Mady Dewey Brings Colorful Surf Culture to Puerto Rico in These 7 Photos

The 2022 Swim Search winner nailed her ’23 rookie shoot with Ben Watts.

Ananya Panchal | Jul 20, 2023

Mady Dewey was photographed by Ben Watts in Puerto Rico.

Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Mady Dewey is an inspiration. The 2023 SI Swimsuit rookie is all about growing her presence in the male-dominated tech industry in Silicon Valley while defying stereotypes about what her career path should look like.

The 26-year-old model, who was discovered through the Swim Search open casting call and was named the 2022 winner, returned to the magazine this year. She was photographed by Ben Watts in Puerto Rico for the 2023 issue and the resulting images are colorful, flirty, youthful and ’70s surf culture-inspired perfection.

“One of the biggest reasons why I [applied for Swim Search] was because I felt like [as] someone who works in a tech environment, I didn’t see people that were going after their creative dreams or their dreams outside of just their career,” said Dewey, who is the co-founder of the metrics-free social media app Herd. “You had to be placed into this box—like you could only be someone who was smart or career-motivated. I did this because I want women to see that they can do everything that they want. They can break the stereotype of what a person in their industry looks like. I just hope I can be that person for other girls.”

Below are six of our favorite photos from the Discord product marketing manager’s 2023 shoot.

MTk3ODYyMDk5MDQzODIxNDMw — Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

MTk3ODYyMDk5MzExOTk0NzQy — Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

MTk3ODYyMDk5ODQ5MTkyNjIw — Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

MTk3ODYyMTAwMTE3MjM1NTc0 — Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

MTk3ODYyMDk5MDQzNTU5Mjg2 — Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

MTk3ODYyMDk5NTgwNDk1MDIw — Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

MTk3ODYyMDk5ODQ4OTMxMTkw — Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

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Published Jul 20, 2023

ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Before joining SI Swimsuit in 2022, she worked at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When she is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, Panchal can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast. Panchal has a bachelor’s in communications and journalism from Boston University.