Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue’s Swim Search Finalists include indigenous model and Bachelor star

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue has unveiled its 2022 Swim Search Finalists, and the diverse cast includes the issue’s first-ever indigenous model, a cancer survivor, and an astrophysicist.

This week, the magazine announced the 14 finalists who will compete to be a rookie in the 2023 issue, and are currently traveling to the Dominican Republic for a photoshoot with photographer Yu Tsai.

Sports Illustrated says that this years’ finalists all ‘inspire action throughout their communities’ — something of growing importance to the magazine, which announced in January that the 2022 issue will only feature ads from brands that have ‘programs to advance gender equality and drive progress for women’s empowerment.’

This year’s impressive roster includes a chronic disease advocate, a brain tumor survivor, a NASA employee, and a former Bachelor contestant. 

Breast cancer survivor Kelly Crump, 42

Kelly Crump was only 38 when she was scratching an itch on her chest and felt a lump. She was soon diagnosed with breast cancer. 

The 42-year-old’s battle against the disease has been a difficult one, and in the years since, the London-based advocate has undergone six surgeries and had a whopping 60 rounds of chemotherapy.

In 2019, she found out that her cancer had spread to her neck, lung, armpit, ribs, and spine, and she continues to get treatment every three weeks. 

She’s been documenting the ordeal on Instagram, which is where she admitted that having cancer has actually made her more confident. 

‘Here is the thing… having cancer and going through all this honest to god, horrible stuff and coming to terms with the fact that the odds of me dying quite young have made me stop sweating the small stuff,’ she said.

‘It has also made me feel confident in being who I am so that I enjoy the time that I have versus worrying about pleasing others and thinking about what they might think of me.

‘It took an illness to make me stop worrying about what others thought and gave me permission to be my authentic self. I am honestly much happier this way and have actually made more friends and connections just being me,’ she said.

Indigenous model Ashley Callingbull, 32

Ashley Callingbull is making history as the first indigenous woman to pose for the Swimsuit Issue.

‘I feel blessed to be able to break barriers and be in spaces where others have told me I don’t belong,’ she wrote on Instagram yesterday. 

A Cree First Nations woman from the Enoch Cree Nation in the province of Alberta, Canada, Ashley, 32, is an activist, actress, motivational speaker, model, and a jingle dress dancer. 

‘For a lot of my life, a lot of the things that I’ve had to chase, they weren’t open to me because I’m an Indigenous woman, whether that be acting or modeling,’ she told E! News last year.

‘And I’ve been told that, you know, [that] Indigenous people aren’t relatable, so we’re not going to cast you, which is such a crazy thing to hear. Now, times are changing and things are becoming more inclusive, it’s been too long to get to this point.

‘My culture really shaped me because I always had this thing about, “Well, why can’t I do this? Why can’t I?” I had this thing like, “I’m going to prove myself.”‘ 

Hannah Godwin 

Alabama born-and-bred Hannah Godwin, 27, is one of the more familiar faces of the bunch this year.

Fans of The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise will know her from reality TV: In 2019, she competed for the heart of Colton Underwood, and then became a contestant on Bachelor in Paradise, where she met her now-fiancé, Dylan Barbour.

She is also a YouTube, a TikTok personality, and founder of the app Setty, which has  photo and video filters and editing tools. 

Hannah, who has 1.5 million Instagram followers, said in her audition for SI Swim that the magazine gave her confidence.  

‘I remember looking up to Sports Illustrated models just being like, “Gosh, I would kill to, like, feel good in my own skin,”‘ she said. ‘I finally feel like I don’t care what others think about me. I care what I think about me, and that’s something that I truly learned through Sports Illustrated.’     

Manju Bangalore 

One of several finalists checking the brains and beauty categories, Manju Bangalore is an actor and physicist with a degree from the University of Oregon.

She’s worked at two NASA centers — Marshall Space Flight Center and Johnson Space Center — where she’s done work on propulsion and the cockpit displays for the Orion spacecraft.

She hopes to become an astronaut, and recently boasted about getting to wear a spacesuit and sit in a simulator. 

A former Miss World Oregon, she has also founded two nonprofits. The first, Operation Period, has provided more than 200,000 menstrual products to those in need since its inception in 2015.

The second, Painting With Parkinson’s, was founded in 2020 and provided free painting kits and art classes to people with Parkinson’s.

She told People that she entered the Swim Search ‘to make my 12-year-old self proud and to inspire other young girls and women to pursue their wildest dreams. 

‘As a kid, I was often left out because of the color of my skin, my sexual orientation, and my gender. Being a part of Swim Search means I get to fully embrace the parts of me I was rejected for — and inspire others to do the same,’ she said.

Sarafina Nance

An astrophysicist, Sarafina Nance is a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow at the University of California, Berekely, where she researches supernovae and the evolution of the universe. 

According to her SI Swim bio, the Austin, Texas native is an analog astronaut, recently completed a Mars astronaut simulation, and wrote the children’s book Little Leonardo’s Fascinating World of Astronomy.

She’s also written a memoir, Starstruck, which will be published last year.

She’s accomplished all of this while dealing with her own health scare. In 2016, she tested positive for the BRCA 3 gene, and made the difficult decision to undergo a preventive double mastectomy at age 26 in 2020. 

‘If you told me 2 years ago — recovering from my mastectomy and feeling totally fragile in my body — that I would apply to @si_swimsuit for their Sports Illustrated 2022 Swim Search, get a CASTING CALL BACK, and actually be considered, I think I would have laughed in your face,’ she wrote on Instagram last month.

She described being a finalist as ‘surreal,’ telling followers: ‘Our scars make us beautiful. Our brains make us brilliant. Our journeys make us unique. Our adversity makes us strong.’ 

Ashley Byrd

Ashley Byrd from Amite, Louisiana is one of several highly-educated finalists this year.

After receiving her bachelor’s in criminal justice from Southern University, she got a master’s degree in public administration.

She’s worked several jobs over the years, including in construction, and is now a full time model.

She told People that one of her first SI Swimsuit memories was when Beyoncé was on the cover in 2007. 

‘Seeing this beautiful black woman on the cover really lit a fire in me,’ she said. ‘When Danielle Herrington made the cover in 2018, I thought, “This is what I want.” I want to see more beautiful black women who look like me be part of this experience and this community.’

Gigi Robinson

The founder of a media company focused on ethical partnerships, Gabrielle ‘Gigi’ Robinson is an outspoken chronic illness and mental health advocate. 

Gigi was just 11 when she was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), symptoms of which include chronic pain, fatigue, and being injury prone.

It was just the first of three chronic illnesses she’d have to cope with, and she was later diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and mast cell activation syndrome.

The first causes dizziness and increased heart rate upon standing, while the second causes severe allergic reactions.

The 23-year-old has channeled her own struggles into helping others, hosting the podcast ‘Everything You Need Is Within,’ sharing her life on TikTok and Instagram, and promoting charities including Ronald McDonald House Charities and The World Food Programme.

‘Part of why I love sharing about my chronic condition is so people can get a glimpse of what it’s like. I kind of am transporting people through my experience through video art,’ she told Insider last year.    

Victoria Vesce

Victoria Vesce, who was raised on a North Carolina buffalo farm, has a journalism degree from NC State and a law degree from the Charleston School of Law.

But there was a hiccup in her studies: While in college studying for the LSAT, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and lost half of her hearing.

The 28-year-old has been recovering, and is working in law and real estate in Boca Raton, Florida.

‘Being a part of this journey and a finalist really has ignited my spark again for life,’ she wrote on Instagram. 

‘After losing my precious mom in October and still battling the after effects of my brain tumor, life was getting me down. I kept pushing though. I kept swimming. That’s life. Life is tough, but it’s also beautiful.’ 

Hillory Fields

Born in Arcadia, Florida, Hillory Fields says she was named after Hilary Clinton and Maya Angelou.

She has a nursing degree from Florida A&M and works as an ICU travel nurse — a particularly tough job during the pandemic.

‘It has all been a tragedy,’ she wrote on Instagram in April 2020. ‘The past three months have been grueling. Feelings of defeat, emotions running rampant due to the lack of PPE and then there’s the “punch you in the chest” feeling that you get for a family who has to wish their last goodbye to their loved one over a Video Conference.  

She noticed how she and other nurses were feeling burnt out, and developed the SBAR app, which lets travel nurses rate their assignments. 

Today, Hillory said she is ‘truly humbled and honored’ to model for the Swimsuit Issue. 

Nicole Petrie

Wisconsin native Nicole Petrie, 27, is a full-time model who made her Miami Swim Week debut last summer. 

She is also a caregiver for her mother, who has Frontaltemporal Degeneration (FTD), a brain disorder that causes a gradual decline in behavior, language, or movement.

Nicole said that she is excited to use her Swim Search platform to spread awareness about her mom’s condition.

‘This is a real dream come true and I’m so thankful that I get to do something I’m so passionate about while also raising awareness for FTD and giving a voice to caregivers all over the world!’ she said on Instagram. 

‘After 8+ years of dedication to my career, going through traumas no one should have to go through, agencies and people around me telling me I’d never make it… I finally get to say that all that hard work is paying off!’ she added. 

Drew Dorsey 

California’s Drew Dorsey is a YouTube personality, model, and host of Hearst Media’s Clevver Style and Uproxx’s/WMX’s Wom/n Worldwide and Culture Quick Bites.

She has a bachelor’s degree in communication studies and journalism from Loyola Marymount.

Celebrating her Swim Search finalist status on Instagram, Drew wrote: ‘Words CANNOT describe what this feels like.’

‘Y’all listen, I don’t mean to preach, but please please don’t ever give up on your dreams,’ she went on. ‘This was my second year auditioning and look what happened because I didn’t give up.’    

Michelle Fuente Steffen

For Argentina-born Michelle Fuente Steffen, modeling is a second career. Her first was as a lawyer.

Now signed with One Management, she still finds time to practice, but most does so to help fellow models get good contracts.

She told People that Ashley Graham’s 2016 Swimsuit Issue cover was eye-opening for her.

‘I couldn’t believe my eyes because I wasn’t used to seeing curvy models in my home country or pretty much anywhere,’ she said. 

Now, she said, posing for the magazine herself ‘means showing myself not only as a model but as a human being with personal flaws, imperfections and most importantly, showing a more complete version of who I am by telling my story.’    

Lotta Hintsa

Lotta Hintsa, 33, was born in Finland and lived in Ethiopia until she was 11. These days, she travels a lot as a professional high-altitude climber and endurance athlete.

‘Climbing sort of grew on me little by little throughout my life,’ she told Climbing magazine. ‘I spent my childhood in Ethiopia close to the mountains, hiking and climbing trees, and we’d also often fly past Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and I’d look at the snow top and decided I’d climb it one day with my dad.’

She’s also a Miss Finland beauty pageant winner and model, and says that in some ways, that’s harder. 

‘When it comes to high-altitude climbing people always talk about “getting out of your comfort zone,”‘she said. ‘But for me I was most out of my comfort zone when I was competing in Miss Finland and Miss Universe pageants back in 2013. 

‘Pushing myself physically comes very naturally to me, and I seem to welcome the discomfort of training. When it comes to making an effort to “look and behave like a beauty queen” I immediately feel uncomfortable, even though I actually won the Miss Finland title.’

With a new SI Swim gig modeling swimsuits, Lotta said she always has a few on hand. 

‘I live a life of a nomad, because I go where the mountains are, so all my swimsuits are in multiple locations around the world,’ she told People. ‘But there’s always at least 5 at hand, no matter where I am.’  

Mady Dewey

After California native Mady Dewey got her degree from Chapman University, she landed a coveted job at Google — but it wasn’t long before she was launching Herd Social with a friend from college.

The Gen Z-focused social platform is ‘pressure-free’ and aims to combat some of the negative impacts social media can have on mental health.

She and her co-founder, Ali Howard, say they were ‘trapped in the game of social comparison’ when they began ‘researching how to improve their well-being and found the advise contradictory.’ 

‘We have big dreams for this, but to be honest, we’re primarily building it for us. We’d rather make a platform that means a lot to a smaller group than nothing to millions,’ she told MIT’s Technology Review. 

Yesterday, she shared her excitement about making it to the Swim Search finals. 

‘I firmly believe that women should go after ALL their dreams & let go of what anyone else thinks about it. For me, being apart of @si_swimsuit is doing just that – living out my wildest dreams,’ she said.

Source: DailyMail