Former NFL Cheerleader Summer Wilson Nailed Her SI Swim Photoshoot in Atlantic City

The open casting call finalist was featured in the 2021 SI Swimsuit Issue.

Cara O’Bleness | Dec 22, 2023

Summer Wilson was photographed by Yu Tsai in Atlantic City.

Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

North Carolina native Summer Wilson was featured in the 2021 SI Swimsuit Issue after applying to that year’s open casting call. As a finalist, she was photographed by Yu Tsai in Atlantic City, along with 12 other Swim Search contestants.

Prior to applying, Wilson was an NFL cheerleader with the Baltimore Ravens for five seasons, between 2016 and ’20. Today, she works as an interior stylist and focuses on unique mural art.

In fact, while posing for the SI Swimsuit Issue in New Jersey, Wilson wore several bright and beautiful bikinis in vibrant hues similar to the colors that she often incorporates into her wall art these days.

“It for sure felt like a crazy idea to do at first as I had never shot professionally in a bikini, but I don’t regret it one bit!” she said of applying to the Swim Search. “I loved representing a brand as a cheerleader in the NFL, but I felt now was the time to finally represent myself and be my own brand. At 30-years-old, it’s not too late—dreams don’t have a shelf life and neither does beauty. I want to inspire, make people laugh and motivate others to be the best versions of themselves while being authentically themselves.”

At the time, she said her boyfriend, Mike Fox, was the first person she told when she learned she was an open casting call finalist. The two got engaged earlier this summer, and in September, Wilson revealed the two had officially found their wedding venue.

Below are a few of our favorite snapshots from Wilson’s SI Swimsuit photoshoot.

Summer Wilson — Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

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Published Dec 22, 2023

CARA O’BLENESS

Cara O’Bleness is a writer and editor on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Prior to joining SI Swimsuit in 2022, she worked as a writer and editor across a number of content verticals, including food, lifestyle, health and wellness, and small business and entrepreneurship. In her free time, O’Bleness loves reading, spending time with her family and making her way through Michigan’s many microbreweries. She is a graduate of Michigan State University’s School of Journalism.