I personally love Dominican women. The first girl interviewed on this Beauty & Brains was Yamilka Mendez – a beautiful Clevelander who’s Dominican sexiness took me for a loop. Now, I introduce you to Naisha Munoz [pronounced – Ny-isha]. The Manhattan born beauty used her outgoing personality to be placed in multiple spreads for you males to drool over.

The student who’s currently enrolled at Ft. Lauderdale City College as a Journalism/Broadcasting major is on her New York Shit while enjoy the M-I-Ayo weather. The calienté mamacita loves life, family and expects great things out of her career. Beauty & Brains is happy that Ms. Munoz sits down as she talks about being a married model, how her educational aspirations can enhance her career and why infatuation won’t make you a star in an industry you should love.

B&B: Your eyes are very stunning. They say that those are the beholders of beauty. So, with that in mind – what do you find beautiful about yourself and those of the opposite sex?
Naisha Munoz: I am a caring person. I have a good sense of humor. I’m a good friend. I love everyone that’s around me. I give people the benefit of the doubt. I don’t judge anyone. Until they do something wrong. With other people, I like to laugh. Someone who can make me laugh is beautiful to me. I like people who care for others. If I’m willing to bend over backwards for you, I’d like to have that same given back to me.

B&B: You are currently studying Journalism/Broadcasting at [what school]. So, what have you learned that will help you embark onto the next level of your modeling/professional career?
NM: I haven’t really gotten too much into it, yet. I’ve worked at a local radio station here. I came in 2nd place in an apprenticeship. I’ve learned how to be professional. I learned certain technical terms. I’m only a year into it, so I haven’t learned too much about it. But all the experience I’ve had was through radio. I worked at that apprenticeship and Internet radio. As far as furthering my career, it’s been based on my hard work. Working behind the camera is hard, because that’s not something that I want to do. I want to be in front of the camera. As far as the industry, there are so many woman trying to get into broadcasting. That’s challenging in the real world. Modeling is not the main thing that I want to focus on, I’m just using it as a door. If it takes me somewhere, that’s fine, but I really want to be a correspondent.

B&B: A negative to being a Pisces is that they are easily lied to because they so want to believe. If this attribute is true of Pisces – what has been the worst lie a person in the industry has told you that you believed?
NM: When I first started doing radio, I was 17 years-old. I was so gassed, they wanted me to be in a major artist’s video. They said that they were going to go on tour and I dropped out of HS, went to night school, so I could speed up the process so I could go on the tour. They took me to the studio and did a hook for them and it was all bullshit. As far as that certain individual, I’ve never heard of him again. The major artist that he was with – another guy got him out the box.

B&B: On your MySpace page, it says that you’re married… Is that true? Or is that just to get the ‘Net Stalkers out of your hair?
NM: It’s just to get the stalkers out of my way. I do have a boyfriend, but we’re not married.

B&B: So, how can one navigate the business and be married?
NM: It’s tough. It’s really tough. But you need to be with someone who has trust. He’s in the industry too, so we understand one another. Our schedules conflict sometimes, but we make it work. He doesn’t live here in Miami, so we have to work around people’s schedules. I have school and I’m trying to do this modeling thing, so it’s kind of tough. You don’t go into a relationship trying to make a long distance relationship. You make a choice to either be all in or don’t deal with it at all. We have fussing and fighting, but this is something that we both want.

B&B: Do the advances from talent/photographers/rappers annoy or anger your man?
NM: They annoy me because I think they’re full of shit half the time. You can come off and network about what you can really do for me, but don’t come and sell me a dream. It’s just a waste of time. You’d blackball yourself. I wouldn’t ever want to work with you in the future. Him… he sees through it. I’m naïve sometimes, but he’s there to bust to my bubble. There are so many girls who are willing to do things for free, willing to go the extra mile for exposure, so if you have the next girl who’s willing to do thing for free and you charge – they’ll move on. There are too many women in this business downgrading themselves. Appeal – No, because sex sells and it’ll never stop. As far as an appeal, as far as it being marketable, but it appealing to women, yes… A lot of models are strippers, so they’re shaking their poom-poom so why not get paid for it and be on TV and in music videos. I see a lot of nice bodies, but not a lot of pretty faces. I’ve found out that a lot of girls are having work done. I can tell about breasts, but a lot of girls are getting butt injections. The butt implants are easily noticeable. I know they do fat injections. I know some girls who’ve had it done, but I’ve never asked them if there was anything wrong with. If they do it too much, they could have permanent bruising on their butt.

