Haley Kalil Shares Shocking Insights Into Early Modeling Days and the Surprising Reason She’s No Longer Represented by an Agent

The four-time SI Swimsuit model got candid about her industry experience in a YouTube video.

Haley Kalil.Gotham/Getty Images

Haley Kalil had absolutely no modeling experience before booking her first SI Swimsuit gig. She had just graduated from college and was “on track for medical school.” In fact, she only had one memory associated with the industry from a few years prior—and it wasn’t a positive one.

“[An agent] took one look at my book of glamour shots mixed with camera photos that my mother took at home,” she explained. “He [said], ‘If you were a couple inches taller and a couple inches smaller, maybe we could have made some things work.’ That’s crazy that I still remember those lines.”

Kalil came across SI’s Swim Search open casting call in 2018. Since it was a total “bucket list” item and she had “nothing to lose,” she took a leap of faith and filmed and submitted an amateur video.

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“Two weeks go by and I remember opening my Instagram and I see this message from a verified account,” Kalil recalled. “It was Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, and I lost my freaking mind. One of the coolest moments of my entire life. I looked at my phone and the world stopped.”

The Minnesota native had no idea what to do or how to prepare, so she put her academic skills to use and studied. Kalil watched America’s Next Top Model and just about every YouTube video that was made on casting calls: how to dress, how to act, what to say and more. 

Kalil nailed her casting, was named a co-winner of the Swim Search that year and returned in ’19, ’20 and ’21 to pose for the magazine.

The 30-year-old opened up about her experience entering the industry and her time with various agencies in a recent YouTube video, which she aptly titled, “Let’s discuss all things modeling, my modeling journey, and my issues with the modeling industry.”

Kalil said while her limited experience with modeling agencies in Minnesota was not encouraging, meeting “powerful people” in New York City during the Swim Search process was a completely different story.

“All they did was make me feel incredible and amazing, and I just couldn’t believe that these powerful women were taking the time out of their day to make me feel like even though I wasn’t a model, they wanted to know about me and hear from me,” Kalil gushed. “I’m so grateful to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit for bringing me into the modeling industry. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.”

Kalil added that she’s thankful she entered the industry later than models who are discovered in their early teens. She got to experience agencies and authority figures with her “adult brain”—and quickly realized she wanted out.

Kalil had a few bad experiences with creative directors, photographer and agents at multiple agencies and was rarely paid on time. One agent lied about how much nudity would be involved in a photo shoot, while another told Kalil to “be less talkative” because she was just a “hanger” for clothes.

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“I just could not believe the way that my agent talked to me,” she continued. “Now that I’m out of the industry, the amount of girls I have talked to that have similar experiences to me is mind blowing. People were told they were too fat, too skinny, not pretty enough. Modeling should be about capturing beauty and beauty should not be unhealthy.”

Kalil emphasized that she encourages anyone entering the industry to do a ton of research beforehand.

“Please make sure you are legally protected,” she finished. “Please make sure you are working with an agency that truly sees you and cares about you. I do not want any girl to go through what I went through in the modeling industry.”

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