With it’s 2013 installment of The Body Issue ESPN magazine honors the power of an athlete’s body with some of the classiest nude shots we’ve ever seen
The feature is called ‘Bodies We Want‘ and features 54 photos of American athletes from all areas of sport. Each photo displays the athlete in the nude either artistically posed to accent their strength or doing an activity related to their sport.
Photograph by Peter Hapak for ESPN The Magazine.
The photos also list the athlete’s name, their sport and position, age, height, weight, and a quote about themselves and their sport.
Photograph by Carlos Serrao for ESPN The Magazine.
With subjects covering almost every sport widely played in America it’s brilliant to see pictures that enshrione not only the sex appeal of a beautiful body but also the things it can do. While the obvious sports like basketball, baseball, and both types of football are represented there are also golfers, motocross racers, race car drivers, and rock climbers in the mix.
Photograph by Boone Speed for ESPN The Magazine.
The feature also does an excellent job of displaying nude female athletes without being exploitative or predatory – or shooting them lying skinny and helpless in the snow or a field for no apparent reason. In an refreshing change of pace, the women in these photos are shown with as much strength and respect as the uber-muscley quarterbacks, outfielders, and point guards before and after them.
Photograph by Peter Hapak for ESPN The Magazine.
In fact these photos are so beautiful and tasteful you kind of forget you’re looking at naked people and just begin marveling at the beauty and strength of the human body in its finest form. Sometimes in all the frenzy about looks its easy to forget how capable our bodies can be and this serves as the finest of reminders.
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