Muay Thai Fighter Mia Kang’s Energy Is Palpable in These 6 Photos From Mexico

The 2016 Model Search winner and athlete is a body positivity advocate.

Ananya Panchal | Oct 9, 2023

Mia Kang was photographed by Ruven Afanador in Mexico.

Ruven Afanador/Sports Illustrated

Mia Kang brings power and grace to everything she does. The 2016 Model Search winner was captured by Justin Marquis for her SI Swimsuit debut in the Dominican Republic. She returned to the magazine as a rookie the following year, and traveled to Mexico with photographer Ruven Afanador.

The Muay Thai fighter uses her platform to encourage self love and body positivity and speaks candidly about her struggles with eating disorders and mental health.

The Knockout author experienced a turning point just before her first SI Swimsuit feature—she was on a trip to Thailand and fell in love with martial arts. It gave her something other than her body and the way she looked to wholeheartedly focus on and, Muay Thai essentially “saved” her life.

“I fell in love with the anonymity that martial arts brings. On the mat, everyone is an equal—it doesn’t matter what your occupation is, who you are, how much money you have,” she told Tatler magazine. “It [showed] me strength that I never knew I had—both external and in the form of discipline, determination and heart. I think a pivotal moment for me as an adult was when I realized that it’s O.K. to just be myself. My body looks different to everyone else’s and it doesn’t need to look a certain way. I am a unique person, I am who I am, and I am proud to be who I am.”

Below are six of our favorite photos from Kang’s 2017 photoshoot in Mexico.

Mia Kang — Ruven Afanador/Sports Illustrated

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Published Oct 9, 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.