Dwayne Johnson on His Iconic Fanny Pack Photo: ‘It Takes a Lot of Confidence’

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is famous for many things: his career as a wrestler, an impeccably raised single eyebrow, and most recently, his spot as PEOPLE’s 2016 Sexiest Man Alive. But despite his superfame (and indisputably sexy demeanor), there’s one goofy photo he can’t outrun.

You know the one, in which he’s proudly wearing a black turtleneck (chain on the outside) tucked into his jeans and a black fanny pack tying the whole thing together, complete with a casual lean against a staircase. (In his own words: “Fanny pack and lean take it to a whole other level… #90sRock #WTF #BuffLesbian.”) Well, we spoke to him about the look, and he explained exactly what went into choosing that iconic outfit: a whole lot of self-esteem.

“Alright, so here’s the thing,” Johnson begins to explain to PEOPLE. “It takes a lot of confidence to rock a fanny pack. Put your thumb in the fanny pack. I’m giving a look.”

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And as with many things related to Johnson, there’s so much more to that photo than meets the eye — a detail we bet you’ve never noticed before.

For more from this year’s Sexiest Man Alive — and to see who else made the cut — pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday

“I’ve got a tissue underneath my elbow because I felt like my turtleneck was expensive,” he says, laughing. “The funniest thing about this picture is, this is not a joke. I walked out of the house like this. Like: ‘Hey baby, this is it, right?’”

And the guy in the mirror (and likely plenty of women on his way to work) said, “Yeah, you look good!”