Surf’s up with Katie Vernola, our Playmate of the Month for June 2010. A student from Southern California, she has beach-blonde hair, green eyes and soft curves. Born in the Mojave Desert and raised in San Clemente, Orange County, she was a cheerleader for eleven years – evident in her ease and range of movement – and when she turned eighteen she started modeling for local photographers. “I was working with this one guy, and he asked if I was interested in Playboy,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to do Playboy, so of course I said yes.”

Katie submitted her pictures, tested for Playmate, and made history as the youngest girl ever to appear in the Centerfold. Katie lives in San Clemente with her dog and birds, and she spends her days at the beach, going wakeboarding and riding on the dunes with her friends. She got up on a surfboard for the first time on location for her Playmate pictorial, and she made herself right at home. “I can’t wait to do it again,” she says. “I live in one of the best surf towns in the world, so I’m sure I can get an instructor.” When she’s not at the beach, Katie is in the garage – she’s a pretty good mechanic, and she can change your oil, rims and tires faster than you can say ‘cowabunga, dude’. She’s looking forward to a successful career with Playboy, but not necessarily in front of the camera. “I would love to work in production for the magazine,” she says. “That would be my dream job.” Katie talks shop, pop culture and her ideal date in her Facetime interview.

Like a blast of walking sunshine, 18-year-old Katie Vernola is everything the Beach Boys promised a southern California girl would be. You want a woman who loves sun, surf and sand? Katie, a veteran of 11 years of cheerleading by her senior year in San Clemente, is not only an avid wakeboarder, snorkeler and bodyboarder, she even got up on a surfboard for her Miss June shoot. “I’m still pinching myself about becoming a Playmate!” Katie laughs with her captivating Goldie Hawn/Kate Hudson-like giggle.

Moving on to the world of little deuce coupes, Katie pines for her ultimate dream ride, a pink Lamborghini Gallardo. “I love whipping my head back and riding in fast, exotic cars!” Not just a front seat ornament, she’s also a grease monkey. “Yep, I can put on rims and tires, balance them and change your oil, too,” she boasts. “So if you ever have any car trouble, call me.” Will do, Katie. But what if we’re looking for a girl in an itty-bitty polka-dot bikini…or less? No problem. “I always wanted to be a model and be in Playboy, and now it’s all happening so quickly. I’m like, ‘Okay, let’s go!’ And as far as posing nude goes, I just thought, Everyone has boobs and a butt, so it’s not that big a deal. And anyway, during the shoot I felt like, I’m free – yippee!”