PRINTMiss Hooters International 2009 interview
Vox sat down with newly crowed recent MU grad Raechel Holtgrave
Photo: Hooters of America, Inc.
June 24, 2009 | 10:00 p.m. CST
As I’m sitting at a window table inside Starbucks, Raechel Holtgrave walks in. There is no doubt in my mind that the tall, thin blonde is the girl I’m here to meet. Even on what she tells me is her day off, she’s dressed like she’s got a hot date with one of the Yankees. She wears a sleeveless black top, skinny jeans and 4-inch heels that make me feel like an Oompa Loompa. She sees me and immediately greets me with a friendly smile like we’re old friends.
We sit down and begin talking, and it’s apparent why she won Miss Hooters International. She’s cute, but she’s still a bombshell with long hair and freckles on her nose that she thinks I can’t see through her makeup. Her aura makes you think “bubbly and fun” rather than “glamorous and refined beauty queen.” She said everything with a smile, a laugh and often-invisible question marks at the end of sentences that dominate the speech of many-a-sorority-sister. And despite what stereotypes might go along with being Miss Hooters, most people would probably realize that she’s a pretty nice girl after talking with her in person.
Let’s start with the basics. Are you from Columbia?
I’m originally not from Missouri. I’m from Highland, Ill. It’s a really small town near Edwardsville. But I just graduated from MU.
What did you major in?
Math and actuarial science. I was actually planning to get a job with State Farm, and I was going for my last interview on July 5. But I had to call them and tell them “sorry.”
So, is the Hooters International Pageant like other beauty pageants?
Sort of. There’s no talent part — thank God!
What would you have done if there had been a talent portion?
I don’t know! The only talent I have is that I can make my tongue look like a three-leaf clover, but I don’t think that’s a talent! I would have had to learn something. I’m not musical; I’m not athletic. I used to dance. Maybe I would have done a dance.
Well you’re a math major, so you’re smart. So…
Yeah, I could have done a really long equation or something No, thank God there wasn’t [a talent portion]. There was an evening gown part, and the only talking I had to do was say like, “Proudly representing the State of Missouri, I am Raechel Holtgrave.” And I actually didn’t get to represent Columbia, so I was really bummed about that.
When you first started working at Hooters, did you ever think you would be doing something like this?
No, when I started working at Hooters it was in November [2006], and they were having tryouts for the calendar. But the girls that worked in it were just … I thought, “These girls probably don’t even work at Hooters.” When I first started, I was really shy, and I look totally different now than I did back then. It is kind of hard to explain to a boy. But you know how you can look at someone and see that they have the potential to be hot, but they’re not hot yet?
Um, yeah?
That was me, and now I teach something called the beauty boot camp, and I go around the country to different places and teach people how to get that extra [out of their looks].
So it wasn’t like you had a Derek Zoolander moment where you saw yourself and thought, “Hey, I’m really good looking, maybe I could do this professionally?”
No, no. I didn’t do my eyebrows right, and I was really quiet and shy. I wasn’t fat by any means, but I was just kind of there, like nothing really special. But once I got nominated for Hooters Girl of the Year, I started to do more. I tried out for the 2008 calendar, and I got called back. So I went and shot for it. But my pictures never made it in. So I was like, “that sucks,” because I got really close. So I decided to start working out more and started paying attention to what works best for me, like hair color and makeup.
I guess it must have worked because now you are the embodiment of Hooters.
Well, I actually just won Hooters Girl of the Year in December, which is something where your manager nominates you in your store and then the region has to nominate you. They sent four girls down to Atlanta to meet the executive staff of Hooters – the owner, the president, vice president – they pick one girl that represents Hooters’ image and hospitality and just overall like what they’re looking for…. I thought that that was going to be my title and that was it. So I was just keeping my fingers crossed to get into the top 10 at least [in the Miss Hooters International Pageant]. I went last year, and I was the first girl from Columbia to go. So I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was a lot more prepared this year.
Did you have to answer any questions in the pageant?
