. For
(36:19):
more from Novel, visit novel dot Audio. The show is
hosted by me Ellie Flynn. You can find me on
social media by searching my name that's eb l i
E Fly double N. This season is produced by Eleanor
Biggs and written by me Ellie Flynn and Eleana Biggs.
Our assistant producer is Amalia Sortland, with additional production from
(36:41):
Lee Meyer and Saskia Collette. Additional research by Valeria Rocker.
The editors are Georgia Moody and Austin Mitchell. Our executive
producers are Max O'Brien and Craig Strachan. Our fact checker
is Frendall Fulton. Production management from Scherie Houston and Charlotte Wolf.
Sound design, mixing and scoring by Daniel Campsen and Nicholas Alexander.
(37:02):
Music supervision by Nicholas Alexander Eleanor Biggs and Max O'Brien.
Original music composed and performed by Jake Long, and additional
production by Nicholas Alexander, Louisa Gersteine and Daniel Kempson. The
series artwork was designed by Christina Limcold Willard Foxton, its
creative director of development. Izzy was played by Florian Claire
(37:22):
and the anonymous source was played by Maddie Ingram. Luisco
Mers was played by Juan Solari. The Venezuelan talk show
you heard was from Programma de Gala
Speaker 4 (37:40):
Novel
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