B&B: [If so] Well, I guess that brings me to love. Another piece on your page was breaking down “infatuation” and “love.” When was the moment that hit you that you were in “love” and just weren’t infatuated with this other person?
NM: Now that I’m a little bit older. My first love, I was really young (14). I spent some time by myself and I got into a relationship 2 years later. I was 18 at the time and I was confused. I didn’t know how to act in the relationship. I was in-between acting like a child and being an adult. When we broke up, I asked him for some insight. I realized these things that I argued about some stupid stuff. I had to keep on going because my pride would get to me. Now, with the relationship that I’m in long-distance wise is very challenging. Being that it is so challenging, I’m able to differentiate from the two. Infatuation kicks in from time to time, but I love this man and I’m down with him for the ride.

B&B: According to what you say in your blog – if one were only infatuated with being a model, how would their career turn out?
NM: I don’t think that it would be successful. The person would do anything because they want it so bad. When you’re in love, you understand the way that it works. You’d take your time to learn about it. When you’re infatuated, you’ll live and die off of impulse. I’ve heard about models who’ve done it that way and they’re still starving in the end. What I really love is broadcasting. I’d be like, “Damn, Rocsi, I want your job.” I like being in that profession. I like to ask questions, I love to talk. I think it falls into my character. I like modeling, but I don’t love it like I would being a correspondent. Occasion, I think that I’m sexy, so to see the pictures it’s refreshing. To see the response from the people, it’s beautiful. But if it was high fashion and I was 5’10” and I was a little bit slimmer, I would love it. But the urban modeling game is more soft porn than modeling.

B&B: Through all the ups and downs that come with being a model – what do you love about the industry?
NM: I like the networking. I like the opportunities that arise. I haven’t had anyone to sponsor me. I did a shoot for Show Magazine, I can’t wait to see myself in the pictorial. Those are the ups; the perks. I have been offered to go to the Bahamas, I love to travel. I am looking forward to doing more of that in the future. But right now is about paying bills and finishing school.

B&B: And how does that love keep you coming back for more when setbacks happen?
NM: Just seeing other Cinderella stories… It’s so finicky. You don’t know what actually happened… Some girl’s peaks are at 25. When I did my first video I was 16, then the R. Kelly scandal happened. They started asking for ID’s. So, my manager told me to fall back. After awhile, people would still tell me that I should be a model. I didn’t see it in myself, but others did. So, it’s not necessarily being a model’s story, but it’s about hearing a successful story. I have quotes on my page. One quote I have says, “True power is indicated…[find on the site.” I don’t always feel that way. Sometimes I fall down and get upset, but I believe in my self and my abilities.

B&B: With your education obviously an important part of your life – how do you balance that and your modeling career?
NM: Luckily, I don’t go to a top university, so they’re a little bit more lenient. If I’m traveling, I’ll read while I have idle time. It’s not too tough balancing it out, it’s just that it discourages that whole school thing. It can throw you off of school, because the money is an allure to dropping out. It’s not my favorite… I love to read, I love to write, but I hate homework. I don’t have a problem in class, but when I come home, I am just like, “Oh…no!” I didn’t go to college right after high school, I partied like an animal [laughs].

B&B: Being in Miami – where all hot women seem to live at – does your education help in an industry where pretty people are a commonality?
NM: It does because a lot of pretty people don’t have an education. It helps you stand out. I’ve met a few, but a lot of them don’t. I always wonder how long would that last, but that separates it. Not too many people have an education or are trying to pursue one. A lot of people either put their all into it or got a break. Miami is always about a party, there are a lot of beautiful women there. Once they open their mouths, it shows that they’re just a pretty face.

B&B: What is one drawback to living in Miami versus New York?
NM: One drawback… There’s more production in New York. They come here to do videos, but the major companies – there is more opportunity in New York. All the magazine’s major offices are in New York. They come here to do videos in Miami, you can always go to the office. Miami is temporary. There is a party scene. It seems like nobody works in Miami. I always see them all the time. It kind of throws you off, it seems that nobody works. There are a lot of male groupies here. That’s just gross… Guys trying to feed off of other guy’s grinding. People are just full of shit, here, and no one seems to really be on their work grind. I’m from NY and I haven’t visited there in a year, so I don’t know how the party scene works out there. But here, people are shady and they don’t seem focused on doing too much. That, to me, is a major drawback. I’ve heard that from other New Yorkers who’ve moved here.

Want to know more about Ms. Naisha Munoz? Check out her Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/naisham1!