Kate Upton Lands Cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue After Doing the Dougie on Youtube [Video]

Kate Upton took a rather unusual path to the cover to the top of the modeling world. Thanks to a Youtube video of her doing the Dougie and a 170,000 person following on Twitter, Upton has been able to land one of modeling’s most coveted gigs; the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

The New York Times reports that Upton was pretty much an unknown last year. She had modeled for Guess jeans and Beach Bunny Swimwear but it wasn’t until she posted a video on Youtube that she became a household name. (See Kate Upton do the Dougie below.) Upton is now number 2 on Askmen’s 99 most desirable women list (Sofia Vergara is number one), has a contract with IMG Models (who also represent Gisele Bündchen, Ms. Klum and Kate Moss) and of course, is on the cover of the Swimsuit Edition of Sports Illustrated.

Wayne Sterling, the publisher of Models.com, said:

“We all know that social media now creates its own reality. If you become a YouTube star among teenagers, you have even more recognizability than a TV star. Kate Upton is the perfect example of that.”

Here’s the video of Kate Upton doing the Dougie on Youtube.

M.J. Daly, the senior editor of Sports Illustrated, said that Upton didn’t land the cover until after the shoot was over. Daly said that all the girls are photographed and whoever has the best picture lands on the cover. Irina Shayk, who was on the cover last year, as well as Jessica Gomes, Genevieve Morton and Anne V. Jessica Perez are also in the Swimsuit Edition of Sports Illustrated. Daly said:

“Every single girl we shoot has the opportunity to be on the cover, and it really comes down to who has the best picture. Whoever has that really special, jaw-dropping photo ends up on the cover.”

Kate Upton’s cover photo, which was leaked yesterday, is just the first of more than 150 beautiful images in this issue of Sports Illustrated.