Jozy Altidore’s name has been synonymous with American soccer for a decade-plus, so it might come as somewhat of a surprise to learn that he is still only 27-years old. Twelve years of competing in La Liga, the Premier League, the Eredivisie, Süper Lig, and MLS, though? That will put some mileage on a body. So we sat down with the Toronto FC forward to learn the secrets to sustaining a professional career, plus the best Turkish dish for your cheat days and how he stays motivated with a new generation of American soccer stars nipping at his heels.

GQ: I have to admit, I was a little shocked when I realized before interviewing you that you’re only 27 years old. I’ve been watching you play professionally since I was in high school!

Jozy Altidore: Yeah, 12 years, man. It’s my twelfth season.

So in terms of diet, how key is that for you in order to have that type of longevity?

It’s important. You always hear people talk about it: What to eat and what not to eat. To be honest, though, I’ve never had to be really conscious of it. I come from a Haitian background. My parents are Haitian and Dominican background, and so I always ate fresh seafood. I grew up eating pretty well, so I’ve never had to focus in too much on it.

Yeah, it’s a lot easier when you grew up eating healthier foods as opposed to hitting the drive-through or chowing down on snacks. It’s just ingrained into you.

Definitely. And the past few years I’ve focused a little bit more and more on it.

You’re a pretty big guy, too. By that I mean tall and muscular. With you playing up in Toronto now, one of my favorite things is seeing you and Sebastian Giovinco celebrating goals, because the size difference between the two of you is hilarious. Now, he’s a pretty small dude, but it made me realize just how big you are compared to a lot of other players. Has that been part of your focus with your diet these past few years? To keep that size?

I’ve definitely started to lift more—more to maintain, not really to gain bulk or anything like that. I still want to keep my mobility. You don’t want to be too big because then simple movements become difficult and you strain other parts of your body. But I definitely do try to maintain my figure and keep strong with what makes me a dangerous player. You know, being able to shield defenders, being able to go into battles and win them.

With the diet, it’s just trying to eat green. You want to be lean, you got to eat green. That’s the motto the trainers and I came up with in Toronto. Towards the second half of the season, I always start to eat even more green, just because the season… You get to the point in the season when your body’s a bit worn down and you’re getting a bit more tired. All the games, the wear and tear starts to get at you, so anything I can do to help myself become even more agile and get a little bit of an edge I do. Playing the MLS is a challenge. You have to travel five, six hours. There’s a lot of tough stretches. Like, we’re going to have something like six games in 14 days.

"You want to be lean, you got to eat green. That’s the motto the trainers and I came up with in Toronto."

That’s actually something I wasn’t even thinking about beforehand, but just in terms of the traveling when you’re playing in the MLS compared to the Premier League or somewhere else in Europe. The travel aspect has to be even more of a demand on your body.

Yeah, traveling in England was easy. Everything was a 45-minute flight. This week is okay; we travel 40 minutes to Montreal. But then next weekend we are flying to Dallas, which is four hours. Then from Dallas we’ve got to go to Orlando. I’m not complaining about it. It is what it is. You know what you sign up for, but it just becomes all the more important about what you put in your body and the rest that you’re getting. You lose a little bit when you have to make those trips, right? You land and it’s almost like you played a little game. I mean, your body is going to be sore. Sometimes, in cases, you’re going to be dehydrated. So there’s a lot of challenges in it that a lot of people don’t really know about that make away games and playing on the road so much tougher in MLS.