By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-12 15:58:48 | Updated at 2024-12-26 04:38:14
1 week ago
Dutch speed skating world champion Joy Beune has broken records after posing for the cover of Playboy magazine for the first time in her homeland.
The December issue of the magazine went on sale in the Netherlands on Thursday, with Beune, 25, on the cover wearing nothing but a pair of gloves.
Beune is viewed as the biggest name to pose for Dutch Playboy in over a decade.
And she admitted she was surprised by the reaction, after being concerned that she could face criticism for posing for Playboy.
'That is very nice to hear,' she said after being informed of her record-breaking achievement. 'I would not have expected that so many copies would be sold.'
She added: 'I expected a lot of criticism, but I only hear nice messages from everyone around me and that they think it's incredibly cool.'
Dutch speed skater Joy Beune (pictured) has posed for Playboy magazine for the first time
Beune has 302,000 followers on Instagram, and says she know feels confident in her own skin after previously having doubts about her body image
The world champion skater has broken records for number of sales, leading to the magazine being reprinted in the Netherlands for the first time ever
Beune, who has 302,000 followers on Instagram, became all-around speed skating world champion earlier this year, and claimed gold medals in the 5,000m and team pursuit events.
She revealed that she has previously had doubts about her body image, but is now confident in her own skin.
Beune also opened up about how she was convinced to pose for Playboy by her boyfriend, fellow speed skater Kjeld Nuis, 35, who encouraged her to take up the opportunity.
Beune told Dutch outlet AD: 'There were moments when I compared myself to other speed skaters. They are all super slim and have incredibly toned bodies.
'Then I thought: "Maybe I'm too heavy. I need to be as light as possible, that's how I run the fastest."
'But that's a load of nonsense. You have to eat well, you need that energy.'
Opening up on Nuis' reaction, Beune continued: 'He immediately said: "You should do that! How cool, how cool!"'
Beune revealed that her boyfriend and fellow speed skater Kjeld Nuis (right) supported her decision to pose for Playboy
Playboy normally has a circulation of around 30,000 copies in the Netherlands, although it is not clear whether this number was increased on this occasion due to Beune's popularity.
It has now been revealed that Playboy sales were 10 times higher than on an average day, with four times more copies sold when compared with other new editions in the past.
The figures were so impressive that Playboy reprinted the magazine in the Netherlands for the first time ever.
'In the 11 years that Pijper Media has been publishing our magazine, something like this has never happened,' said editor-in-chief Niek Stolker.
'Books are reprinted, but that is not usually the case with magazines.'
