Swimsuit

Jasmine Sanders Shares Exclusive BTS From Her SI Swim Photoshoot in Puerto Rico

The 2020 cover star and social media influencer gushed about her experience with the brand and how important year five was.

Ananya Panchal

Jasmine Sanders

Jasmine Sanders was photographed by Ben Watts in Puerto Rico. 

Five-time SI Swimsuit model Jasmine Sanders is a brand veteran. The model and influencer, who first gained popularity through her aesthetic and moody content on Tumblr, now has more than 6.3 million Instagram followers, who best know her as Golden Barbie.

The 32-year-old made her debut with the magazine in 2019, when she was named Rookie of the Year, and landed the cover the following year, along with former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo and 10-time SI Swimsuit model Kate Bock. The German-born, South Carolina native has returned to pose for the brand every year since, and was photographed in Puerto Rico by Ben Watts for the 2023 issue.

Sanders got sappy in her latest Instagram post and reflected on her time with the brand, and how her confidence has grown over the years with SI Swimsuit.

“I love these moments captured while shooting with the incredible @wattsupphoto! My confidence was on a million. I felt limitless. I had recently told my therapist, ‘I think this is the first time in my life that I truly love everything about myself. I can honestly say I LOVE ME!’ And it felt so good to celebrate just that,” she wrote. “Being able to love and embrace all that I am, around people that truly believe in me, and capture it all on camera. It felt damn good! I was no longer standing in my own way, no longer judging myself, and no longer trying to be something I wasn’t.. and it showed.”

Sanders included some stunning bikini snapshots in a black-and-white floral two-piece from SHOP BALOU. She also added a sweet behind the scenes video, and a mirror selfie from her fitting with editor in chief MJ day and stylist Margot Zamet.

“I took this video quickly before we started shooting - excited to create and thankful to be blessed with another year with my SI Swim family. Also, probably running off of 3 hrs of sleep! 😩🤭🤩🙃,” she continued. “Slide 4: I found this bathroom selfie in my phone from my fitting with @mj_day and @margotzamet - the night before my shoot! They picked so many cute options for me! I kinda wanna share 🤔.”

View Sanders’s full 2023 gallery here.

Make sure to follow SI Swimsuit on YouTube!

Published
Ananya Panchal

ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a NYC-based Lifestyle & Trending News writer at SI Swimsuit. Before joining the Swim team, the Boston University Alum worked for culture & entertainment beats at Bustle, The San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When Ananya is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, she can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast.