Paige Spiranac reflects on life-changing opportunity that made her feel liberated: 'It was really a powerful moment'
WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO: Paige Spiranac, 29, is an Internet sensation and a former pro golfer. However, before gaining popularity, she was a one-time SI Swimsuit model. Five years ago, Spiranac was featured in the 2018 Swimsuit Issue when she posed for photographer James Macari in Aruba.
The outspoken influencer was just 24 at the time and used the SI Swimsuit shoot as an opportunity to bring awareness to cyberbullying among Gen Z. In a recent conversation with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, Spiranac recalled the experience, which she calls “one of the most important shoots my life.”
'It was really a powerful moment'
Spiranac shared, "I was going through a really hard time where I was still kind of new in social media and was transitioning from playing golf professionally to doing media full-time." She added, ''I was dealing with a ton of other personal issues, and I just felt very stuck.” Spiranac said the photo shoot was extremely emotional and she was in tears the entire time because it occurred during a transitional time in her life. She said, "Doing that shoot was incredibly empowering. Having MJ Day, SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief there to talk me through it the entire time and build me up, I’ve never been in an environment where I’ve had so many women empower me and lift me up, which is something that we preach all the time, but you don’t really see it in real life."
"It was just such a life-changing moment for me... and I carry everything that I've done in that shoot to everything that I'm doing now." She added, “It was the most confident and powerful and empowered that I have ever felt, and I carry that now, Whatever I do, that's a big part of me and a badge that I'll hold forever, being a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model.”
'It really affected me'
Spiranac also remembered an incident from 2018 when she received rude comments after being invited to a prestigious event. She said, “It really affected me, I was sitting in the bathroom just bawling and was like ‘I don’t want to go through this pain, this feel of helplessness. Being alone. Scared. … How scared I was. How helpless I felt in that I was bullied so bad to the point that I didn’t want to live anymore." Earlier, she recalled when haters called her fat. She said, "Honestly, the amount of men calling me ‘fat’ on this post is next level lol. I’ve had to delete so many comments which I almost never do, I know my body is a big part of my brand and that comes with a territory, but it’s hard to maintain my ideal weight all the time year after year.”