Giancarlo Stanton is leaning against a penthouse balcony high above the white sands of South Beach, with sweeping views of the turquoise waters below during our DuJour photo shoot. But despite the fact that we’re shooting in one of the most beautiful locations in Miami—a massive luxury penthouse at the top of the Fontainebleau Hotel—its Stanton, with his statuesque 6’6 frame, who is stealing the show. He is quiet and composed, but no words are needed to realize you’re in the presence of greatness. After all, the 29-year-old Panorama City native managed to seal the deal for a 13-year, $25 million dollar contact with the Miami Marlins in 2014, which became at that time the most lucrative sports contract in history. In 2017 the National League MVP was surprisingly traded in the off-season to the New York Yankees, where he then helped the team make the playoffs during his first year with them in 2018 with his 38 home runs.
But despite his all-star status and impressive rolodex of accolades, this is only the beginning for the outfielder and designated hitter. After a season spent adjusting to his new team, he now feels more ready than ever to take his team to victory, with many experts having faith that Stanton will be the Yankees’ insurance card to catapult them to the World Series. “I’m pumped for the upcoming season,” he says. “I’m more excited than ever to get out there with my team and get after it.”
Although the young athlete has accomplished a remarkable amount before even turning 30, he has his eye on the prize when it comes to career goals. “My ultimate career goal is to win a championship,” he says. “I’ve accomplished a lot personally and I have plenty of time to accomplish more in my personal life, I’m still young. But in my professional life I definitely want to bring my team to a championship and experience that with them. To help my team accomplish that is the ultimate goal for me.”
At the moment, Stanton is down in Florida in the midst of spring training, so his workout routine is about to get intense. “In the off-season I’ve got a 5-day-a-week routine that includes running, weights and yoga,” he says. “But then during the 5-6 weeks of spring training we kick it up and add in much more baseball-centric activities. We start to slowly build up and creep that all in which can be a struggle because your body is super sore from all the intense workouts.” He says the goal is simply to get through it. “You’re going to feel a little bit different coming out of spring regardless so the goal is to reenact that muscle memory and do your best.”
Back at the fashion shoot, Stanton is fully enjoying his afternoon sans pinstripes and grassy fields. Despite the fact that the athlete is most often seen in his signature uniform, he has quite the penchant for fashion outside the baseball diamond. “I like to dress up and ‘fashion out’ a bit,”he says. “I’m not the guy who’ll want to wear a suit every day but I like to switch it up. I’m right in the middle.” Which explains why he pulls off all the luxury designer looks from our shoot like a pro. “I had a blast with all the fashion at the shoot. My favorite look was the cover shot (a white Dolce & Gabbana angel embroidered t-shirt). “I mean I wouldn’t necessarily wear that to dinner [laughs] but I think it’s cool as hell.”
As he cracks that joke and flashes a smile, it becomes apparent that Stanton definitely has another side to him than his serious athlete persona reveals. “I think something that most people don’t know about me is that I love to goof around,” he says. “On the field I think most people think I’m super serious all the time, but I actually love to joke around and be very sarcastic.”
It is his die-hard work ethic, coupled with his outlook on life, that makes him such a success. “I do tell myself to enjoy every moment of this incredible life I’ve been given and to enjoy both the good and the bad times,” he says.“My whole thing is no ‘what-ifs’.”
