Camille Kostek Reflects on Full-Circle SI Swimsuit Launch Moment: ‘I Used to Wait in the Rain’

Reminiscing on the SI Swimsuit Legend’s journey is giving us all the feels.

Camille Kostek at SI Swimsuit Social Club / Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images/Sports Illustrated

For Camille Kostek, winner of the inaugural SI Swimsuit open casting call, launch weeks serve as a period of connectivity, where brand staples, rookies and other models in between champion each other’s journeys with the magazine.

“I absolutely love every time the issue comes out and learning about the new rookie class, the new athletes, and learning about their stories,” Kostek told SI Swimsuit at the Social Club pop-up in SoHo, N.Y., earlier this month. “I think that’s what's so awesome about launch week, it’s having the opportunity to really get to know the girls. We become tangible.”

Kostek deems the in-person experience to celebrate the annual magazine an “energetic exchange,” explaining that sharing anecdotes offers the SI Swimsuit Legend an opportunity to reflect on her eight years with the magazine.

Camille Kostek and Jasmine Sanders show off their features / Nina Westervelt

“Listening to girls’ stories at the panels, and the podcasts [...] that’s what attracted me [to join SI Swimsuit],” Kostek elaborated. “I used to show up at a lot of events. I used to wait in the rain.”

Kostek recalled a specific experience, before she started her monumental campaign with the brand, where, at the time, she was just a fan who aspired to become an SI Swimsuit model. “I think it was 2016, I waited to meet Hailey Clauson and Ashley Graham. But I used to come [with] my magazines and stand in line and have all of them sign it,” she continued, calling her journey to the 2025 issue “a full-circle moment.”

Now, Kostek isn’t just an SI Swimsuit model; she’s a legend, earning the title in 2024 with a celebratory shoot in Hollywood, Fla., for the 60th anniversary. During her tenure at the magazine, she has become the very woman she used to look up to. And you don’t have to just take our word for it— fellow SI Swimsuit models have credited the Connecticut native as their role model.

XANDRA and Camille Kostek. / Tato Gomez

“I’ve admired Camille Kostek’s journey from the very beginning. Her carefree outlook and natural beauty are something I have always sought after,” 2023 Swim Search co-winner Berkleigh Wright previously shared.

“[Kostek] was one of those models where I was like, ‘I literally want to be her,’” two-time model XANDRA exclaimed on TikTok earlier this month.

For Kostek, entering her most recent year at the magazine, this time as an official SI Swimsuit Legend, felt affirming in her modeling journey as she continues to grow with the brand.

“It made me feel more at home with [SI Swimsuit] and just happy that I could be a part of this legacy,” Kostek explained of her legend status. “It was just a good reminder I’m in the right place at the right time.”

View the Full 2025 Gallery. Camille Kostek Content. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1746819471/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jtv8vn3hdnphwbr9rs.jpg. More Camille Kostek. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1746818897/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jtv8a52n8qe2pf49yj.jpg. Her Return to the Fold. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/v1746819307/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/si_swimsuit/01jtv8pmv26wnm6kewp5.jpg