Sarah Jane Woodall, a nude model who goes by ‘Wonderhussy,’ is a prolific Nevada explorer. And she’s got advice for people who want to up their own adventure game. |
Three dudes who recently got their toy hauler stuck near Big Dune in Southern Nevada probably didn’t expect help to come in the form of an adventuring nude model.
But that’s exactly what happened after they wandered into the camp of Sarah Jane Woodall of Las Vegas who models, blogs and posts under the name Wonderhussy.
Woodall described the interaction on Facebook in a post that opened with her applying mascara and led to her and a female friend breaking out tow straps to make quick work of extracting the stuck rig.
“Well imagine the look on these adventure bros’ faces when a second chick rolled up in a 4Runner,” Woodall wrote in a Dec. 13 Facebook post recounting the incident. “I’m telling you, it was like desert ‘Baywatch’ … We should have some red swimsuits made so that we can run over in slow motion next time … as we carry our tow straps to help the next trio of hapless Bros!”
Woodall was born in the East Bay and is a Nevada resident since 2000. She took up nude modeling after a romantic breakup that coincided with the recession that made it tough on just about anyone in Las Vegas seeking to stay current on a mortgage.
“It was the recession and I had a bad mortgage like so many of us,” she said.
Three dudes who recently got their toy hauler stuck near Big Dune in Southern Nevada probably didn’t expect help to come in the form of an adventuring nude model.
But that’s exactly what happened after they wandered into the camp of Sarah Jane Woodall of Las Vegas who models, blogs and posts under the name Wonderhussy.
Woodall described the interaction on Facebook in a post that opened with her applying mascara and led to her and a female friend breaking out tow straps to make quick work of extracting the stuck rig.
“Well imagine the look on these adventure bros’ faces when a second chick rolled up in a 4Runner,” Woodall wrote in a Dec. 13 Facebook post recounting the incident. “I’m telling you, it was like desert ‘Baywatch’ … We should have some red swimsuits made so that we can run over in slow motion next time … as we carry our tow straps to help the next trio of hapless Bros!”
The bawdy, irreverent description of the event is typical of the approach that’s made Woodall one of the more prominent backcountry explorers in Nevada.
Woodall said she’s aware of the fine line she’s walking when it comes to accurately depicting her experience nude modeling in the desert without reinforcing sexist stereotypes of women in the outdoors.
“As for the mascara thing, I guess it does sort of perpetuate sexist stereotypes but that’s my reality,” Woodall said.
“It’s what I struggle with on a daily basis with my modeling, because what is considered artistic can be pretty hokey and sexist,” she said. “So I guess I’m conflicted about it but I feel like it was somehow an integral detail of that story.”
She flexes her unique voice on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram where she mixes her outdoor nude modeling photography with tales from the trail and opinions that reflect her libertine approach to life and adventuring.
The modeling provides Woodall an income to support her home and adventures. It also makes a nice hook to build audience for her outdoor adventures. Her YouTube channel has nearly 20,000 subscribers. Her Instagram has more than 33,000 followers, nearly as many as the Travel Nevada account, which focuses largely on adventure.
“It is a great way to make a living,” said Woodall.
Woodall’s specialty is artistic nudes, which means non-erotic photos in which the model’s job is to accentuate or contrast with the desert landscape.
“Everyone wants to shoot this beautiful desert scenery,” she said. “So, I enjoy the work because it gets me outdoors, I’m not sitting at a desk and I get to experience the amazingly beautiful desert.”
Woodall was born in the East Bay and is a Nevada resident since 2000. She took up nude modeling after a romantic breakup that coincided with the recession that made it tough on just about anyone in Las Vegas seeking to stay current on a mortgage.
“It was the recession and I had a bad mortgage like so many of us,” she said.
Modeling for photographers was in addition to work as a model at trade shows and convention booths. Woodall said she moved into the outdoor niche after seeing work from another model in Hesperia, Calif.
It turned out to be a good move. Woodall said she is perhaps the only model in her niche in Las Vegas.
“I was comfortable enough going out in to the middle of nowhere with strangers and not a lot of other models in town are,” Woodall said.
Not only that, the work fueled a passion for the outdoors she didn’t realize she had.
Location scouting and shoots turned into more exploration. In recent years Woodall said she’s moved beyond mere “party camping” with friends or for Burning Man and further into hiking, backpacking and backcountry exploration.
She’s also using YouTube to share her adventures and diversify her income beyond modeling.
“The only money I ever made off modeling is getting paid for the shot.
“Now I can do outdoor exploring videos and put them on YouTube and get money for the life of them,” Woodall said. “Modeling gets old pretty quick, I feel like exploring the outdoors doesn’t.”
In southern Nevada, Woodall recommends the Gold Butte National Monument and the Little Finland rock formations to people looking for a desert adventure destination.
Lately she’s been spending time in the northern and central parts of the state as well. She recently wrapped up a camping and hot spring trip in northern Nevada that included a video interview in Reno.
“I just got back from a trip to northwestern Nevada which is my current obsession,” Woodall said. “When you look at it on a map, northwestern Nevada is just this blank, white space.”
She also just concluded a trip to the Hard Luck Mine Castle near Goldfield. It’s an 8,000-square-foot, circular brick mansion built around two working pipe organs.
“That was freaking amazing,” she said.