Ten years from now, Vince Wilfork hopes to be sitting in his man cave and reflecting on his NFL career.
And the cover he once landed in for ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue."
"This will be put in that category," Wilfork said in an interview with Texans TV. "Looking back ten years from now, saying, 'Man, I remember the time when I did that and see how everybody chuckled when that did come."
Wilfork, who is featured in the annual magazine along with 19 athletes from around the world, found out Wednesday night that his photo would also be one of the covers that will be released next month. The 33-year-old nose tackle decided to begin his offseason workouts even earlier this year. After a short break following the season, Wilfork returned to the gym in February, working out as often as two times a day. When ESPN approached him to do the Body Issue, Wilfork knew the timing was right.
"Going through the whole process, it was fun," Wilfork said. "When they came to me to do it, it was one of those things a once-in-a-lifetime kind of things and I just took it because I'm just confident in who I am."
Wilfork hopes his confidence rubs off on others who may not be as confident in their body image.
"Hopefully people will get a message, kids growing up or whoever it may be, that's out there that are on the bigger side and are kind of shy about their body," Wilfork said. "If they see a guy like myself, sitting here and I'm confident in doing something like that for the world to see, you know it's ok to be who you are. That's my main thing is be confident in who you are."
Teammate Brian Cushing presented the poster-sized cover to a surprised Wilfork who thought he had been invited to a quiet dinner with friends. Camera crews from ESPN and Texans TV were on hand to capture the moment.
"How they set me up tonight was really, really funny," Wilfork said. "I mean, I didn't know what was happening. I thought it was an intervention or something. He came out the back with it so it's awesome. It looks really good, I'm pretty excited about it."
The "Body Issue" will be available July 6 and on newsstands July 8. *Twitter.com/DeepSlant*
