Joe Burrow Was ‘Pretty Uncomfortable in My Own Skin’ Growing Up but Found Comfort in Fashion

NEED TO KNOW

• Joe Burrow says in a new interview that he was “pretty uncomfortable” in his own skin growing up, but fashion helped him express himself

• Burrow opens up about his interest in fashion in a new interview with Sports Illustrated

• The Cincinnati Bengal quarterback attended this year’s Met Gala and walked the runway at a Vogue fashion event last year in Paris

Fashion hasn’t always just been an interest for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, but a crucial factor in how he’s been able to express himself throughout his life.

Burrow, 28, opens up about his famous fashion sense, where it comes from, and how important it’s been throughout his life in a new interview with Sports Illustrated published Thursday, July 17.

The Bengals quarterback recently opened up in Netflix’s Quarterback series about becoming interested in style through his mother Robin Burrow’s job in the fashion industry. In his new interview with Sports Illustrated, Burrow expands on how fashion helped him break out of his shell when he was growing up.

“My mom was in fashion when I was little, so I was around it,” Burrow tells SI. “I was always pretty particular about what I wore, like when we’d be school shopping. I didn’t know anything, I just liked how the clothes felt and looked. I struggled [with confidence] when I was little. I was pretty uncomfortable in my own skin, and I think I was quiet and socially awkward, so I did express myself with colors and clothes.”

Burrow also says he sees similarities in the work that athletes and fashion designers both do.

“We’re both artists in our own ways,” Burrow says. “Theirs is with clothes, ours is with our bodies. There’s a lot of creativity in what we do. It’s definitely different realms, but there are very creative people in both. It feels like a natural merging.”

Burrow’s mother Robin recently said in Netflix’s Quarterback series that her son had seemed to take an interest in fashion “from the time he was kind of little,” joking that he’s always been “a bit of a fashionista” when it comes to picking out what he wears.

“He was always a little bit particular about his clothes,” Robin says about her son. “He liked what he liked for sure.”

Burrow’s fashion sense has made headlines around the world in recent years, from hitting the red carpet earlier this year at the Met Gala to walking the runway at Vogue World: Paris last year in a black Peter Do suit with black lapels and a cutout that showed off his bare back.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The Bengals quarterback tells Sports Illustrated that he believes having his foot in the fashion world can only be a good thing for the game of football, as it reels in more fans across broader demographics.

“I think the younger crowd is very for it,” Burrow explains. “I also think [different styles] bring a different demographic to the game. I think more young women, or people who might not have known or cared about football at all beforehand, are paying attention to what people are wearing in the tunnel. Maybe they see somebody wearing a Gucci fit into the game, and they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool, who’s that?’ And then they start paying attention. I do think it brings more fans, honestly.”

Read the original article on People