Meet the winner of the coveted 2021 Miss Bikini Calendar Cover – Miss Bikini Wisconsin, Marleigh Petras. Marleigh first came to the Bikini Tribe representing Wisconsin in the 2019 pageant. She loved the experience and decided to return. She took a shot and also entered the online Calendar Cover Model Contest. After winning the highest number of online votes, Marleigh was invited back to the pageant in Miami, and this time with her sponsor package paid as part of her calendar winnings! What a prize!
The latest Calendar Contest is in full swing right now and there is still time to enter and win up until May 13, 2021! To enter click here, who knows we may see YOU on the next cover!
As the Miss Bikini Calendar Model Winner, you are featured on the 2021 Miss Bikini Calendar. How did you feel when you found out you won? Tell us a bit about the experience.
Ecstatic! I was so unbelievably happy! It was one of the best feelings in the world. When Miss Bikini US announced me as the winner of the 2021 Calendar Cover Model, it was during a time when I needed news like that the most. The pandemic had started, the world was shut-down, I lost my job, and I was not in a good place mentally. I was moved when it was announced, and I was jumping up and down screaming with joy, literally!
You were also a participant in the Miss Bikini 2019 at Miami Swim Week, what was your favorite experience during that event?
The simple fact that we all got the opportunity to walk in Miami Swim Week was completely unbelievable to me, it was a dream come true. Modeling is so important to me, and being able to have that familiarity of walking while also competing in a pageant made Miss Bikini feel at home. Two worlds collided for me that day, and my understanding of pageantry seemed to click afterward–modeling and pageantry are not that different from each other to some degree. When I realized that, I fell in love with pageantry.
What advice or tips do you have for models hoping to advance in the Calendar Cover Model Contest?
Determination. When the Calendar Cover Model Contest was announced, I knew right then and there that I was going to win. I told my pageant coach that day I was going to win. I told myself that I was going to win. I put in a lot of work to make it happen, here’s my advice:
Don’t be afraid to promote yourself.
Share that you are competing for the Calendar Cover Model with the world! Start with your family and friends and then move to your social media platforms. Ask them to share on their social platforms as well. The more people it reaches, the more of a chance you have at winning!
Don’t be afraid to ask others to promote you.
This is where sponsorships can be a huge help. Not only can sponsorships help pay for your pageant necessities, but they can also help you achieve other goals as well! It’s important to form strong relationships with your sponsors, and if you need help on how to start that conversation please feel free to reach out!
Build Yourself a Website.
Build your own personal website! Personal branding is key and building yourself a website helps tell your story, helps reach and maintain sponsorships, but it is also somewhere to drive traffic to, such as the fact that you are trying to win the Calendar Cover Model Competition! There are plenty of sites to get started such as WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix!
What is your best fitness tip?
Take it one day at a time baby girl. You can’t expect results right away. This is YOUR journey, no one else’s. I love running, so my workouts are more cardio-focused. Try to find something that you love and incorporate it into your workouts! It will give you something to look forward to daily and you will never dread going to the gym or working out at home ever again!
What is one of the most interesting shoots that you have done?
Where do I even begin! There was one time I recall, that I did a photoshoot in Milwaukee for my best designer friend, on a rooftop…with Harley Davidson Motorcycles…in 35 degree weather! Not only did we get to witness cranes hauling up the bikes onto the roof, but in between sets, us models all sipped on chai lattes around a space heater! It was honestly one of the most memorable photoshoots of my life and I walked away with so many new friends that day, too!
What advice or tips do you have for models entering Miss Bikini?
Don’t be intimidated! All of these women are going to turn into your best friends. You are surrounded by strong, goal-driven women who just want the very best for you. You will learn so much from each other, just go into Miss Bikini US with the knowledge that all of these women are here for each other!
My first time competing in Miss Bikini US I had $30 to my name and absolutely no idea what to expect. I had never been to Miami for one, and for two never competed in a pageant either. (I didn’t even know that sponsorships were a thing. How cute.) I didn’t stay in the official hotel, I stayed in a hotel I could afford at the time one mile away. The morning of orientation, I decided to walk to Grand Beach Hotel thinking to myself, “Oh, it’s only a mile away. That’s not too far and I’d rather pay for uber on competition day rather than now. I’ll be fine!”
Boy was I wrong.
By the time I arrived at the hotel, the curls in my hair sweat out, I was honked at 20 billion times, I was honestly living proof of hot and bothered, but boy was I just glad to be there. I felt so out of place, intimidated, but still somehow confident. I decided that no matter what I was going to make the best of this opportunity, and that is exactly what I did. The girls I met there were both beautiful inside and out. If this is your first time competing, don’t be intimidated, have fun, and just be yourself! You made it this far girl, be proud and own that!
It’s easy to see how Marleigh won the coveted Cover Model spot. You can find out more about Marleigh and read the full interview here:
READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH MISS BIKINI WISCONSIN 2019/20/21 HERE
