ESPN The Magazine's Eighth Annual Body Issue Hits Newsstands This Friday

By: Caryn Robbins Jul. 07, 2016

For NBA veteran Dwyane Wade, who was so insecure about his body as a child that he refused to swim without his shirt on, posing for the issue was a huge leap outside his comfort zone. Wade is one of 19 athletes in the ESPN the Magazine Body Issue, which hits newsstands on July 8.

"It's bigger than me showing my body off," Wade says. "That's not as important to me as telling a story of overcoming a fear. It hopefully gives someone confidence to really be their authentic self."

But for NFL nose tackle Vince Wilfork, posing came easy: "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 adds, "If people can look at me, look at a guy that's 325-plus 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."

Wade and Wilfork are joined by, among others, Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers, SUPER BOWL MVP Von Miller of the Denver Broncos, Chicago Cubs Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Jake Arrieta, three-time WNBA All-Star and 2015 MVP Elena Delle Donne, Olympians Nathan Adrian and April Ross, and U.S. women's national soccer team forward Christen Press.

This is the eighth annual edition of the Body Issue. It will include photos, personal interviews and videos of the athletes, including global MMA star Conor McGregor, whose interview for the Body Issue was his first following the firestorm created after his April 19 tweet suggesting that he was retiring early. Additionally, Team USA duathlete Chris Mosier, 35, is the first transgender athlete to appear in the Body Issue: "As a trans person, I was in a body that didn't really fit me for 29 years; now I feel comfortable in my own skin. That's something that I'm proud of and wanted to share with other people."

"The Body Issue has evolved into a powerful storytelling platform," says Neely Lohmann, senior deputy editor and the executive producer of 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."

Image courtesy of ESPN press