MTV’s ‘Real World’ star becomes Hooters calendar centerfold: ‘So much more than the orange shorts’
Averey Tressler is eager to serve hot wings, cold beer and a sizzling new look.
The 32-year-old, who starred in MTV’s "The Real World: Portland," is the 2024 Hooters calendar centerfold. The restaurant chain is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The calendar features 12 women from across the country who were selected from thousands of candidates.
"I never thought that I would ever be a centerfold," the pinup told Fox News Digital. "It feels amazing to know that Hooters recognizes me and values me… Hooters has always been such a blessing for me. But to be told that I would be a centerfold? Honestly, I was shocked. I was shaking. I didn’t really know what to do. I thought it was a dream. There’s just no way."
"I never thought that I was good enough to be a centerfold," the reality TV star admitted. "And there’s so many cool Hooters girls out there with amazing stories. We’re so much more than the orange shorts."
The first Hooters calendar was released in 1985, two years after the first restaurant opened. A dollar of every Hooters calendar sold supports the Kelly Jo Dowd Breast Cancer Research Fund as part of the chain’s "Give a Hoot" fundraising efforts.
Dowd was an original Hooters girl and the cover girl for the 1995 calendar. The general manager of the Palm Harbor location died in 2007 from breast cancer. The annual calendar has since raised over $1 million.
Tressler, who has appeared in the calendar a whopping seven times, said she was "ecstatic" to unveil her latest look for fans.
"We get to pick the bikinis that we all get to shoot in, and I felt really good in this blue bikini," Tressler explained. "I felt very confident, very empowered and very self-assured. So when I was shooting in it, I was hoping it would be the money shot, my blue bikini. So when I found out that it was, I was very thrilled. And I’ve never had a shower picture. They always had me on a surfboard or just freestanding."
Tressler has worked at the Hooters in Mesa, Arizona, for 11 years. The Michigan native said she’s always admired the "beautiful" women who worked there.
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"I love my outfit," she noted about the brand’s recognizable uniform – skimpy orange shorts and a tight white tank top.
"I don’t have to show my legs and I get to wear tights," Tressler explained. "The only thing that’s exposed are my arms, but I still have that sex appeal. And it was just really empowering to see all of these women doing their thing, enjoying themselves and looking amazing. I just thought, ‘I want to be a part of this.’ I remembered getting hired on the spot and I just kept telling myself, ‘I’m a Hooters girl now.’"
It was actually at Hooters where Tressler was discovered by MTV.
"I was bartending, and they used to have casting calls at our Hooters," she chuckled. "I wasn’t supposed to even be there. One of my girls got sick, so I filled in. I was just being my quirky self and the whole team just kept coming up to me and asking me all of these questions. And right before I ended my shift, a gentleman named Damian asked to take a picture. I said, ‘You want to take a photo with a Hooters girl?’ And he said, ‘No, we want to take a photo of just you.’ Damian said, ‘I’m casting for ‘The Real World’ and I think you would be the perfect candidate.’"
It wasn’t long before Tressler found herself living with strangers for several months as cameras documented their lives. "The Real World: Portland" premiered in 2013.
She also went on to appear in "The Real World" and "Road Rules" spinoff, "The Challenge," where contestants compete for a grand prize.
"Would I do it again? One hundred percent," said Tressler. "When I appeared in the calendar for the very first time, it was my castmates who went an hour away to the nearest Hooters to surprise me with fried pickles. They didn’t show this on TV, but it was such a sweet moment – they knew I love fried pickles."
Tressler said she keeps in touch with most of her former castmates, noting, "We’re all doing our own thing."
"I will say the one person I don’t talk to would be probably the gentleman that I dated on the show, but that makes sense," she said. "But for the most part, we get along. We’re like a family. We’re always going to be attached in some way because of our experience together. And I think we’ve all accepted that."
Tressler said she still gets recognized by fans whenever they stop by her restaurant.
"They usually say, ‘You look really familiar,’" said Tressler. "And of course, my girls are laughing, saying, ‘Does she look like she was on television?’ But it’s so nice when it happens. I’ve never had a negative experience with anyone just because I was on television."
Today, Tressler said she would be open to doing reality TV again – if the show was right.
"I love a good competition," she said. "I love a good thrill seek. I would do something like ‘Big Brother’ or ‘Survivor.’ I love meeting new people and being put in certain situations… It would be cool if they did a reality show like ‘Hooters House,’ where a bunch of Hooters girls live together like ‘Below Deck.’ But people might think it’s boring because when we’re not working, many of the girls are studying at night."
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"People have this misconception that we’ve just got girls that serve wings and beer," Tressler continued. "We are so much more than that. It is so much more than the orange shorts. If you meet any of these women, you’ll find that lots of them are in school to be doctors, lawyers, nurses. Some of them are mothers, some of them are athletes. We have girls who are rescue scuba divers. And many of us want to make a difference in our communities… People think we’re dumb. We get picked on for how we look. But we’re passionate women with big dreams."
In 2022, when Tressler was the Miss Hooters International Pageant's first runner-up, she donated 10%, or $1,000, of her pageant winnings, to Put on the Cape Foundation. Tressler still volunteers and donates regularly to the organization. She also participates in car washes, raffles, bake sales and charity walks with her team. Her efforts contribute to school supplies for children in need and care packages for our troops, among others. She noted that her restaurant raised over $3,000 in October to support breast cancer research.
"I hope when people see my photos for the first time, they see the real me," she said. "I hope they see my authenticity… I hope they see the woman behind the pretty face at Hooters… At the end of the day, we’re all just trying to make it in this world. And it’s nice to be in a place where you’re accepted."