U.S. figure Adam Rippon strips down to everything (above) but his skates in ESPN The Magazine’s annual ‘Body Issue’.

Rippon told the magazine: “I couldn’t have done this [shoot] while I was in the closet. I think that, with my experience of coming out, I felt so liberated in so many ways.I don’t want to say I’ll never be in this shape again, but I’ll never be in this shape. I’ll be in another shape. This is a milestone of all the work it took me to get to the point to be an Olympic medal-winning figure skater.”

Check out a preview photo here.

Other athletes in this year’s issue, out  June 29, include Greg Norman, Jerry Rice, Saquon Barkley, U.S. women’s national soccer player Crystal Dunn, Houston Astros pitcher Dallas Kuechel, Seattle Storm WNBA players Sue Bird and Breanna Storm, Seattle Reign FC soccer player Megan Rapinoe, World Cup and LA Galaxy soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimović, U.S. Olympic relay runner Tori Bowie, U.S. Olympic cross-country skier Jessie Diggins, USSSA Pride softball player Lauren Chamberlain, WWE wrestler Charlotte Flair, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig and Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns.

The post Adam Rippon Takes Off Everything But His Skates for ESPN’s ‘The Body’ Issue: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.