Yeah, the top 10 finalists all had a question. My question was “What is the biggest turn-off to you of a guy?” And I said that it is over-complimenting girls on their looks. Like if a guy came up to me and said, “Wow, you’re really funny,” I would be like, “Hey, thanks.” But when people are like “Oh my gosh, you’re so beautiful. You have really pretty eyes,” that’s cliché.
Yeah, I get that all the time.
Yeah? Haha, they had some weird questions like “What Hooter’s menu item would you be and why?”
If you were a Hooters menu item, what would you be?
Well I would definitely be fried pickles because everybody loves them, and they’re really good and tangy.
What are you going to do with that $50,000 you just won at Miss International?
Well, I have a lot of student loans. And I actually just bought a new car when I won $5000 or $6000 for Hooters Girl of the Year… So I’m going to pay a little bit of my car and student loans off. The rest I’m going to try to save because I know I’m going to have to pay a lot in taxes at the end of the year because they literally just hand you a check for $50,000.
So you’re not going to go crazy with it?
No, but I might splurge on one thing if I really want it.
Like what thing?
I don’t know. Maybe a new TV or a new bed or some cute shoes.
So what types of things do you like to do in your spare time?
Well I have a dog, Ted, but he lives with my mom now. I really just like to hang out with my friends and my boyfriend, but it’s hard since I’m gone a lot for Hooters. I’m even going to Afghanistan! I’m really excited for that trip.
Do you ever get tired of all the traveling and shooting? Does it feel like work?
Oh no, the only thing I don’t like is having to get up early. We are so spoiled everywhere we go. I’ve never had to do anything I don’t like. The only thing that feels like a job is shooting commercials because you have to do the same thing over and over again, and I just get to the point where I’m like, “Can I just sit down for a minute?”
What do you think you’ll do after this year?
After I pass my crown on, I’m not sure. I guess that I could look for a job that fits my degree, but I imagine that I’ll come up with some job ideas over this year. Hopefully, I’ll find a job that fits my personality better. I wanted to be an actuary because I love numbers, but it can be boring. It would be hard to go from traveling and shooting and talking to people to sitting at a desk all day. I would like to maybe be a pageant or party planner. I think that would be great.
What does your boyfriend think about all this?
I was working at Hooters when we started dating, so he sort of knew what he was getting into. I think he is proud of me for winning, but I think he’s a little bummed because I’m gone a lot. He isn’t crazy about other guys seeing me in a bikini. I was in a Mizzou calendar when we started dating, and I was also Campus Girls Calendar for the Big 12. And he bought a copy but just put it under his bed in his apartment, and nobody is allowed to see it. His parents still don’t know I work at Hooters!
Haha, they’re going to find out!
I know! That’s what I told him!
So have you had any crazy requests as Miss Hooters or Hooters Girl of the Year?
Not really. I’ll have people ask me for a kiss on the cheek or to kiss their kids.
I see you have a tattoo on your foot.
Yeah. It says “amore.” I got that in my rebellious stage right after dance season was over my senior year in high school. I danced competitively, and you couldn’t have any tattoos. So as soon as the season was over, I went and got an inch-long tattoo on my foot.
OK, so I’ve been trying to think of a crazy question to ask. Do you want to do a “would you rather?”
Yeah! Those are fun.
Would you rather go to school naked for a week or eat a maggot pie?
Eat a maggot pie. I don’t like to be naked in front of people.
What?!
Yeah! I’m a lights-off kind of girl. So yeah, eating a maggot pie.
Really?
Yes! I wouldn’t even be naked with people I already know. They’d be like “Eww, look at that!”
So anything beyond a bikini is out?
Yeah. It seems like a lot of people associate Hooters and Playboy together. But I got a lot of questions afterwards, like by this guy at the airport — I had my crown and flowers and sash — and he was like, “So what’s next? Can I look for you in Playboy?” And I was like “Eww, please don’t look for me in Playboy!” I wouldn’t do anything my mom wouldn’t be proud of, and she wouldn’t be proud of that. That would embarrass her.
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