Miami Heat All-Star Dwyane Wade will be featured on the cover of ESPN the Magazine's annual "Body Issue."
The issue which will hit newsstands on July 8th includes photographs of various athletes in the buff. This will be the first time that Wade is in the issue after he had turned away advances in the past.
"I had a fear of being naked in front of others and a fear of being judged. So to me, overcoming that is the biggest thing. Someone may look at me and think, 'Why would you have insecurity?' Well, this is real life and I'm human, and these are the things that I deal with that many others might deal with," Wade said during his interview for the magazine.
There will be 19 athletes in the magazine including Wade. Among them are Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs, MMA star Conor McGregor and Olympian April Ross. Wade is the only NBA star in this year's issue, but Elena Delle Donne of the WNBA is also featured in the magazine.
"The Body Issue has evolved into a powerful storytelling platform," said Neely Lohmann, senior deputy editor and the producer of ESPN The Magazine's franchise issue. "Year after year, the athletes allow themselves to be completely vulnerable with our audience-not just in the photographs but with their interviews as well. This year we have athletes opening up in raw and moving ways about overcoming physical struggles: everything from asthma to HIV, amputation to transgender transitioning. It's an honor to tell their stories."
A video with a behind the scenes look at Wade's time preparing for the issue is also available at ESPN.com.
This is not the first time that an athlete from Miami has been featured in the magazine's "Body Issue." Back in 2013, Miami Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton also shed his clothes for the magazine. At the time, Stanton talked to ESPN about his body and how he built and maintains his physique.
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"I like that I've been able to maintain a good stomach and chest. Push-ups and sit-ups are my go-to. It is the simplest routine and the best thing to maintain my stomach and chest. I'll do about 100 of each a day, usually when I'm already warmed up. I do 50, 50, 50, 50, then roll out. It takes less than five minutes," Stanton told the magazine at the time.
As Stanton pointed out a few years ago, maintaining an athletic body takes hard work and a good diet. That doesn't mean Wade hasn't been known to indulge himself at other times however.
"I can put on a few pounds pretty fast. I love to eat. I'm one of those guys who's low-key, but I'm a fat boy at heart, man, when I'm eating. To me that's kind of like my happy place: a great burger, fries and a soda," Wade added in the interview.
The issue including Wade will be available online two days prior to its full release at newsstands. More information including photographs can be found on the official landing page.
