What Empowerment Means to SI Swimsuit Legend Megan Rapinoe

Former professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe joined the SI Swimsuit family in 2019 when she traveled to St. Lucia for a beautiful beach photo with photographer Ben Watts. This year, the California native and her U.S. women’s national soccer teammates won the FIFA Women’s World Cup. To make her brand debut even more special, Rapinoe was joined on set in the Caribbean by fellow soccer stars Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn and Abby Dahlkemper.

On location, Rapinoe had the opportunity to show off her fit, athletic figure for the SI Swimsuit cameras, where she ran across the sand, waded into the water and kicked a soccer ball around. The suits she wore were all in different shades of white, gold, silver and black, allowing the Olympic athlete to stand out against the idyllic backdrop of the venue itself.

This year, the 39-year-old retired athlete was considered a brand legend. She joined 26 other franchise icons in a group photo shoot in Hollywood, Florida, creating a triptych of covers from the SI Swimsuit 60th Anniversary issue. On set in the Sunshine State, Rapinoe shared how “special” it was to be a part of the film, especially as a gay woman. She also shared her inspiring definition of empowerment.

“Empowerment is being able to be yourself and not trying to conform to what someone else is telling you to be, or what the world is telling you to be, or showing up in a way that makes other people comfortable,” Rapinoe said. “As women, we have so many limitations, guardrails and opinions – behaviors that we are supposed to be that actually have nothing to do with who we are; it’s more about other people. To me, being empowered means showing up exactly what I want, how I want it, and being able to bring my whole self, no matter what, no matter where I am.”

Since retiring last November, Rapinoe has focused on her production company, A Touch More, which she co-founded with her fiancée, SI Swimsuit legend Sue Bird. The brand focuses on sharing revolutionary stories with impact, and the two host a podcast of the same name that highlights women’s sports and pop culture. It launched in August and featured exclusive interviews with the likes of Morgan (after her own retirement last month), Candace Parker and Uzo Aduba.

Below, we take another look at some of our favorite photos from Rapinoe’s iconic SI Swimsuit feature in Hollywood, Florida.