On Set with Suni Lee at The Boca Raton

SI Staff | May 13, 2025

Suni Lee Athlete Interview /

Since taking a small break from gymnastics, Suni Lee’s life has been nothing but a fun journey of trying new things and self-discovery. On set with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in Boca Raton, she talks about how her New York move has been treating her and the things she’s learned so far.

TRANSCRIPT

 Hi, I'm Suni Lee and I'm here in Boca Raton, shooting for SI Swimsuit 2025.

My earliest memories of gymnastics, I used to watch gymnastics videos all the time, and I was constantly flipping on the bed, and breaking things, flipping around the house. And that's why my mom got sick of it and she decided to put me in gymnastics, and it's just stuck ever since. Gymnastics has definitely impacted my body image.

We have to wear skin tight leotards and you know, there's so many critics online, but I'm always gonna be my biggest critic. So whenever you read things, it just kind of makes you overthink, but I've just had to learn that my body is my temple and I wouldn't be able to do what I have to do without it.

My meet day superstitions, I have to get ready two hours before the meet and whenever I get my hair braided, the person that's braiding my hair has one chance to braid it right, like perfect, otherwise I'm convinced that my meet day is gonna be horrible. That's a real thing I feel like: if it's a bad hair day, it's a bad day.

This adventure has been so fun. Moving to New York has been a really big adjustment, but also getting more into the fashion world has been so surreal. But also, this is the first time I've really taken a break from gymnastics, so diving into something other than that has been really, really different, but also probably the best experience of my life.

My favorite part about living in New York would have to be all of the amazing food spots. There's just so much, and like they close so late. You can always go. But also the people, like no one cares about anything. They always mind their business, and I always feel so comfortable whenever I walk out in the streets. I feel like normally it's like, I'm a little bit self-conscious. I'm like, 'how do I look today?' Like if I'm not dressed appropriately, but whenever I'm in New York, it's like everyone's in their own world, and I I just love that.

Hey guys, I just wrapped up my photo shoot for SI Swimsuit 2025. It was probably the best day of my life. We had so much fun. So many good pictures and I can't wait to see how they all come out.