The Woman On Deftones’ ‘Around The Fur’ Cover Reflects On The Photo That Wouldn’t Let Go

Long before TikTok rediscovered Deftones and arena crowds started screaming every word again, Around the Fur already had a grip on the culture.

Not just for ‘My Own Summer (Shove It)’ or ‘Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)’, but for that intimate, confrontational hot tub close up that stared back from record store shelves in 1997.

With Deftones riding another massive wave of relevance, Jenkem has released a new video essay unpacking how the album’s iconic cover came to exist, and tracked down everyone involved, including the woman at the centre of it all.

The photo was taken by Rick Kosick, then a Big Brother magazine photographer, while the band were recording at Studio Litho in Seattle, he was invited to hang with the band and ended up at their rented condo, documenting the blur of downtime and afterparties.

“They were kind of in their party phase stage of the band — as you probably should be — and so we went back to their condo that they rented during the recording of this record, and there was this girl hanging out in the jacuzzi,” Kosick recalls. “And I just went up and took a couple… two photos. That’s it. Walked away.”

Weeks later, the image resurfaced via the label:

“Few weeks later, I get a call from the label… I was blown away. I was like, ‘This is so cool looking… it felt right after all the mockups and everything, this one looks incredible.’”

Uneasy in the best way

Art director Kevin Reagan admits the photo made him uneasy in the best way, describing it as an “eye-opener” that crept “under your skin”, imperfections stayed and nothing was airbrushed away.

Jenkem tracked down Lisa Hughes, who still lives in Seattle, she recalls being oblivious to who Deftones were that night, sipping a drink called “Silk Panties” (vodka and peach Schnapps) which she confirms is the glass seen on the cover.

Speculation followed the album’s release, including claims she was a groupie, which Hughes dismisses, what stuck instead was ownership.

“It’s a pretty cool looking shot, right?” she says. “Who gives a shit?… I’m a human being. I’m not a model… That’s me.”

Nearly three decades on, Around the Fur hasn’t aged quietly and neither has the image that helped define it.