Lifestyle Health 'Sports Illustrated' 's Swimsuit Issue Director Courageously Poses in a Bikini to Promote Body Confidence Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue director MJ Day wrote about her own body insecurities, and how she's never felt comfortable in a swimsuit By Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta Twitter Julie Mazziotta is the Sports Editor at PEOPLE, covering everything from the NFL to tennis to Simone Biles and Tom Brady. She was previously an Associate Editor for the Health vertical for six years, and prior to joining PEOPLE worked at Health Magazine. When not covering professional athletes, Julie spends her time as a (very) amateur athlete, training for marathons, long bike trips and hikes. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 15, 2017 12:50 PM Share Tweet Pin Email As Sports Illustrated‘s Swimsuit issue director, MJ Day spends her days around models in teeny-tiny swimsuits (or nothing at all) — but the mom says she’s never felt confident in her own body. That’s precisely why Day donned a bikini encouraging women to love their bodies as part of a partnership with the @WomenIRL Instagram account and Health.com. “Deep.Breath. If I’m going to talk the talk I am going to walk the walk,” she captioned the video. “Funny how I have spent my life on a beach since childhood and I have never truly felt comfortable in a swimsuit. Even at my thinnest. We need to love ourselves in the present. No matter what.” Day says in the video that she decided to talk about her insecurities because the 2017 Swimsuit issue is celebrating women of all sizes. “I’ve been producing the annual Swimsuit issue for 19 years, but today I’m the one in a bathing suit, and here’s why,” she says. “This year’s issue will showcase the widest diversity of women in SI history. Women of all ages, and shapes, and from many different backgrounds.” With the partnership, Day and @WomenIRL are encouraging women to post their own bikini videos. “We want to celebrate strength, beauty, and more, so we want to know: What do you model? So I’ll kick us off. I model determination. I’m determined to get out the message that there is not a singular definition of beauty.” After SI featured model Ashley Graham in the 2016 issue, they’ve added more size diversity to their roster this year, including model Hunter McGrady, their curviest ever. “I want to thank @MJ_Day for an opportunity like this and for being a force in this industry and everyone at @si_swimsuit for promoting that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes,” McGrady, 23, wrote on Instagram. Beauty is not a number. It has no limits.”