Zoe Pugh is a junior and the darling of every bro website around

You probably know her from Playboy’s article, “This Penn State Babe May Be The Hottest College Girl In The Country.”

You may have read about her on Brobible.com and Total Frat Move. Or you might have even seen her on I’m Schmacked.

Zoe Pugh is the girl guys drool over and the person girls love to hate, but who are we to judge if we don’t know her?

The Tab sat down with the 20-year-old junior as her personal hair stylist touched up her roots. Let’s just say we got to the root of who she really is and how she turned into this Internet sensation.

So let’s get to know the hot Penn Stater, Zoe Pugh.

How did you get started?

I started modeling just from a mutual friend of a friend who was looking for girls to get pictures for her portfolio, I agreed to do it. From there a lot of Internet sites picked it up. Like I’m Schmacked would see my photos and use them.

Total Frat Move, Brobible, and Playboy, that’s where all the followers came from. It was smaller sites and then bigger sites saw them. After getting all of the followers they would end up getting reposted and reposted. A lot of photographers would get in contact with me through Instagram.

I didn’t intend to get big, it just happened.

What kind of modeling do you do?

For the most part it’s been a lot of promotional modeling, swimsuit, glamour shots. Like college type modeling, I don’t even really know what that category is called anymore. Men’s magazine type shoots.

But mostly it’s been promotional. So people would contact me through Instagram and they’ll say, “We’ll give you a percentage of the sales if you endorse this t-shirt. We’ll give you a code, your followers will plug it in and if they buy it you get a percentage.”

A lot of it has been like that. Just endorsing people’s products and in turn they will post me on their page, so it’s advantageous for the both of us.

Some critics say “she’s 5’2 she’s not a model.” What do you say to that?

In this day and age, it doesn’t matter what size you are. You don’t have to be 5’10” and 100 pounds: people are really trying to steer away from that because it’s not real.

Of course those are people too, but it’s not the standard anymore. You could be 5’1” and 110 pounds but it’s not the way it was anymore. Especially with the Internet and everything, especially with the modeling I’m doing.

I knew going into this I could never be a runway model. I don’t have the body like that. I have a body more geared towards men’s magazines, bathing suits. Yea, people like to say a lot of things. I’m not even 5’2′: I’m 5’1.

It’s not like everyone has to be super tall and super skinny. There are different types of models. If you’re going to be a runway model you can’t be 5’1, you can’t have boobs, you can’t have a big butt, they want you to be super tall. You’re essentially a hanger to them: I’m not representing clothes. I’m representing myself.

Are you ever afraid your pictures may too provocative giving people a negative idea of you?

Honestly, sometimes I worry people get the wrong impression of me based on my picture, but at the end of the day I know who I am and I know nudity is not a good representation of a person. Nudity is just that, it’s just nudity it’s not a personality trait. That doesn’t mean I’m a slut because I’m comfortable with my body and because I like to show it off.

People seem to think I’m dumb or all I have to fall back on is being naked, but what they don’t realize is every picture was my choice: it was my idea for the most part. I’m the one who pitches a lot of concepts to photographers.

I’m choosing to do this because I’m comfortable with myself and I like the way it looks. I think as long as you’re posing in an artistic way and not a sleazy way it can really make a big difference. I always try to lean towards artistic nudity. I shouldn’t even say nudity because I’m not naked, but you know.

So, hate comments don’t bother you?

They definitely used to bother me. Now I see them and I ignore them. I just get comfort in knowing for someone to try and tear down another person, they themselves must be hurting and I feel bad for them.

I just know personally I’d never intentionally hurt someone so when people do it to me, I don’t even let it bother me anymore and I just take pride knowing I’m a bigger person than that.

Do you consider yourself famous?

No, because there’s a difference between being Internet famous and actually famous.

Yea I have a lot of Instagram followers, but it hasn’t affected my daily life at all aside from getting me jobs. People will recognize me when I’m at parties and stuff and be like “Oh zoein_wonderland, I follow you on Instagram,” but no I don’t consider myself famous. I’m not about that.

I think it’s kind of embarrassing to be considered famous and I don’t want people to get the wrong impression of me and think I’m this stuck up person, I’m very down to earth.

How did you get working with John Kaminski (PSU Grad, Photographer)?

We came in contact with each other through a college based website called YourUniversity (YourU), he does pictures for them and they wanted me to do a photo shoot so they set us up, that was for our first photo shoot.

But after that we stayed in contact he liked me as a subject, I liked him as a photographer. We work really well together and we decided to keep doing shoots so we just had another shoot at State College for fun.

What do you think about people saying Branch Campus isn’t Penn State?

A lot of people think I lie when I say I go to Penn State, but it never really occurred to me I needed to clarify I don’t go to Main Campus. I honestly think people think I’m lying because I’m at Main Campus literally every weekend. I think people just assume I go there.

I always tell people I go to PSU Worthington, because I do. I go to a branch campus and it is absolutely still Penn State. I’m not staying at Worthington, I am going to transfer to Main Campus, but assuming I graduated from Worthington my diploma would say the same thing as someone who graduated from the Main Campus and went the whole four years.

I get so mad. Someone the one time was like “you lied to your fans.” First of all, I didn’t know I even had fans and second, I tell everyone I come in contact with I go to Worthington. I would never lie, that’s a pretty easy lie to pick up on.

Fuck everyone who says a branch campus isn’t Penn State.

So, who is Zoe Pugh?

People expect me to be a lot different than I actually am. I feel like people think I’m stuck up and full of myself. I’m actually very easy going, I want to be friends with everyone. I’m one of those people.

I want to party with you, drink with you…like always. I don’t take myself serious at all, not at all. I laugh at myself more than any random Internet person is laughing at me. I’m very laid back and I like to have fun.

We have to ask… Are you in any way related to Evan Pugh, the first president of Penn State?
I’m almost 100% sure I’m not.

@Linndders