A Look Back at Camille Kostek’s First SI Swimsuit Feature in Belize

The model was named co-winner of the Swim Search after this photo shoot in 2018.

Cara O’Bleness | Feb 3, 2024

Camille Kostek was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize.

Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

A member of the SI Swimsuit family since 2018, Camille Kostek was named co-winner of the brand’s first Swim Search open casting call that year. She’s returned to the fold each year since, and landed the cover of the annual magazine as a rookie in ’19.

While her work with the brand has taken her to exotic locations like the Dominican Republic (twice!), St. Croix and Australia, the photo shoot that started it all was in Belize, where she worked with visual artist Yu Tsai.

“I feel like I’ve personally grown a lot through the years with this brand and on this runway because I was so scared to walk [the first time],” Kostek told SI Swimsuit during Miami Swim Week last summer. “ ... It wasn’t because of anybody else, I realized it was because of the insecurities you kind of grow up with.”

In addition to her work with SI Swimsuit, the 31-year-old Connecticut native is also a television host, entrepreneur and actress. She and her partner, four-time Super Bowl champ Rob Gronkowski, are the cofounders of Voomerang, a charitable sweepstakes platform that aims to creative positive change in local communities throughout the country.

Today, we’re celebrating Kostek’s many accomplishments across various industries by throwing it back to her 2018 SI Swimsuit feature. Below are just a few of our favorite pics from the photo shoot, in which she modeled several bold and strappy looks in Central America.

Camille Kostek — Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

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Published Feb 3, 2024

CARA O’BLENESS

Cara is a trending news writer/editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. A passionate writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience in print and online media, she loves storytelling and believes that words have the power to change the world. Prior to joining the team, Cara 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, Cara 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.