[UPBEAT MUSIC]
NINA CASH: I was joking with my husband and my daughter.
I said, I'm going to do it.
When I retire, I'm going to try out for this
and see what happens.
I want to have this encore career.
And so it was--
I'll never forget this.
It was January 2nd in Australia, which
meant it was January 1st in America
because they're kind of like a day ahead.
And I hadn't worn a bikini in forever.
And so I wore bikini in Australia,
and my husband took some candid shots.
He said, honey, you should apply.
And I said, oh, I think it's too late.
I think it was in October.
So he went online and said, the deadline is January 1st!
He goes, and it's the 2nd.
Let's do it!
I'm like, oh, my gosh.
So I cobbled together footage.
You know, there's the candid shot that he had,
and then I did a really quick video.
And I spliced it together, and I sent it in.
And I thought, you know, wouldn't it
be a miracle and super cool if I got this
because I want to be a part of the change I
wish to see in the world.
He is over the moon, and my daughters are over the moon
for me and excited.
And they're like, mama, slay the gray.
You're 56 and in the mix.
Slay the gray.
I'm saying to all women, you know what?
You can have an encore career.
When I was an associate dean working in education,
I never talked about me modeling or wanting to or anything
like that because for whatever reason,
if some people found out, they saw me in a different light.
It's like you can't be pretty smart.
You can't be pretty and smart.
You can't be accomplished and pretty because for some reason,
you can only be one or the other, right?
And for me, it's like, why not embrace all of you?
Embrace what you've done in the past.
Embrace your experience and show that.
And there is no expiration date.
You can keep going and going and going,
and it's only up to you that are going to put the roadblocks
in your way, right?
You can keep going.
Just get your-- I call it a steamroller, and just
smooth over those road bumps.
And that's what I want to do.
It's never too late.
It is always right timing.
Always right timing.
I don't think I would have been prepared younger to do this.
I think I am the best version of myself
right now because I've lived life.
People talk about laugh lines.
I have life lines.
I'm not going to get rid of those life
lines because that means I have lived life.
And I've also been a lifeline to other people, right?
Because of my age and my wisdom and my skills and abilities,
and I have lived that.
So I wouldn't trade it for the world.
I don't want to go back to being 25 years old.
I don't want to go back to being a teenager or even in my 30s.
I think beauty does blossom with age.
And I'm 56, and I feel like I'm blossoming
more than I ever could in my 20s or 30s or even 40s.
My dad definitely had a profound impact on me and my mom,
too, on how I view the world and live my life.
My dad, even though he saw a lot of action,
was the kindest, most generous, warm, forgiving,
welcoming human being.
Prior to World War II, sadly, my dad
had to fight the Japanese in the jungle of the Philippines
during the Japanese-Philippine conflict.
And so he was a guerrilla in the Philippine warfare.
This is probably when he was 16 or 17 years old,
so this is '39, 1939, '40, '41.
So he was-- they were in the jungles,
and they had camps set up in the jungles.
And he was at camp, and one of his officers
called him to the hut and said, hey, Francisco, you
have to execute this Japanese soldier that they
just got prisoner of war.
And my dad's a young kid.
And so the officer left, and my dad
looked at this Japanese soldier, who was the same age as my dad,
right?
And my dad couldn't kill him.
Because it wasn't like they were fighting.
It was just like he was there.
So my dad literally let the guy go,
let the Japanese soldier go.
And then my dad just shot in the air.
Fast forward to-- I think it was 2 and 1/2, 3 weeks later,
my dad and three of his friends get captured by the Japanese,
right?
And they're lined up to be executed.
And who comes out to execute them?
The person that my dad let go.
So that person let my dad go, and my dad starts
running, thinking that his friends are going to run after,
but no.
The guy let my dad go, but he shot my father's friends.
So my dad's, like, 16, 17, 18 at the time.
I'm like, you know, what did my dad go through?
What did all these men and women now that are going through?
I cannot complain about my life.
You can do it.
I'm here.
I've got gray hair.
I'm diabetic.
You know, I'm a retired person.
I had a career.
I didn't give up on my dream.
My career was my survival job, quote, unquote, right?
And now I'm doing my dream job.
So it's never too late.
It is always right timing.
I'm the best version right now of me that I could ever be.
And I feel like I'm only going to get better.
Given the opportunities from SI, right?
SI is the one that is--
I mean, they're such an international iconic brand.
They are flipping the switch on what
traditional, quote, unquote, beauty is in the world.
And I have to thank them wholeheartedly.
I'm honored and grateful.
It's like the life lens, I guess,
of what beauty was was kind of this one dimension.
And I feel like "Sports Illustrated," especially
Swimsuit, has changed that.
They have a kaleidoscope.
And I'm so grateful to be just a little speck of a prism
in that kaleidoscope.