Former Ravens Cheerleader Summer Wilson Featured In Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Ravens fans might recognize one of the faces in this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.
The 2021 edition is now on newsstands and one of the newest faces to grace the pages is former Ravens cheerleader Summer Wilson.
"I am not a professional model, I work in corporate America so it was just a huge experience to me," Wilson said to WJZ. "It's just next level, holy crap feeling, you know?"
Summer spent seven years living in Baltimore -- five as a Ravens' cheerleader.
"There's nothing like it. There's nothing like game day," Wilson said. "There's like running out of that tunnel and there's nothing like cheering on that field to the amazing Ravens fans."
Her journey to becoming a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model was altered by covid. Instead of in-person casting, the process went online.
"So started to post online, posting on Instagram a lot so anyone that follows me is probably like, 'This chick needs to chill,'" Wilson said. "But I knew that in order to get noticed by such an enormous band, for so many men and women who want to go for this dream, I had to make myself stand out."
It paid off and Wilson was named a finalist. She got the call and shot in Atlantic City. Summer had this to say about being featured in the magazine with such a variety of beautiful individuals:
"There are young women, and men, or whoever out there, who look at this and see themself here," Wilson said. "Not seeing it and thinking oh I need to change myself to be "that" beautiful, I see myself in someone in this magazine."
A native of Greenville, North Carolina, she retired from the Ravens to pursue a career as a model with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, according to the Ravens.
Another woman with Maryland ties was featured in this year's SI Swim. American Women's Lacrosse player and University of Maryland graduate Alex Aust was also in the magazine's special edition.
This story was originally posted on July 21, 2021.
