After posing for Sports Illustrated at just 18 years old, then working her way up to one of the publication’s leading cover stars in 2023, Brooks Nader has just walked Sports Illustrated first-ever Hulu-streamed runway show in Miami.
The model and TV personality spoke to Refinery29’s Social Lead Taylor Loren on the big day, explaining: “Sports Illustrated has seen me through every phase of life. I’m 29 now, so they’ve seen me through boyfriends, divorce, breakups, and moves. They’ve cried with me, they’ve laughed with me.”
And after handing out free bikinis alongside her sisters Mary Holland, Grace Ann, and Sarah Jane at their Agua Bendita pop-up truck at Paraiso Miami Swim Week, Brooks actually got to walk the SI runway alongside her sisters. “Just to be here today in year eight and have my whole family who’s watched me on the runway now be walking in the show with me is the biggest pinch me moment. I feel like a proud parent,” she says.
Known for her ultra-glam looks and unfiltered personality, Nader has become an internet sensation, from her SI shoots to being a contestant on Dancing with The Stars and her Love Thy Nader family reality Hulu series. So, she understands a thing or two about being in the spotlight and having all eyes on her.
“I have to be totally honest with you. I think with the culture of everyone filming everything and being on their phones and paparazzi pics, you can’t really get away with cheating it for a good angle or lighting. People are going to get the shot regardless. So, I’ve mostly given up hope on curated photos, and I just kind of clip the ones I like online,” Nader shares.
However, she’s still game to get a good shot (especially when her sister Sarah Jane is behind the camera) with the help of her Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra phone. “I think it’s all about the lighting and the angles. I love a good mirror selfie,” the Team Galaxy member says, adding: “Confidence is for sure most important. I mean, the Samsung does take amazing photos and that always helps, but confidence is number one. If you feel good, you look good.”
Nader also called out the Galaxy’s AI features. “I love the circle-to search feature because if you see something you love, you just take a photo, you circle it, and everything pops up online,” she explains, adding: “It’s the most dangerous thing that I have access to right now because I’ll just be like: ‘Oh, love that purse,’ and then it’s in the cart.” (A feature we may just want to use when watching the Sports Illustrated show stream on June 9.)
Speaking on her SI photoshoots and runway walks (during a time when body diversity has severely decreased), Nader says the publication’s editor in chief MJ Day has always championed real bodies. “I’ve gone in for the fitting and then showed up for the shoot and been 20 pounds lighter after crazy dieting. And MJ’s like: ‘Where’d you go? This isn’t who we booked. We want you for you. We don’t want you to change or morph into someone you’re not.’ I think that’s so special.”
For the runway itself, Nader adds: “It’s obviously nerve wracking. Everyone’s watching. They’re getting every little angle of your body, but I would say Sports Illustrated is a brand that embraces all women, and they always have. They were so ahead of the curve, and they did that before any other brand or magazine did that. And that’s why it’s so special to be a part of it because everyone is celebrated with this brand. I feel zero pressure when I’m working with Sports Illustrated.”
On the big night, Nader showed up and showed out in three swimwear looks, but the most notable was perhaps her striking red one-piece — fitting, because she was casted and shot a Baywatch reboot, which is set to release in 2027. When Loren asked Nader if she practiced her slow-mo Baywatch run, the model-turned-actress quickly said: “I’ve been practicing that since I was 10 years old. So when this call came through, I was ready. I’ve been benched and waiting for my entire life.”
In addition to her features on the SI Hulu stream and upcoming Baywatch Fox series, we can probably expect to see Nader back at the Dancing with The Stars stages… this time in the audience. That’s because her truest friend and fellow SI runway model Maura Higgins was announced as one of the first contestants for Season 35.
“I think she’s an ultimate girls’ girl and she’s not afraid to say exactly what she’s thinking or what everyone else is thinking,” Nader says about Higgins. “And she has been so kind and humble along the way. I don’t even think she needs advice. She’s so gorgeous and stunning and I can’t wait to see her crush it.”
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
8 Swim Trends Poised To Take Over This Summer
