Former Eagle Keith Carlos makes a touchdown on the runway

By now you may already know that "America's Next Top Model" crowned its first male winner earlier this month. What you may not have known, though, is that Cycle 21 winner Keith Carlos is a former Philadelphia Eagle.

A wide receiver, Carlos was signed by the Eagles in 2011 before going on to the New York Giants in 2013. Carlos revealed how he made the transition from the football field to the runway and more in a Q&A with Philly.com

Philly.com: As a former Philadelphia Eagle, what's your favorite thing about the city?

Keith Carlos: My favorite thing about the city was the nightlife. I always liked to get out and have football off your mind. It was nice to network and meet people from all walks of life.

Philly.com: How did your experience as a professional athlete translate into modeling?

KC: Both modeling and football takes a lot of tenacity and enthusiasm. Football and its inconsistency prepared me for the adversity of modeling. So I knew how to perceive and react to different situations that didn't go my way, which put me in the best position to achieve.

Philly.com: What was the hardest part about transitioning from football to the fashion industry?

KC: The hardest part for me was using my aggressive and competitive nature to projecting them through my images. When you're frustrated or annoyed in football you can knock someone's head off and feel great. In modeling, not so much, so channeling those emotions without negatively affecting my pictures.

Philly.com: What was your biggest challenge on "ANTM?" How did you overcome it?

KC: My biggest challenge on ANTM was actually talking about my past and my rough upcoming because I'm so used to being the strong one and numb to a lot of unfortunate events that took place in my life. So allowing myself to be vulnerable and speaking on feelings I had bottled up in me for years was very tough for me.

Philly.com: Describe how you felt when you found out you were the first male winner of "ANTM."

KC: In that moment I felt overwhelmed, humbled, and excited. Which came out as tears lol. It felt like I won the Super Bowl because I was so emotionally attached to the competition.

Philly.com: Do you have any designers you'd love to work with in the future? Who are they?

KC: YSL, Armani, Hugo boss, Gucci, Tom ford, Dolce & Gabbana, Under Armour, Nike, Zara, Valentino, Robert Cavalli and Givency

Philly.com: Any supermodels you'd love to work with? Who are they?

KC: Gisele Bundchen, Adriana Lima, Jourdan Dunn, Alessandra Ambrosio, Joan Smalls, Tyson Beckford, David Gandy, Sean O'pry

Philly.com: Finally, what are your opinions on the events that have been transpiring in the U.S. since the death of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and many others in 2014?

KC: It's all a very unfortunate. The cops in a number of these situations are wrong it's obvious we have flaws in our justice system. However, there is a lack of positive leadership from the black communities across America. The unfortunate situations that happen to these black men happens everyday in our urban communities by other black men. It's only magnified now because of the social status and race of these cops. What about us killing us? We must change before they change.