Erin Willerton recently concluded her first photo shoot for the coveted Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

Erin Willerton recently concluded her first photo shoot for the coveted Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and she continues to prove why she was one of the six lucky ones to be selected as a #SISwimSearch finalist, doing so via her own Instagram page.

As Sports Illustrated previously pointed out, Willerton jetted off to the Bahamas in February alongside five other finalists to complete their photo shoot. The process began with more than 10,000 Instagram video submissions and in-person interviews, leading up to the six lucky models Brooks Nader, Veronica Pomee, Jessica Aidi, Raine Michaels, and Manuela Hernandez, in addition to Willerton, the report further detailed.

On Thursday, the magazine took to its Instagram page to share a video of Willerton and Hernandez celebrating the successful wrap-up of their shoot, indicating that they were going to go eat a pizza as a reward.

Link to story: https://bikininewsdaily.com/bnd/ErinWillertonrecentlycon-305

How did Raine Michaels get picked to be one of Sports Illustrated 25 swimwear models? Here is how!

Belmont freshman and rocker Bret Michaels' daughter Raine Michaels will appear in the 2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue in May. “There are only 25 girls in the magazine, which is crazy,” said Michaels. “And I’m going to be one.”

Michaels will be flown out to an undisclosed location in mid-February for the swimsuit photo shoot. But it was a long few months that led up to her selection. Her first step was to submit an Instagram video to the Sports Illustrated Swim Search over the summer.

Michaels took 79 videos of herself, trying to find the perfect one. It wasn’t until her phone was at one percent that she decided to take one more. “Feeling a bit of uncertainty, she decided to submit that last video anyway. She thought, “we’ll see where it goes, and if no one sees it then, whatever.”

The next day, she woke up to find her picture reposted on the official Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Instagram. A week later, Michaels was invited to Miami, where she took part in the second step of the audition process, an interview with her idol Kate Upton. “We had to do an interview with her for for like two minutes. Which is crazy because she’s my role model. I was freaking out,” said Michaels.

Michaels was one of 60 contestants in Miami. Sports Illustrated editors and veteran models narrowed those 60 down to 16 that same day. “I was like the 11th girl that got called,” Michaels said. “I thought, there was no way I was going to get called now.”

In November, Sports Illustrated flew the 16 out to Miami again for a photo shoot and another round of interviews. It wasn’t until January that the six finalists would receive Skype calls congratulating them on making the magazine.

Michaels received the highly-anticipated call and secured her place. “I honestly can’t remember what they said. I was so nervous,” Michaels said.

Though Michaels is living out her dream, she is still a full-time student. She realizes trying to balance school and modeling is going to be a struggle in the next few months. “I let my teachers know in advance," said Michaels. “Obviously I’m here to be a student, but this is what I really want to do.”

She doesn’t plan on dropping out, but knows if things start to pile up she’ll have to make a tough decision. “It all depends on how everything turns out. I’m really going to think about it this summer,” said Michaels.

Link to story: https://bikininewsdaily.com/bnd/HowdidRaineMichaelsgetpi-192

2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model search competition have their new six winners

From 10,000 Instagram videos and in-person interviews to 67 finalists to the Sweet 16. 

And now only six women will move forward as a part of this year's 2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model search competition. 

"One of the most difficult decisions of the year is choosing who moves on," said Sport Illustrated swimsuit editor MJ Day. "Every single woman here is a superstar in the making. The personalities, the ambition and the untapped potential are so exciting to introduce to the world.

"Each woman is so incredibly unique and special while possessing the same identical quality," she continued. "They impressed the hell out of us. We are so excited to continue this journey with these six women and watch them take it to the next level." 

One of the six models (top photo) is Raine Michaels from West Lake Village, Ca. This blonde beauty is so much more than the daughter of rockstar Bret Michaels. Since graduating high school last summer, Raine has started classes at Belmont Univeristy, where she balances a busy schedule of music classes and modeling.  

Link to story: https://bikininewsdaily.com/bnd/2019SportsIllustratedSwi-157