2024 Rookie Sharina Gutierrez’s Journey to SI Swimsuit Was Rooted in Self-Discovery

The model, mother and sound guide posed for the 60th-anniversary issue in Porto and the North, Portugal.

Sharina GutierrezBen Watts/Sports Illustrated

“Love always wins” is the mantra 2023 Swim Search co-winner Sharina Gutierrez lives by, and the compassionate message is one she embodies as a model, mother, sound guide and entrepreneur. As a rookie in the 60th-anniversary SI Swimsuit Issue, out in May, the 33-year-old Los Angeles native will fulfill a longtime dream of appearing in the pages of the annual publication. It’s been a journey many years in the making, and Gutierrez’s story is sure to inspire.

“Sharina gracefully navigates the worlds of motherhood, modeling and entrepreneurship, showcasing that dedication and passion can seamlessly coexist. We first met Sharina during a casting 10 years ago,” says editor in chief MJ Day. “ Though she wasn’t selected for the issue then it makes her triumphant return as a Swim Search winner and rookie a decade later all the sweeter and more special, proving that dreams do come true. Her journey is an inspiration and we are thrilled to tell her story in our 60th anniversary issue.”

We caught up with Gutierrez in Porto and the North, Portugal, where she recently traveled to work with photographer Ben Watts on her 2024 rookie feature. She opened up about the open casting call process, her path to the SI Swimsuit Issue, how she hopes to encourage others to reach for their dreams and more.

“SI [Swimsuit] has been like a North Star”

As a finalist in the 2023 Swim Search, Gutierrez hit the red carpet at the magazine launch event in New York City in May, and, after making it to the top seven, she strutted the SI Swimsuit runway show at the W South Beach in July. 

Upon learning that she and her six co-finalists had all been named rookies for the 2024 issue, Gutierrez was thrilled not only that she achieved her goal, but also that she would be moving forward with the women she deems a “sisterhood.”

Sharina Gutierrez was photographed by Ben Watts in Portugal. Swimsuit by Angelys Balek. Boots by Le Chameau. Earrings by Aureum Collective

“One, we were all shocked [to learn about the group’s collective rookie status]. Two, I was so grateful because I feel like it shouldn’t happen any other way,” she says. “I feel like it would have been unfair if one of us or two of us or three of us, however [many]. Like if we didn’t all get it, it would have felt wrong. Through the process, we all got so close to each other, [and] each of us had a story to get here and each of deserved to be here.”

While reflecting on the call that changed everything, Gutierrez speaks highly of the community she’s created with her fellow Swim Search finalists—Achieng Agutu, Nina Cash, Penny Lane, Brittney Nicole, Jena Sims and Berkleigh Wright—since then.

“I remember they were asking us, ‘What was something that we really took out of this experience?’” she says. “And each of us said it all came back to community and the fact that we found sisterhood, and that SI [Swimsuit] has been like a North Star for all of us.”

“When I found myself ... I never wanted to let that person go”

Gutierrez, a mom of three, has been pursuing her goal of landing in the SI Swimsuit Issue for a decade. She first met Day 10 years ago at a casting and has described herself as nervous and unsure of herself at the time. Ever since, Gutierrez has been on a journey of self-discovery and love.

Sharina Gutierrez was photographed by Ben Watts in Portugal. Swimsuit by Angelys Balek. Boots by Le Chameau. Earrings by Aureum Collective

“[This process has been] so emotional because through this SI [Swimsuit] journey, it hasn’t just been like a year or two years,” she explains. “I’ve dreamt of this for like 21 years since I started modeling.”

Though she’s worked in the industry since the age of 12, Gutierrez briefly stepped away to raise her family. She gave birth to her oldest child, Mason, 10 years ago, and she appreciates that he has been with her throughout her entire journey to the SI Swimsuit Issue. She also strongly believes that her rookie status came in divine timing.

“I had to just figure out how to be a mom,” she says of her past self. “I feel like that version of me wouldn’t have known how to use this platform to inspire others to unleash their inner powers and their inner belief in themselves because I did not believe in myself at that time.”

Through Gutierrez’s journey of self-love, the growth she’s experienced within the last decade has allowed her to manifest her dreams into reality.

“The story that I went through to get to where I am today, I feel like I had to go through those 10 years of growth, those 10 years of self-sabotage and feeling unworthy to really losing myself in all of that so that I could actually find myself,” she says. “When I found myself, it’s like I never wanted to let that person go.”

