Texas models take the plunge in NBC's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search

In remembrance of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search of 2005, we kindly reprint this lost article from The Dallas Morning News.

Something in the water? Texas models take the plunge in NBC's new 'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search' 
11:10 AM CST on Wednesday, January 5, 2005
By ED BARK / The Dallas Morning News

Sultry in a competitive swimsuit and sweet in an off-camera civilian sweater, Mesquite's outgoing Shannon Hughes yearns to be the complete package that Sports Illustrated seeks.

"Sometimes it's hard to understand, but if you're an SI girl, you've made it," she says. "Just to be on the SI Web site right now is a dream come true."A Dallas Morning News security guard looks doubly impressed, first by her obvious physical attributes and then when she politely calls him "sir" while returning a visitor's pass. 

Ms. Hughes, 23 and a graduate of Mesquite High School, is one of three entrants with Texas ties in NBC's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search, a six-episode reality series premiering Wednesday night.

Jenna Spilde, at 18 the youngest of 12 contestants, is a Minnesota native who attended Liberty Christian School in Denton and modeled for the Dallas-based Campbell Agency before recently moving to Los Angeles. Shantel VanSanten, 19, is a student at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and a client of Dallas' Page Parkes modeling agency, as is Ms. Hughes. 

Four of the aspirants are evicted at the end of the first episode, leaving just eight to battle for a coveted spot in SI's annual February swimsuit issue. Let's just say that Texas will still be well represented on next Wednesday's second show. 

The series climaxes in mid-February, with two finalists learning how America voted after earlier posing for potential SI exposure at an undisclosed "exotic location" selected by the magazine.

Ms. Hughes, viewing the show for the first time in a DMN office, witnesses some initially mixed reviews from the show's three judges, former SI model Roshumba Williams, NEXT model management president Joel Wilkenfeld and SI swimsuit editor Jule Campbell.Taping began in mid-September, with the 12 women almost immediately ordered to pull swimsuits from their suitcases after arriving at the show's Los Angeles headquarters. They then had 15 minutes to prepare themselves for a strut down a makeshift outdoor runway. The first episode's other principal activities are calisthenics led by three loud-mouthed "drill instructors" and an early morning swimsuit shoot on a Southern California beach.

"There's nothing that jumps out," says Mr. Wilkenfeld while the three inspect photographs from the beach shoot.

"She's not projecting and it was all very studied," says Ms. Campbell.
But Ms. Williams very much approves: "She's sexy and she's hot. I like her."

Ms. Hughes says she's not fazed.

"I know I have a lot of work to do to really not be as 'posey' or mechanical," she says, noting that much of her modeling work has been for department store spreads. "You kind of get into the little catalog rut, because you can't go too crazy for those kinds of clients. They don't want the sexy stuff, which is what Sports Illustrated wants. So it's kind of weird going into this other world."

Ms. Spilde is left with a few minor leg cuts on Episode 1 after a wave knocks her off a rock. She also has a face that's a "little bit wide" in the view of Mr. Wilkenfeld, who adds, "But I think the girl can work."

"I know I have a rounder face. To me it doesn't make me a bad person," Ms. Spilde says in a brief telephone interview made shorter by her reluctance to answer questions about her nine years in North Texas. "It just means I have to work on the angles of the camera. There are certain angles I can't do, but there are some that look spectacular. ... I love the camera. We're a team and we work together."

Ms. Hughes was a drill team member and self-described "goody-goody" at Mesquite High School, where she met her current fiancé during freshman year. She then graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas in late 2003 with a degree in public relations. Modeling has been her first love since age 16, but it's not just about looking good, she says.

"I'm from the South, so I believe in manners and I believe that ladies should present themselves in a very ladylike manner. I was raised in a Christian household and I still have my morals and beliefs that are very important to me. I want young girls to see that."

Ms. Hughes says she has talked to church groups and to the producers of Swimsuit Model Search about her belief in sexual abstinence until marriage.

"We're waiting until we get married, and that's one thing I know they will talk about at some point on the show."

Her Christian beliefs aren't at odds with provocative poses, says Ms. Hughes, who first dreamed of being in SI after seeing a yellow-bikinied Kathy Ireland on the cover. Modeling icons Cheryl Tiegs (who makes an appearance on the first show), Christie Brinkley, Tyra Banks and Kim Alexis also are SI swimsuit alumni.

"I was never in the category of junior modeling. I was always blessed with having a figure," Ms. Hughes says. "So I'm very comfortable with my body. I don't think there's anything wrong with doing a show like this."

Ms. Spilde hopes modeling will be her fast track to show business stardom.

"It's like one of the top things you can be, because it can open so many doors for you," she says. "I'd also like to one day do a movie and have, like, a TV show."

Ms. Hughes is eager to see what national TV exposure will mean for her. She also realizes it might not all be pretty.

"You never know how it's going to turn out for you. You're putting yourself out there for a lot of criticism. But I was prepared for that. I wanted what this show could give me."

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search
7 Wednesday night, NBC (Channel 5). 1 hr.