The Story Behind Why SI Swim Model Sixtine Started Her TikTok Platform

The body neutrality influencer knew she wanted to be ‘more than a pretty face.’

Sixtine was photographed by Derek Kettela in Belize. / Derek Kettela/Sports Illustrated

Two-time SI Swimsuit star Sixtine always knew she wanted to be a model, but accumulating a following on TikTok was just a surprise bonus. Now, she’s dedicated to using her platform for good—from speaking up about social justice issues to championing the body neutrality movement.

While in Florida celebrating the launch of the 2024 magazine, for which the 26-year-old stunned in Belize with photographer Derek Kettela, we caught up with the content creator and learned about her start on TikTok.

Sixtine was photographed by Derek Kettela in Belize. Dress by Santa Brands. Swimsuit bottom by Four Three Seven. / Derek Kettela/Sports Illustrated

“Growing up, I knew I wanted to model, but I had always said I don’t want to just be a pretty face. Modeling gives you a platform and I want to use it [for good]. I went to college to kind of figure out what it is I’m actually passionate about,” she shared. “When I started TikTok, the whole reason is because I went to L.A. to model and I got turned down by every single agency and so I was like, ‘Oh now I’m in L.A. and I don’t know what to do.’”

Sixtine first went viral on the platform for her “Swimsuit Series,” where she filmed her journey on the hunt for the perfect mid-size bikini.

“I just started posting on TikTok ... not even necessarily expecting it to go anywhere. I had spoken about a lot of body issues before on Instagram and it did well and so I was like, let’s give it a try. And then I did the swimsuit series and then that blew up,” she continued. “And then I got signed shortly after and then by the time I moved back to New York I was like, ‘Oh, I can do this full time with modeling.’ I’ve been doing that now for three years, which is just crazy.”

Sixtine often gets comments under her posts from women thanking her for serving as mid-size representation and teaching people that there is so much more to life than what you look like. She is committed to sharing her outlook on body image: the model loves her body for all that it allows her to do rather than for what it looks like.

“I really hope that in seeing me, people see themselves,” she said upon her SI Swimsuit debut in Dominica last year. “I don’t want to be just another pretty face on a billboard that’s been Photoshopped to the nines. I really want people to [feel represented] and I want someone to say, ‘Oh, well that girl is not a standard size 0, 5'11" model, she looks like me. She has the same body as me.’”