People stare at Chris Van Etten wherever he goes, but he doesn’t mind. The 25-year-old Marine veteran has used prosthetic legs since a 2012 bomb blast in Afghanistan, so he understands the public’s curiosity. He just wishes they’d ask him what happened, because he’s got a story to tell.

All this summer, the San Diego man is sharing that story through ads on television, movie screens, the Internet, magazines and billboards as the main poster boy for Jockey International’s “Show ’Em What’s Underneath” campaign. The ultra-fit model, athlete and college student said he was at a low ebb in the year after the explosion that took both his legs and his best friend. He hopes the ads will inspire others going through a difficult time.

“I’ve seen lots of guys in my situation and they can go both directions,” he said of his fellow military amputees. “Some just can’t get out of that bad place. I’m hoping to show people that if I can go from down there to up here, that they can do it, too.”