Beyond the Sash

It was 30 hours for me to travel here,

and I had no idea what day it was when I got here.

From the airport, I get in a transport van.

I'm in a foreign country, don't know the driver,

and I start to get a little nervous.

So when I arrived to the resort,

I thought it was really big, really incredible.

It was a beautiful walkway,

up until the resort, like, nature, and could see iguanas.

Holy cow.

Look where I am. This resort

is stunning. - It was breathtaking.

The Hard Rock Hotel, it's beautiful.

I went straight to check in.

Everyone was super nice,

like, "Can I get you anything to drink?"

Before we could even, like, sign our name on the line

to say we're not gonna destroy the room,

they're bringing us cocktails, and that's when I knew

this was gonna be the experience for me.

So without further delay...

Get me number 6.

Like, I needed a drink.

Everyone, are you here?

I'm a den mom to 500 girls a year.

Come Saturday night... Ladies, better watch out.

I'm a goofball. I'm just gonna put that out there.

I am fully prepared to be the queen.

If I was a guy, that would be my type.

This is what I do. This is my moment.

There'll be some laughs, some dramas, some tears.

I can't turn down the shot. It's just something I don't do.

I had a bit of a personal drama.

I understand everybody wants to win.

But at the end of the day, there can only be one winner.

Come in.

Hi. My name is Kathy Wheatley, and I'm from Houston, Texas,

and I am the owner of Swimsuit USA International Model Search.

Okay, so listen to this. Skin care guy called.

Oh. -The top five girls are gonna get to go

to the Monaco Grand Prix.

And listen to this!

He's gonna give them $3,000 cash,

and I said that the director has to go.

I don't wanna let five girls get with strangers on a yacht.

We're going. Next May. Plan a trip.

Monaco Grand Prix. Here we come.

I'm a den mom.

I'm a den mom to, like, over 500 girls a year.

I wanna welcome you guys here.

We're gonna have an amazing week,

and if you guys need anything while you're here,

that's why I'm here.

I don't really consider myself a mentor.

I think sometimes they look at me like that.

But I just couldn't consider them as like my daughters,

and I'm just here to help them in any way I can,

and watch them grow into beautiful young women.

If you are a contestant, please go to the back immediately, thank you.

My name is Kay James.

I'm the choreographer and producer

for Miss Swimsuit USA International.

My role as producer and choreographer

is basically to create every step and move

that the girls make while they are on that stage.

If you all place... top five,

don't get angry with me. I'm just the Aadel.

Hey, guys, I'm Aadel Bensreti. I'm from Houston, Texas,

and I am the operations manager for Swimsuit USA International.

For the last nine years, I'm the auditor at the finals.

I kind of be sure the show is running,

but I usually leave that to Kay and the host.

It's my job to patrol, the scores are added,

everything's done correctly.

Everything is accurate.

I have an incredible staff, and I'm very blessed

with the staff that I have.

They've been with me for a long time,

so I must be doing something right.

I'm very excited to be going to Playa del Carmen,

because we're actually going on site.

We're gonna be with the locals.

We are just gonna be having a great time.

I am here in Mexico to be in Mexico,

not to be locked up in a resort.

It takes a lot of work to get these girls to come together.

Getting them up at four o'clock in the morning,

getting their hair and makeup done, getting them to the shoots.

Today we are here at Playa del Carmen

having a photo shoot, and this place is absolutely amazing.

This is my favorite part of the competition.

It's all confidence of movement.

You want me standing up here?

Yeah, not standing, but...

...maybe sitting on the edge?

Break the elbows. I want to see you arch your back.

There you go.

All 55 girls get to rotate

with every single photographer, and that's amazing.

I mean, these girls had to pay for that.

It'd probably be about $10,000,

but the girls walk away with this amazing portfolio.

We had a photo shoot with the best photographers

of all the world.

So I know this is going to be a memory for life.

The photographers really have to work with the girls,

show them how to pose.

Sometimes, they, you know,

have a funky arm up, and they got hair flying out,

and they've got just silly faces.

Any time you sit down, you will squish your butt.

Okay, come here for a second, just so that you do this.

So do a number of things where you, for example.

And then you can put your head right back. -Okay.

And then, also do it on the reverse, do it from the other side.

Okay. -Great butt pictures.

Cool.

So what would my mother say?

"You wasted your life.

-I told you

you could have been a banker."

You ever wondered what it's like behind the scenes at a photo shoot?

This is it. -

Can you just tie the neck straps, please? -Yeah.

Thanks, girl.

It's magic.

Hey, guys. My name is Jordan.

I'm from Atlanta, Georgia.

Hi, guys. I'm Brittany.

I'm from Houston, Texas.

How are your peeps? My name is Melissa Garcia.

I'm from Venezuela.

Hi, guys. My name is Casey,

and I'm from the beautiful Sydney, Australia.

Hi, I'm Tati. I'm from Russia. St. Petersburg.

Hey, everyone. I am Sierra Nowak, representing Beverly Hills.

I've never been to Coco Bongo before.

Didn't know what to expect.

This was my first time at Coco Bongo

in Playa del Carmen,

and it was a blast.

All right, everybody, we're here at Coco Bongo.

Si!

Coco Bongo.

Hello.

We're gonna walk down to Coco Bongo.

It's about three or four blocks down.

We need you to stay in...

We can't go on the street.

We cannot go on the street, so we need to--

-

There's nobody else in this terminal!

When I start hearing people talking, it's our group.

So shut the f*** up, everybody.

We're gonna walk down to Coco Bongo.

It's about three or four blocks down.

We need you to stay in...

Shut the f*** up, everybody, okay?

We're going to stand here for a while till we get down there.

So we're gonna walk in a single file line,

and you're gonna see what I mean "single file line,"

because we have to stay on the sidewalk.

We cannot be on the street or you'll get run over.

I'll admit it, I'm an a******.

You just have to get the job done,

and my style may be aggressive,

but you know what? I have a job to do.

Any questions? No? -No.

No? Ready?

Let's do this! -Let's go!

Go!

And then, usually, the other guys, Fred or Jimmy,

help me corral the girls and the VIPs and everything.

You know, the, the VIPs just wanna sit and mingle with the girls,

and they don't even know they're just holding me up,

you know, I have a timetable to fill.

So we've got to Coco Bongo,

and we were kind of dancing on the stage. That was fun.

I love Coco Bongo.

I feel like it's a little Broadway show

dash party dash Latinos going wild.

It's kind of a night for the girls to

let their hair down and dance the night away.

Out of nowhere, a Coco Bongo employee grabbed my arm,

and actually brought me up to the dance cage,

and I was, like, "This is what I do.

This is what I live for. This is my moment."

I didn't know when y'all pulled me up there,

that I was gonna be up on the stage with the spotlight on me.

So I got up there, and I was, like,

"I've got to get in my zone."

Three songs went by.

I only have so many dance moves,

so I'm just gonna get--

It was, like, kinda going along with the music.