Cami Chatterton (pictured, center) is the public-relations representative for the The Boppin’ Betties, a charity group that functions on the age-old certainty that people are most interested in an event when there are sexy girls giving away winks, smiles, fee-based kisses and raffle tickets. The ladies style themselves in pinup fashions and lend themselves out to fundraising and awareness events to help bring in more money for whatever cause is being represented. You can catch them later this month at Scare Away Cancer: Haunted Pin Up Show & Benefit at Kafeneio Coffee (228 W. 3300 South, Salt Lake City, Oct. 27, 10 a.m.), which will raise money for a woman whose cancer has spread to her brain.
What are The Boppin’ Betties?
We are a charity group that reaches out to the community to find different organizations and causes that are in need of funding. We work hand in hand with many different local businesses, artists and musicians to help support a wide variety of organizations. We do a lot of no-kill, rehabilitation-animal-clinic benefits, we do research health clinics, anything—you name it. One hundred percent of what we make goes toward the cause; we don’t keep any of it. And we like to do it in a fashionable and fun manner. We do raffles at every show: $300 tattoo certificates, $300 worth of car repair from Old Souls Automotive, massages donated from Unique Skin Studios, $50 every event from Midvale Mining Café, photographers, stuff from Black Velvet Boutique, which is a sex shop where we get all our lingerie. At all our events, our sponsors have booths to sell their personal items. They usually make lots of money—local businesses benefit from us, too.
What inspired the pinup style?
Our president, Steveie Busch, always dressed this way, and we thought since, in Utah, nobody dresses like this, it would be an amazing idea to kinda spread it out more. You can tell it’s helped a lot—we have pinup-style stores now, which I think we had at least a little to do with, not to toot my own horn. It brings out our girls’ inner sexy beast.
What’s up with the kissing booth—is that legal?
It’s only kisses on the cheek! People love it, though. It’s 50 cents a kiss, and people will throw $20 in there, have you take pictures with them, pay $60 for all their friends. Moms love us—they’re some of our biggest fans. Little boys at wrestling shows love us, too, and little girls come get kisses and ask for our autographs.
Where are the Betties going to be in one year?
We’ve been talking to BACA a lot lately, Bikers Against Child Abuse, about working and doing benefits with them, but it’s hard because they’re so busy. They’re a national organization, and we’re just this little ol’ Salt Lake thing. We want to get that big, though. I plan on moving to Los Angeles next year, and I already know people were so blown away by us there. They’re all, like, “You guys are beautiful, you look like you should be in magazines.” I know that we’re gonna expand to Colorado; two of our girls are moving up there. We’ve talked to some people in Oregon and Idaho, and some people want us to do shows out in Las Vegas, but we don’t have the time with 40 hours a week at work.
Is it worth it?
Absolutely. It’s the most fulfilling thing ever.
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