From football start to fitness star, former Baltimore Ravens center, Matt Birk shed 75 pounds and 10 inches from his waist in just eight months. Since he announced his retirement this past February, Birk has been on a mission to lose weight and get healthy.

“I never thought I would pose for a picture with my shirt off. But I wanted to show people that it can be done and that we’re all in this together,” said Birk on the Ravens website. Since retiring, Birk how now shifted his focus to modeling. He is trying to become the next Vi Model. Contestants win by having fan vote on their profiles on the Vi website. The winners get their faces on the cover of Challenge Magazine. There will be one male and one female winner chosen from contestants all across North America, Latin America, United Kingdom and French Canada.

The Body by Vi Challenge is a weight loss program set up to help people reach their goal weight in 90 days. Those undertaking the program set a goal, choose from one of the Challenge Kits, and then enter the fitness contest. Contestants use the Challenge.com program tracker and timeline to keep a record of their progress.

Birk had always been obese as a child; people assumed he'd play lineman from a very young age. After joining the NFL, diet and nutrition became more of an important focus for him. “That was the only way I was going to be able to survive in the NFL,” he said. “That was really the only edge I had on my competition was to know more and learn more and do more.”

When Birk started the program back in March, his beginning weight was 310 pounds. Now he weighs in at 235 pounds. He started the challenge after realizing that the taxing football practices were no longer going to be a part of his life. “All I knew was being big. Now I’m not so big and I’m loving it,” said Birk, who is not a paid endorser of the Vi Challenge. “I think I’ve really developed a lifestyle that I can sustain now. I feel great physically, and I’ve got tons of energy. It really has changed my life that I used to know.”

Birk said his reason for choosing this program was the community giveback incentives that the company offers. "Children are a product of the environment in which they live, and today childhood obesity is out of control in our country,” said Birk, “Being a former overweight kid, I know firsthand the obstacles that many of our young people face.

The voting ends on Oct. 21 to vote for Birk and share his profile, click here: Matt Birk.