Give a warm welcome – that’s dobrodošli in Slovenian – to Sara Merčnik, a model from Maribor, Slovenia. Petite at 5’4”, with black hair and clear blue eyes, she’s all natural, and certainly not shy in front of the camera. “Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a nudist,” she says. “When I was younger, I’d always take off my bathing suit and run naked into the water. I really don’t have any problems with nudity.” A student of Russian and German at a local university, Sara was a part-time model in her home country, but she had her sights set on Playboy, and wouldn’t give up until she made it into the Slovenian edition. “When I first came into contact with Playboy, I remember that I realized two things: a woman’s naked body is an object of admiration, and that if I gathered enough courage, I could be one of those women.” These days, Miss Merčnik is sporting two titles – Playboy Slovenia’s Playmate of the Month for November 2011, and more recently, Slovenian Playmate of the Year 2012. “I’m happy in my own skin, and that’s what is most beautiful about me,” she says. “I think that shows in my photographs.”