Why Camille Kostek Was Shocked When She Saw Her SI Swimsuit Cover for the First Time

The seven-time brand model graced the cover in 2019, her second year with the brand.

Camille Kostek / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Camille Kostek doesn’t really know what happened when she first saw her 2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover. That is, she does—because it was recorded. But she doesn’t remember the moment very clearly. “I fully blacked out,” she revealed during the brand’s 60th anniversary Legends photo shoot in Hollywood, Fla., expressing gratitude that the moment was recorded.

The moment was simple. Much like the other cover reveals, editor-in-chief MJ Day wanted it to be a complete surprise. So, there was no real fanfare. Kostek was sitting in a room when Day came in with the “big ole poster” featuring her cover photo. Then“she flipped it around,” Kostek recalled. “I could not understand what I was looking at. Those big ole Sports Illustrated letters right behind your head—it hits different.”

It hits different. That’s all Kostek had to say to evoke chills from fellow SI Swimsuit model and legend Brooks Nader, to whom she recounted the cover reveal moment. Nader herself starred on the cover in 2023, so she understands how momentous it feels when you find out you’re going to grace the front of the annual issue.

Kostek “just melted,” she said. There was nothing more to it.

This year, the model posed on the cover for the second time in her partnership with the brand. This time, rather than a solo cover, she took part in the Legends group covers, which featured 27 of the brand’s regular models from the past few decades.