ESPN’s annual Body Issue has just landed and current world number one, Courtney Conlogue, features, naked, powerful and incredible.

Each year, ESPN portraits the most finely-tuned forms on the planet, sans material. The Body Issue has become wildly celebrated and succeeds in removing the clothes from some of the world's very best athletes. A good reputation opens many tightly-locked doors and ESPN have a skeleton key. Somehow, it’s sexy without being sexualised.

Courts is a hyper-fierce competitor from Santa Ana, who Stab had the pleasure of getting better acquainted with earlier in the year. In ESPN's piece, among other topics covered, the 23-year-old discusses what it takes to perform at the level she does (hours in the gym, hence her impressive appearance), and learning to love her body. Here’s a snippet:

“I like that I've made my body for a purpose. For me, there was a long time when I was a little self-conscious because I was an athlete. I was in track and field at the time and I was super bulky and built up -- just thinking to myself that I don't look like your basic model. I had huge thighs because I was weight training and doing all of these dead lifts with resistance and squats. I didn't look like what I thought you needed to look like for surfing.

Courts dismantles Lowers. Photo: Ryan Miller

“But I learned to embrace who I am and what I look like as an athlete, to be strong about who I am and feel good about what I am. Being a strong woman and being a strong athlete in the water is a good thing. I think I've put a lot of time into everything being pretty proportioned out. My arms aren't bulky, but they're so strong, and they're able to get me through the thick and thin of big swells.

“I’m at the point where I'm so happy with how I feel. Everything my body has is seriously what I need to do a run. I've fine-tuned how I need to look in order to be the best I can when that jersey goes on and I'm competing.” Read the full article here.

Courts joins a real small club of surfers who have shed cloth for ESPN’s lenses. Let’s relive here:

Coco Ho:

Kelly Slater:

Steph Gilmore:

Gabby Reece and Laird Hamilton:

Maya Gabeira: