Courtney Conlogue has taken her clothes off for ESPN's Body Issue 2016.
The American pro surfer, 23, is the only naked wave rider in this year's iconic annual publication. The photographers were Steven Lippman, Trevor Pikhart, and Kristen Schaefer Geisler, and the shoot took place in Tahiti.
"That first moment [when taking off the robe], you're always kind of wondering how you're going to handle it. And I thought I was pretty calm for the most part - I figured, 'You only do it once.' It was definitely a YOLO moment for me to do that," explained Courtney Conlogue.
The young surfer loves Tahiti. For her, Tahiti is "beautiful and raw."
While being photographed for the Body Issue 2016, Courtney revealed that, during the offseason, she trains three to five days a week, and depending on the quality of the surf, she surfs roughly six hours a day.
Was it hard to go surfing without wetsuits, rashguards, and swimwear? Conlogue says it is only a matter of changing the mindset.
"Walking down to the water's edge, it was actually a really fun moment because it's just like, 'You know what? I'm going to do this, and I am going to enjoy every aspect of it. Just enjoy it.' Literally, I was... experiencing surfing the way people hundreds of years before were experiencing it, you know? And to have that opportunity was actually incredible," notes Courtney.
In the interview for ESPN's Body Issue 2016, Courtney Conlogue says that breath holds and rock running are part of her physical training to become a top athlete.
She decided to do the naked shoot because she "wanted to be able to just show the power and the natural beauty of a surfer," especially when "women's surfing is at such a level" that surfer girls "have to be strong and powerful athletes."