SI Swimsuit Models on How They Learned to Love Their Bodies and Ways You Can, Too

“I am beautiful no matter what they say / Words can’t bring me down.” Christina Aguilera was on to something when she sang those words in her hit “Beautiful” in 2002. Those lyrics resonated then, and 20 years later, they still do, though this messaging should be a constant all the time. AS it so happens, October 19 is National Love Your Body Day and can serve as a reminder to promote this self-love.

While beauty may well be in the eye of the beholder, that should unequivocally be you and not someone else. SI Swimsuit model Camille Kostek has worked hard on her confidence and learned to not compare herself to anyone else. “[It’s] a whole other life that you live every day when you wake up when you accept where you are in your life,” Kostek said. “You don’t have to love everything that you are doing, but love who you are inside and grow together and literally talk to yourself. Have that inner dialogue, look at yourself in the mirror, write it down, go through all of these things that you are processing in your mind all the time.”

Fellow SI Swim model Ashley Graham also gives herself words of encouragement. “This confidence is not something that happens overnight,” Graham shared. “I have been working on it for a long time. I look in the mirror and do affirmations: ‘You are bold. You are brilliant. You are beautiful.’ If my lower pooch is really popping out that day, I look at it and say, ‘Pooch, you are cute!”

Kamie Crawford, who was a 2022 SI Swimsuit rookie, learned a lot about what true beauty is from her mother. “My childhood was me being sad a lot because I was letting other people dictate how I felt about myself all the time,” Crawford said. “And going into high school, I finally was just like, ‘No, I’m going to choose how I feel when I wake up every day.’ It really was an active choice.”

Brazilian superstar Anitta, who made her SI Swim debut in 2021, realized that she needs to be her own biggest fan. “If I don’t think amazing things about myself, who is going to do it? I just decided to be this person that makes compliments for myself,” she revealed. “And that’s it. I don’t need other people to embrace my beauty or my personality. I will be the one who thinks it’s amazing. And that’s it. I think we need to be the first ones to love who we are.”

If this is easier said than done, then there are other ways to gain your own confidence. For starters, follow social media accounts of people who promote body acceptance. Taking yourself on a four-mile Hot Girl Walk, which was started by 23-year-old Mia Lind and went viral on TikTok this summer, is also a great way to hone in on the positives of your life. The three rules for this activity are that you can only think about things you are grateful for, your goals and how you will accomplish them as well as how hot you are.

Lastly, empowering anthems are worth having on repeat and will come in handy on those Hot Girl Walks. For this, we asked DJ Kiss, who has previously toured with Oprah Winfrey, is a fixture at red carpet events like the Oscars and exudes her own level of Bad B*tch Energy, to put together a playlist to blast whenever you need that reassurance because like Lizzo says, “it’s about damn time” to love yourself inside and out. Listen on Spotify here.

Body Positive Playlist

• “Bootylicious” by Destiny’s Child
• “Body” by Megan Thee Stallion
• “About Damn Time” by Lizzo
• “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga
• “Video” by India.Arie
• “Scars to Your Beautiful” by Alessia Cara
• “Unpretty” by TLC
• “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor
• “I’m Every Woman” by Chaka Khan
• “Thique” by Beyonce