For Paige Spiranac, a feature in the 2018 SI Swimsuit Issue meant much more than just posing in a tropical paradise. That year, the former San Diego State Aztecs golfer hit the beach in Aruba for a photoshoot with photographer James Macari.

But it wasn’t all fun and games. The 30-year-old made her SI Swimsuit debut with a goal “to take back what is mine,” she said at the time.

Spiranac sported several classic all-black looks while on set in Aruba, during a photoshoot that really “felt like it was for me, [and like] it was meant to be,” she said. “It was the right time, right place, right moment in my life with everything that I had gone through.”

Having faced bullying all of her life, the social media influencer is a very outspoken advocate for Cybersmile, an organization aimed at ending cyberbullying. For Spiranac, the chance to be featured in the 2018 SI Swimsuit Issue was an opportunity to embrace “the person that I want to be, which is strong, sexy, confident and powerful,” she said.

It was an opportunity, moreover, to face the bullies head-on. “It was really liberating to be myself… and to be confident and love who I am,” she said. “It was a really powerful moment and I’m so thankful.”

The golf influencer’s newfound empowerment shines through her photos, making for some stunning images. In one particularly powerful pic, Spiranac posed amid a cloud of dust in a silver reflective top by Divamp and black swimsuit by Slate Swim.