After powering through a lifting session with the team Monday morning, Will Demps left a sweaty locker room and headed to a stylish photo shoot.
Going from game face to modeling pose is nothing new for the safety, who is considered one of the most photogenic players in the NFL. But he wasn't prepared to have his every move documented by several television cameras as they followed him through a photo shoot for The Men's Book of Houston, a Modern Luxury Media magazine that launches in Houston in October.
"I wasn't nervous," Demps said. "It's just funny that this is going to be recorded and all the guys are going to see it, see me getting makeup and hair. But besides that, it wasn't hard. It is just part of the business that they have to put all that stuff on."
{QUOTE}Demps was selected by the magazine as one of the top Houston athletes with style, and he will be featured alongside wide receiver Andre Johnson, lightweight boxing champ Juan Diaz and Houston Dynamo defenseman Bobby Boswell.
"Being part of this group that got shot today, I'm very excited to be a part of it – not just for myself, but for the Houston Texans and for Houston," Demps said. "This is a very famous photographer that shot us. He has shot Bill Clinton and lots of celebrities, so it was really great to work with him."
Photographer Bode Helm, who has captured celebrities such as Drew Barrymore, Dave Chappelle and Gary Busey, developed a vision for the shoot the moment he met Demps.
Racks of clothes awaited the safety, but stylists decided to dress him in a high-end Italian suit and platinum jewelry adorned with diamonds. The only snag was that Demps' shoes were several sizes too small, forcing him to stand on top of the heels.
"I give it to women when they have to wear those pretty shoes, size six's or whatever they have to do to look pretty," Demps said. "It was a tough day, but now I'm ready for training camp!"
Demps managed to keep the shoes on as he jumped inside an open elevator in a modern art gallery in Houston's Montrose neighborhood. The idea was for Demps to look like he was suspended in air, and Helm was extremely pleased with the outcome of the shots.
As for Demps' modeling career, he said he is putting that aside for now and focusing on football. The starting safety was named a Pro Bowl alternate last year and became one of the team's biggest hitters in the secondary. This season, he will be called upon to lead that unit, especially since cornerback Dunta Robinson is expected to be sidelined until November.
"I think the fans want to see what we are doing outside of the football field and getting inside access of what we do," Demps said. "It's a different look at what we do.
"But I don't see it as my future. Football is my job. I'm just going to put that (modeling) to the side. It's summertime, so I'm finished with all the modeling stuff and I'm getting ready for the season."
