2023 SI Swim Rookie Melissa Wood-Tepperberg Shares Throwback to Beaches of Dominica

The yoga and Pilates instructor posed for Yu Tsai for this year’s magazine.

Melissa Wood-Tepperberg.Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images

Though it’s only been six months since the release of the 2023 SI Swimsuit Issue, we love reminiscing on each and every single one of the features it contained.

It appears that rookie Melissa Wood-Tepperberg shares our feelings of nostalgia, as the workout and wellness leader shared a throwback from her photoshoot in Dominica to Instagram on Friday, Nov. 10. The 40-year-old mom of two traveled to the Caribbean country just days before her milestone birthday to pose for photographer Yu Tsai, a moment she reflected upon in her caption. 

“POV…shooting for @si_swimsuit 3 days before my 40th Birthday,” Wood-Tepperberg wrote. “A beautiful reminder to us all that age is simply just a #. Never stop going after your wildest dreams because they can and will become your living, breathing reality when you never give up on you. Period.”

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A post shared by Melissa Wood - Tepperberg (@melissawoodtepperberg)

It’s a similar notion to one Wood-Tepperberg shared with the SI Swimsuit team while on location for her feature. She noted that not only was she “excited” to reach that milestone birthday, she also stated that, at the time, she was the “most confident” she’d ever been.

“I would tell any young girl who thinks 40 is old that it just keeps getting better, and it really is because you just become more of who you are,” the yoga and Pilates instructor shared. “You become more comfortable in your own skin, and it’s also really taught me that age is really just a number and not to grasp or grip it too tightly. There’s just so much beauty in the becoming of getting older and wiser and more confident in your own skin.”

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