Now it can be told, since the issue has hit the stands and we are no longer bound by our non-disclosure agreement: The trip I won to a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue shoot was to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Where else but at the airport in St. Thomas are travelers greeted at the airport with a complimentary rum punch?

Our model was Melissa Baker (here getting hit on by my co-worker Scott Langston), a very sweet just-turned-twenty-something Midwestern girl, who dedicated herself over the past several years to landing her dream job: her first SI swimsuit shoot. (Then, her first day, she got stung by a jellyfish and impaled her foot on a spiny sea urchin kicking off the reef. She had to soak her foot in vinegar overnight for the sea urchin, and as for the jellyfish sting, well, you know the rest.)

"Dude! She touched me!"

Passed this guy as the ferry from St. Thomas was bringing us in to dock at St. John

The beach at our hotel, the Westin St. John Resort and Villas. Axe and SI chipped in to get us a poolside villa.

The cove with crystal-clear waters where Scott went snorkeling

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