The photographer who took the picture revealed the true story.
One of the greatest legends in the Metal universe is the story of how the cover of "Vulgar Display Of Power" was made. The cover, literally a punch in the face, perfectly shows the aggression that Pantera brought to the world of Metal.
To mark the album's 25th anniversary, Loudwire released a 3-part documentary about everything surrounding the release of this legendary record, and in the 3rd and final part, the video features an interview with Brad Guice, the cover photographer, who revealed the true story behind the photo.
Legend has it that Pantera brought a homeless man to the studio and offered him $10 for every punch he would take. Wikipedia states that the homeless man took 30 punches. The video below shows interviews with Vinnie Paul saying it was 31 punches and Rex Brown saying it was 32 punches.
Apparently, all of this is a huge prank pulled by members of Pantera, since the photographer stated in the documentary that he hired a professional model and showed in the video the technique used to achieve the aggressive effect.
Check out the 3 videos below (subtitles can be added by clicking on settings):
