Exclusive with Shauna Sand: Former Playmate Talks Loss, Growing Her Career During the Pandemic; ‘Everything Happened at Once’
In an exclusive three-part interview with former Playboy’s “Miss May” 1996, Shauna Sand, we talked about many topics. From motherhood,
Ivy Griffith
In an exclusive three-part interview with former Playboy’s “Miss May” 1996, Shauna Sand, we talked about many topics. From motherhood, to building a career, Sand impressed me with her intelligence, insight, and devotion to both her children and her career.
Although “Miss May” is how many of her fans think of her, the OnlyFanssuperstar is more than a beautiful face; she’s a successful businesswoman who’s expertly marketed her brand and navigated the ups and downs of an industry that doesn’t usually make room for women to stay relevant. Sand, however, has defied the industry to remain not just relevant, but beloved, and expanding her career in a time when opportunity is at a premium. Sand is inarguably a beautiful face, but she’s also shrewd, keen, and blazing a trail of success and determination for her three daughters to follow.
This Year, Sand Suffered a Tremendous Loss
One of the first questions I wanted to ask Sand was how she’s coping with the pandemic. With a career that relies on fan interaction, how has Sand found her life and career changed in recent months? But before discussing that, Sand revealed to me a tremendous loss that she and her family suffered earlier this year. When asked how things were different this year, Sand opened up about the loss.
With a tremulous voice, Sand began, “for me personally, it was everything all at once. Because my mom passed away, right when we went into lockdown. From breast cancer.”
Pondering the sequence of events, Sand continued with emotion in her voice, “It’s been hard. As far as my mom, I watched her really, really suffer. And my kids were all here. Then the next day, we went on lockdown, so we weren’t able to have a celebration of life for her. We still haven’t, we’re working on that. And it was crazy. I was living with my daughter, Alexandra in San Diego. She and I became roommates for her last semester at UCSD. And then that happened with my mom, and then we went on lockdown.”
Sand then explained how daughter Alexandra had to return to LA with her two sisters, but she stayed behind; “I stayed in San Diego to deal with all my mom’s stuff. But I was actually in real estate school. In December, January, February, I did a three month intensive class to get my license. And then I took my last final. And then my mom passed away like that day, basically. And then we went on lockdown, so I wasn’t able to take my state exam, until like two weeks ago.”
Nonetheless, Sand Found a Way to Thrive
Despite the difficulty of living through a pandemic, Sand somehow found a way to cope with the pain of her loss and the struggles of the lockdown by creating a lucrative career opportunity. Thriving against the obstacles thrown in her path, Sand expanded her career options. Already a successful adult entertainment star, Sand expanded her portfolio into OnlyFans, a site where artists and content creators can release their work directly to fans who pay a subscription to access their content. On top of that opportunity, Sand also maintains an Ebaystore (est. 2013) to sell her Playboy memorabilia, stay in touch with fans, and sign photos, while pursuing her real estate license.
When asked about her mid-pandemic entrepreneurship and career prospects, Sand answered thoughtfully, “As far as my career with modeling and acting and everything I was supposed to be doing, I was up for Dancing with the Stars in France. And I was supposed to be doing that, but I wasn’t able to go because of the pandemic. Obviously, I had to look for other outlets as far as income. And every day I would get so many messages, asking if I have an OnlyFans. I didn’t know what it was.”
A friend introduced Sand to the business model when OnlyFans first came out; “My girlfriend, Taylor Wayne, who is in the adult entertainment industry and used to be my photographer, she was trying to get me to do it. I didn’t really understand how it worked, and I was busy doing other things. So I never pursued it. Then this time around, everyone was asking me and I registered and I didn’t understand how to use it. It seemed really complex to me. So after everyone was hounding me, a producer, a really big producer, was like, ‘you should do that.’ After that, I asked one of my best friends. She’s a Playboy Playmate also, her name is Barbara Moore. I asked her if she could help me start it up and explain it to me. So I called her and she taught me how to do it. And it’s been going really well. It’s been a fun little side hustle.”
Sand Can Combine Her Love of Surfing With Her OnlyFans Career
One passion Sand has been able to pursue without interruption from the pandemic is surfing. And she’s found a way to combine her time on the beach with her OnlyFans career.
Sand explained, “I’ve had a lot more free time because of the pandemic to try and find other opportunities that I could do from home or from my computer or my cell phone. I go to the beach a lot, I surf a lot, and I love the beach. So when I’m at the beach, I just have my cell phone and I’m doing my OnlyFans. I’ll shoot some fun videos in the water in a bathing suit, and just post it on my OnlyFans. So it’s something you can do from anywhere.”
The entrepreneur also revealed that OnlyFans‘ lack of rules is appealing in her line of work; “Last month, I had my Facebook suspended for a month because I posted a picture with Barbara and I and we were in lingerie and I had stars on my boob so you couldn’t see anything. But I guess someone said something about it. So they suspended my account for one month. With OnlyFans it’s good because there’s no rules. So it’s kind of like you’re not going to get in trouble or penalized. For that kind of line of work, it’s easier to get things accomplished and not have to worry so much about rules.”
Sand Opened Up About So Much More
My conversation with the brilliant businesswoman touched on many topics. She was very kind, open, and honest about her life. I was very impressed with not only her business acumen but the ability she has to adapt and expand her skills to meet her career needs. Be sure to check back for parts two and three of this fascinating glimpse into the mind behind the beautiful face of Shauna Sand. In part two, we will explore Sand’s journey through motherhood, body image issues, and the lessons she’s passed onto her daughters. In part three, we will reveal the path Sand took through her career, the myriad ways fans can connect with her creative content, and her plans for the future. As a bonus, I asked Sand what her secret is to the Fountain of Youth and she told me what it takes to look picture perfect at 49.