Where in the World is Carmen Garcia?
It's not to hard to see why everyone is looking for her.

Open Your Eyes’ sexy photo shoots aren’t always all they’re cracked up to be. While you may imagine beautiful girls frolicking, taking their clothes off, and going wild for the camera, the reality is often a lot more sobering. The women being shot either don’t like the clothes, the studio, or the brand of bottled water. They often act like spoiled brats who are impossible to please and want to control everything. Their plastic smile exists only for the camera.

Yet every once in a while something magical happens. You get a crew that’s professional yet easygoing. The music pumps, the wine flows and tension goes right out the window. Before you know it you forget you’re actually working and begin to feel like you're at a great party. More importantly, the woman in front of the camera relaxes and has fun. She sets her spirit free and fills the whole room with her positive energy. Which is actually what Carmen Garcia did the day we shot her for Open Your Eyes.

Carmen Garcia may look like an untouchable goddess, but she is better described as a breath of fresh air. There is little pretense or conceit about her. I’ve often found that the most beautiful women have a huge deflector shield up. (Not that you can always blame them since they probably have to fight off about 20 chumps a day who come pawing at them.) Yet, Carmen Garcia doesn’t seem to need a shield. She carries herself like an average girl who happens to be trapped in a far from average body. I should say very far from average. After all how could Ironman, Musclemag, Lowrider, and now Open Your Eyes, all be wrong. Yet there is more to Carmen Garcia than her smokin’ body, as you will find out if you stop staring at her pictures and read what she has to say.

MORE OYE GIRLS:

EVA LONGORIA

JESSICA BURCIAGA

PAM RODRIGUEZ

CLAUDIA MOLINA

JEN JOHNSON

CC FONTANA

NIKKI TORRES

You’ve been featured a lot in magazines like Musclemag and Ironman. You must have a fitness background?
Yes I do. It all started when I moved out to Los Angeles from San Diego. I lived in San Diego for about five or six years. When I moved here I planned on being a fitness trainer, so I become certified as one. My whole intent for moving to a big city like Los Angeles was to train celebrities and help others achieve their fitness goals. I started doing that and during that time I came across a magazine that had this really fit woman on the cover. She didn’t seem like she was that young, but her physique was just amazing. It really inspired me, so I began working out even more. I trained a lot at the gym and the results were almost immediate because I have really good genetics. I ended up meeting people at the gym and somebody referred me to a couple of fitness photographers. So instead of remaining a fitness trainer I ended up becoming a fitness model.

What’s more important in developing a great body, good genes or a good workout routine?
I think that you shouldn’t rely on your genes alone. Everybody should definitely maintain a healthy lifestyle, take the proper nutrition and supplements, go to the gym, and workout regularly. There are a lot of people who look really fit, but they may die of a heart attack tomorrow. You should feel blessed if you have great genetics, but you should also be able to maintain your body so that you can feel good, not just look good.

So what’s the best way to approach a woman like you at the gym?
Wait till she is done working out before you approach her. Wait until she is almost out the door and then hit her up. Maybe act like you’re just going to leave at the same time coincidentally. Don’t make it too obvious. Come up with some interesting conversation instead of going directly to “What’s your phone number?” Just say something interesting, something that you think might be a friendly thing to say. If she reacts move to the next step.

So do a lot of guys try to hit you up at the gym?
Personally I’m really serious about my workout and it actually annoys me to have guys check me out. Well it’s kind of flattering, but at the same time I don’t like to be bothered. They can look, glance a couple of times, but it’s the gawking I can’t deal with.

You’re Cuban and were actually born in Havana. How did you go from a little girl in Havana to a successful model in the U.S.A.?
During the communist revolution my parents decided to move away from Cuba. I was eight months old. I was only just a baby so I don’t really remember anything. We moved to Madrid, Spain for three years. We were waiting for the legal papers to go through to enter the U.S. We ended up in Miami, Florida, which is where all the Cubans are [laughs]. I pretty much grew up there and went to school there. In my late teens I ended up moving to San Diego. I really needed to venture on my own, to feel responsible for myself and just go somewhere where I didn’t know anybody and start fresh. I just needed something different. I stayed in San Diego for six years. I went to college. I studied different things from business to black and white photography and fashion marketing. I took the training to be certified as a personal trainer and then I moved to Los Angeles.

What do men find most appealing about you?
I definitely think that the first thing people notice is my glutes.

“Glutes,” huh? Is that what you want to call it?
[laughs] The round bottom…the booty.

Speaking of which, if you were a man do you think you would be a breast man or a butt man?
Definitely a butt guy! You can always buy breasts, but it’s really hard to get a nice butt. I think people notice my butt and then the other thing they mention is my eyes.

You get to exhibit your incredible body for the camera and have thousands of men lusting after your body. Does that make you feel good?
Yeah. It makes me feel good to know that I work hard to maintain my body and that people appreciate it, especially men.

But wait a minute, you said you didn’t like the guys gawking at you.
Not when I’m weight training.

What’s the best part of what you do?
Gearing up for a photo shoot where I have to wear barely nothing, like a bikini. I really watch what I eat, especially that week. I try to eat really clean so I don’t hold any excess water. I tan for three days, but I don’t tan in the tanning salon because I think that makes you old. And just the whole preparation of going into a photo shoot, the whole mindset is one of my favorite things.

This is kind of a random question, but who would you say is hotter, Salma Hayek or J-Lo?
J-Lo! The reason why I say J-Lo is because not only has she been able to multitask—becoming accomplished in many different areas like acting and singing—but she’s really comfortable with herself, despite the fact that Hollywood thrives on the really anorexic look. She is super voluptuous and she is not afraid to get into Hollywood and say, “This is what a real woman should look like.”

Do you consider yourself a daring person?
Oh yes! Sometimes dangerously daring.

Really!? So what’s the most daring place you’ve ever had sex?
Oh, my God. Without getting graphic? Um…I guess in a swimming pool.

Let’s say one of your fans won a date with you, what would he be most surprised to find out about you?
That I am very down-to-earth and spiritual. People might think that because of my looks that I may be shallow, but I am a very deep—surprisingly deep.

Finally, what are your words of advice for Latino men?
Keep supporting each other.