“The greatest moment in my career was ... actually doing something for myself"

Sharina Gutierrez was photographed by Ben Watts in Portugal. Swimsuit by Angelys Balek. Boots by Le Chameau. Earrings by Aureum Collective

Part of Gutierrez’s journey to self-love involved leaving an agency that didn’t align with her goals. She began speaking her vision of working with SI Swimsuit and modeling in Paris into reality, and shortly thereafter she saw the call to action to self-submit for last year’s Swim Search on Instagram.

"What’s the worst that could happen? They’re gonna say no, or they don’t reply, like, it’s not something I’m not used to,” she says of her initial thoughts about applying for the open casting call. “Two weeks later I went to go cut all my hair off, and then two weeks after that I found out that I made [it to the] top 24. That was a moment where I [felt affirmed]. Like you are doing what you’re supposed to do and you’re listening to that voice that’s guiding you and leading you and you’re listening to your intuition. You should never doubt that. The greatest moment in my career was understanding that I was actually doing something for myself.”

Gutierrez says that her work with the SI Swimsuit brand thus far has served as incredible reminder of her own worth.

“I am worthy enough to be here,” she says. “And all the people that have always told me, ‘You might not be influential enough, or you might not be SI enough, or you might not be sexy enough, you don’t have big enough boobs ... like you’re not that typical model.’ To me, SI [Swimsuit] is not [representative of] a typical model. It’s an empowering woman, and I feel like that’s who I’ve worked on myself to be for the [last] 10 years of my life.”

Mantras are an integral part of Gutierrez’s continuing journey of self-love, and she says she had to learn to be her own best friend in order to make change in her life from a place of love and gratitude.

Sharina Gutierrez was photographed by Ben Watts in Portugal. Swimsuit by Angelys Balek. Boots by Le Chameau. Earrings by Aureum Collective

“I had to really look at myself in the mirror,” the Mama Mantra cofounder says. “I operate with mantras and affirmations, so everything that I wanted to manifest in my life, and how I wanted to feel, I wrote on a Post-It note, and I placed it on my mirror. So it’s the first thing that I see in the morning. It’s the [last] thing that I see at night. If you can’t tell yourself ‘I love you,’ then you need to go through the pain of feeling why you don’t love yourself. What is it that you don't love about yourself? And you have to address those things. Because at the end of the day, somebody who doesn’t love themselves is just looking for love, and they’re looking for love from all the wrong places. Because the only person that can love you the way you desire to be loved is yourself.”

“You have to be the change you want to see in the world”

Gutierrez hopes that by sharing her story, she will inspire others, including her children and fellow women, to chase their dreams no matter what.

“[I hope to] really use my story to help inspire other people and this new generation of models to really believe in themselves,” she says. “And I feel like this new version of Sports Illustrated [Swimsuit] that’s so about empowering women and equality and upliftment, I’m like, that’s the version of Sports Illustrated [Swimsuit] that I’m so grateful that I get to be a part of and ... I’m so grateful this version of me gets that second chance.”

Gutierrez has put in the hard work and credits listening to her heart and having faith in herself as reasons for her success. She points out that if she had listened to others who didn’t believe in her earlier on in her career, she wouldn’t be where she is today. She proudly shares that fans reach out to her on Instagram to let her know that she’s inspired them to chase their own dreams. And while Gutierrez says that motivating others is “an emotional journey,” she draws just as much inspiration from hearing their stories.

Sharina Gutierrez was photographed by Ben Watts in Portugal. Swimsuit by Angelys Balek. Boots by Le Chameau. Earrings by Aureum Collective

“Those are the type of people that inspire me to continue to do the work, to be my best self, to show up and be the person that I want to see in the world, because in the end of the day, in order to make change, and in order to inspire, and in order to be the difference, you have to be the difference,” she explains. “You have to be the change you want to see in the world.”

She reminds us that we all deserve to give ourselves the kindness and grace that we so easily extend to others.

“Something that I really, really, really want my viewers and people around me to understand is [that] it takes a lot less effort to be kind to yourself than to be unkind to yourself,” Gutierrez says. “And if you can be kind to yourself, then you can be kind to everyone else....That’s been my greatest purpose in life, to use this platform to push positivity, to push that purpose and intention, and to push people to really believe in themselves and whatever they want to do.”

Her path to the SI Swimsuit Issue no doubt aligns with her self-described life purpose of serving others.

“The journey for me to be able to inspire other people, I think it’s everything,” she says. “I think that’s why I’m here.”

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