How Brittney Nicole’s Military Experience Has Impacted Her Modeling Career

Brittney Nicole was photographed by Ben Watts in Portugal. Swimsuit by Svn Swim. Necklaces by Cleopatra’s Bling. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Brittney Nicole wasn’t always a model. The 2024 SI Swimsuit rookie took a rather unconventional path to the set of her photo shoot in Porto and the North, Portugal. Unlike many of the names and faces who came before her, she didn’t begin walking runways in her teens or gracing the covers of magazines in her 20s. 

Prior to taking her sister’s advice and applying for the 2023 Swim Search, Nicole served in the U.S. Navy as both a contract worker and civilian. Now, she’s pursuing her dreams of modeling—and finding success, too. But she recognizes that she’s still “a work in progress,” she says on set in Portugal. “I feel like I’m entering a new chapter in my life.”

Not long before her photo shoot, she was still working a 9-to-5 job. But the Swim Search open casting call kickstarted a new career path for the Georgia native. Thankfully for Nicole, the military prepared her well. When asked what skills she could carry over from her time in the Navy to her sessions in front of the camera, her answer was simple: “Discipline.”

“That's something that I didn't have when I joined the Navy,” she explains.

But, after serving eight years in the military, you could say she’s gotten the hang of it. Modeling may not be as “structured” as the Navy, “but ​​you still need to have discipline” in order “to figure out what course you’re going to take,” she adds.

Brittney Nicole was photographed by Ben Watts in Portugal. Swimsuit by Svn Swim. Necklaces by Cleopatra’s Bling. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

With the help of discipline and the meaningful experience she gained during her naval career, Nicole is embracing her passion for modeling. In the process, she’s paying close attention to the brand that she’s creating. “I want to build my brand around being very health conscious and helping women with their health and fitness goals,” she says of her growing platform. 

It’s a new adventure for the model, who is embracing it wholeheartedly. And she’s glad to have the SI Swimsuit team along for the ride. “You guys are coming on my journey of everything that I’m trying to do now,” she says.

And, of course, that journey includes a feature in SI Swimsuit’s 60th anniversary issue. Read more about Nicole’s story and check out a few of her stunning photos ahead of launch here.

Read more about Brittney Nicole’s 2024 SI Swimsuit photo shoot here.