“The Judges Really Seemed To Be Pushing for Me”: An Interview with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search Semi-Finalist Stacy Klimek

Stacy came into Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search with perhaps less self-confidence than some of the other women. That confidence increased along the way, though, and she made it all the way to third place. Now she tells us about her journey, what mistake she made at the end, and much more!

RealityNewsOnline: How did you find out about the audition?

Stacy Klimek: I’m with an agency in Minneapolis and they called me about the auditions. They said they thought I’d be great for the show and told me I should give it a try.

RNO: Throughout the show you were often depicted as lacking self-confidence. Was that an accurate depiction?

Stacy: I was not as confident when the show began. I was against a lot of other very beautiful girls. In comparison, I didn’t really see myself as equal to them, but the judges were telling me that I was just as good, if not better, than the rest of the girls, and I’m [thinking], “Wow! If the judges, who see and work with beautiful women all the time, are telling me that I’m just as beautiful as these girls, I have to be. My confidence has to skyrocket right now. I want to win this competition; I want to model as a career.” That’s really when I decided to step it up for the Ice Shoot.

RNO: You seemed to make the other models nervous with how well you did with the Ice Shoot. Did the cold weather in Minnesota help with this?

Stacy: Partially. Just because I’m used to cold doesn’t mean I wasn’t freezing my a** off too in that shoot. I just stepped it up and ended up having the best photo shoot that day.

RNO: In the first episode, when Sabrina used her Supermodel Pass at random, you went on camera saying that was a waste of a powerful opportunity. Did this influence your decision to go last in Bora Bora?

Stacy: Yes, I definitely think that [decision] backfired on me. I put Shannon first, and she kind of had to set the standard for the rest of us, and being that I hadn’t seen Shannon’s or Alicia’s photo shoots in Bora Bora, I didn’t know quite what to expect. In all the other competitions, we got to watch what the girls did, and this one I didn’t. I did put myself last, which I was regretting.

RNO: When you won the Supermodel Pass did you know that all the models would be wearing the same swimsuits?

Stacy: No. No, I didn’t. I thought they [the judges] were going to pick the best five or six suits, whatever it was, that fit us the best, and I do think they [did that].

RNO: So do you disagree with Shannon, who said during the episode that she had an upper hand in choosing which suits fit her best, since she was the first model?

Stacy: I’m sure since she’s a little bustier than Alicia and I that some of those swimsuits probably did look better on her in the way she filled them out, and the way she looked very sexy in ‘em, but I don’t think it was all her. I think they [the judges] wanted to make all of us look beautiful in the competition. So I don’t think she had an upper hand in it, no.

RNO: What happened on the morning photo shoot in Bora Bora?

Stacy: Both of the girls [Shannon and Alicia] were going in there and they would come out and I could see it on Walter and Diane’s faces that these other girls were probably doing better than me, and it was making me nervous. I think that’s why maybe I didn’t perform as well. The fact that Walter and Diane have seen the best of the best and the most beautiful girls in the world, I just wasn’t sure that I measured up to them. I think I definitely took a downward spiral in my confidence there.

RNO: So was that the reason for that blank stare the judges mentioned?

Stacy: Yes. For me it was just very difficult to do a topless photoshoot. I definitely was not comfortable in that situation. I’ve never even shot anything like that where I have been topless or half topless, so for me it was difficult. I think I lost my competitive [edge] at that point and I was a little off until the part where I got on the boat and started cruising and having fun. I think I definitely ruined the beginning of my photoshoot. I wasn’t yet comfortable with Diane and Walter and the fact that my very first shot during my photoshoot would be a topless one just really didn’t [bode] well.