Since 2009, ESPN’s ‘The Body Issue’ has done a tremendous job of bringing body positivity among athletes. These nude/semi-nude cover shoots have boosted the confidence of various athletes, however, not even the most chiseled athletes are keen on baring it all. Paul George belongs with those who shied away from doing such a photoshoot. During a recent sit-down with Cameron Brink on ‘Podcast P with Paul George’, the 34-year-old revealed that he “regretted” not posing for the cover when the chance arrived in 2014.
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“It is something I regret, that’s one of those things that I look back on and be like, ‘Damn I could have been a part of that’ when you look at the names that did do it,” PG confessed on his podcast.
He recalled how Karl-Anthony Towns took the chance head-on and prepared religiously for the 2018 ESPN Body Issue photoshoot. While admiring KAT’s “dedication”, George confessed that he was afraid to insert such an application just for a photo shoot,
“I just saw his dedication to it. He was eating healthy, he was eating clean, he was working out hard. I was like, ‘Damn, if I had to do that, I gotta get on that level’ So I was just kinda shunned away from it from his experience.”
This discussion was triggered when Brink touched upon her first solo feature on the 250th edition of ‘SLAM’ magazine. When PG-13 asked Brink about other magazine photoshoot opportunities, she revealed modeling for Kim Kardashian’s clothing brand SKIMS and termed meeting the latter an “out-of-the-body” experience. While recalling his missed photoshoot experiences, Paul George segued into the Body Issue section about Karl Anthony-Towns.
How did Karl-Anthony Towns prepare for the 2018 ESPN Body Issue?
After the publication of the 2018 ESPN Body Issue, Karl-Anthony Towns described the factors that led him to a nude photoshoot. The 7-foot NBA athlete remarked that his legs are “longer compared to the torso” making him a “lanky fellow”.
The Timberwolves big man recalled how he used to be “chubbier” in his younger days and people critiqued that he’d never make it to the pros with that body. After a growth spurt in high school, he got serious about basketball and made it a mission to hit the pros in the future.
KAT emphasized how nutrition helped shape his pro-hoops journey. When he joined the Dominican National Basketball Team at a young age, his seniors always asked him to take care of what he was eating. Thus, he had a “water only, no sugar, no carbs, vegetables, chicken” diet. Apart from emphasizing the role of nutrition, the Timberwolves All-Star admitted his love for the “NBA grind”.
Hence, unlike the Clippers forward, the “lanky fellow” didn’t back away from showing his body to the world and prepared extensively for it. He remains one of the primary examples of the positive impact of ESPN’s body positivity movement.
