ESPN Magazine’s Body Issue was created to showcase some of the world’s most fit, sculpted athletes, to make you envy their lean figures and body-builder physiques. Well, the issue’s mission has expanded, along with the waistlines of its models.
On Tuesday, ESPN announced the Body Issue lineup, with conventionally chiseled stars like Dwyane Wade and Jake Arrieta, along with… Vince Wilfork?
That’s right, the Texans’ massive defensive tackle will be posing in the nude, meaning we’ll be getting more of this beautiful bod very soon.
How well is @wilfork75 adjusting to life in Texas?
Find out tonight on #HardKnocks at 9pm CT only on @HBO. pic.twitter.com/0PMBdU7H7X
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 1, 2015
No one hits softballs better than Vince Wilfork does in overalls. pic.twitter.com/ZuDkyHHtCt
— Alysha Tsuji (@AlyshaTsuji) May 15, 2016
Wilfork, who is listed a 325 pounds but is almost certainly much heavier, has always been extremely body positive. Here’s what he had to say about his appearance in the Body Issue:
“I know I don’t have the six-packs and the eight-packs and all that … but I’m perfectly fine with what I am,” Wilfork said in an ESPN press release on Tuesday. “If people can look at me, look at a guy that’s 325-plus [pounds] doing an issue like this, I’m pretty sure that they might have a little confidence after seeing that it’s OK to be who you are.”
Meanwhile, props to ESPN for using the Body Issue to promote all types of bodies, not only slender ones. Wilfork will probably be the biggest person to pose for the Body Issue, but he won’t be the first plus-size subject. Who can forget Prince Fielder’s magnificent turn as magazine cover boy two years ago.
https://twitter.com/NaturalBatCo/status/486529938292752384
The bar has been set for you, Vince Wilfork. Now go out there and give us something to look at.
About Alex Putterman
Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.