F E AT U R E
aping is one of the fastest evolving
industries that continues to thrive year
on year, regardless of political pressure
to wind down. Within this hotbed of
innovation, inspiration and talent are
cool social gatherings and exciting
expos that capture public attention. One
hotly anticipated event on the radar of
passionate vapers is the Miss Vapor
USA competition. Vapouround Magazine
caught up with Cam Winans, a leading
light in the vaping community and
stunning host of the Miss Vapor USA.
Here is what she had to say about the
competition, vaping and how winning
Miss Vapor USA can change your life.
Vapouround Magazine: Vapouround is
proud to announce a media partnership
with Miss Vapor USA. Why do you see
Vapouround as a good fit with Buckshot
Vapors?
Cam Winans: I try and partner with
companies that I see doing the right
things. When I'm at events both stateside
and overseas, I see the Vapouround
crew and I like that they take the time to
surround themselves with the culture of
the community they ultimately provide
media for. I also like that some of the
well respected contributors to past
issues have let me know they receive
an abundance of feedback from your
readers once the magazine is published.
It's a great way to know Vapouround has
an active and engaged audience.
VM: How did the idea for Miss Vapor
USA come about and what inspired you
to hold the contest?
CW: To be honest I have been running
model searches for years. I was the
Social Media Director for Sullen Clothing
and the Director of Models for the Sullen
Angels during which I started the Sullen
Angel Model Search about 5 years ago
as part of their Marketing plan. We built
60 ISSUE 04 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE
an incredibly beautiful, loyal and capable
group of brand ambassadors through
the Search. This led to partnerships with
some incredible companies including
Rockstar Energy Drink (featured during
the Inked Up Tour) and the Uproar Music
Festival (Sullen Angels Miss Uproar) and
many others.
"Vape Models" did nothing for the vape
community. The last statement was an
immediate problem that had to change...
Vape models are an entire sub-culture
of vaping much like "Cloud Chasers" or
"Builders"... Shutting women... Voting
women mind you, out of this community
is not something I would stand by.
When I started working in the vaping
Industry and doing marketing in the
Wild West, from the beginning I knew I
wanted to incorporate a proven formula
into an incredible platform – I just didn't
know when. I worked for about a year
within the industry and ran the Instagram
account featuring new faces in the
"Vape Modelling" Community. It grew
a following and it's always resonated
well with both males and females in the
community which is something that I feel
is important. I knew it was time to start
the search when I saw Vape Modelling
take a turn. However and I was watching
girls get practically nude just for a shoutout of them vaping on pages, pay their
own way just to work conventions and
meme after meme pop up about how
I wanted to highlight the fact that these
searches co uld go mainstream. My
previous experience doing searches
in the specialised world of "Tattoo
Modelling" and taking those to new
heights was something that could be
done in the vaping industry as well.
We want our brand ambassadors to
be beautiful representations of our
community. This means knowledgeable,
responsible and passionate female
vapers who want to represent the vaping
community the right way, because vaping
in some way touched or changed their
lives. I wanted girls in this industry to
realise there's not necessarily a future
in short lived T&A but there is one in
becoming someone that others look up
to, relate to and wish to emulate.