Maya Gabeira Gets Naked for ESPN

This week, ESPN Magazine brings us the fourth annual “Body Issue” and the ever lovely Maya Gabeira stripped down for the cause.

Like the big-wave riding mermaid that she is, Gabeira effortlessly ducks under an oncoming wave and lands in ESPN Magazine’s 2012 Body Issue. Photo: Francesco Carrozzini

ESPN THE MAGAZINE’S The Body Issue, its fourth annual celebration of the athletic form, will feature 27 world-class athletes, including the brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira, who is no stranger to surfing naked.

‘I actually have surfed nude,’ the Rio-native told Men’s Health Magazine. ‘I wouldn’t really do it normally because it kind of hurts your boobs.’

Noted for her big wave surfing ability where she is towed onto a 50-foot tall break by a jet-ski, Gabeira is also comfortable on the more sedate beaches of home.

‘I feel sexy when I am surfing in my bikini, which is rare because I am usually in a wet suit on a big wave, so when I get the chance to, it feels great,’ said Gabeira who is a five-time Billabong XXl Award winner.

With the issue hitting newsstands July 13, just two weeks before the start of the London Games, this year’s Body Issue will also shine a spotlight on U.S. Olympians, including 24-year-old decathlete Ashton Eaton, who set a new decathlon world record at the U.S. Track and Field Trials on June 23, and Carmelita Jeter, who won the 100-meter qualifying event that same day in Oregon.

Beauty in its natural element. Photo: Francesco Carrozzini

All 27 athletes posed nude for the issue’s signature Bodies We Want photo portfolio. The full lineup includes:

• Carlos Bocanegra (soccer)
• Daniela Hantuchova (WTA)
• Rob Gronkowski (NFL)
• Abby Wambach (soccer)
• Tyson Chandler (NBA)
• Candace Parker (WNBA)
• Maurice Jones-Drew (NFL)
• Jose Bautista (MLB)
• Brad Richards (NHL)
• Maya Gabiera (surfing)
• Ronda Rousey (MMA)
• Mike Smith (jockey)
• Tim Morehouse (fencing)
• Walter Dix (track)
• Danell Leyva (gymnastics)
• Suzann Pettersen (LPGA)
• Ashton Eaton (decathlon)
• Carmelita Jeter (track)
• Anna Tunnicliffe (sailing)
• Oksana Masters (paralympic rowing)

USA Volleyball Team:
• Destinee Hooker
• Stacy Sykora
• Alisha Glass
• Cynthia Barboza
• Megan Hodge
• Nellie Spicer
• Heather Bown

For more amazing bodies go here.