Sports Illustrated’s annual Swimsuit Issue is usually filled with an array of standard-issue beauties (voluptuous but more or less sample-sized, and primarily in their 20s). This year’s release is punctuated by a first — the oldest model to appear in the popular issue’s pages, ever. She’s not in an editorial spread, alas, but 56-year-old model Nicola Griffin appears in Swimsuitsforall’s ad campaign.

Believe it or not, Griffin had never worn a bikini before appearing in the ads. "I didn’t realize I’d be wearing a bikini, and I was a little anxious — in my entire life, I’ve never been in a bikini,” she tells Refinery29. “I’ve always been more comfortable in full swimsuits that hold everything in. It was very liberating, actually. I’ve got a rounded tummy — I’ve had twins — and I found that to be quite sexy while wearing a gold bikini.”

“I’m fed up of seeing only slim, twentysomething girls in advertisements," Griffin adds. "I can’t relate to size-0 models, and I can’t see myself in those clothes. Most people don’t have [the] perfect photoshopped body,” she says, finishing on an empowering note. “By being 56 and wearing a bikini, hopefully I can empower women of my age to be sexy — not just when they’re wearing swimsuits.”