Trophies #2: Cults, Cool Kids, and FKA Twigs
Plus: does women's sports give advertisers amnesia or??
Trophies Unlimited is a semi-regular newsletter about youth, sport, and culture, through the lens of a wanna-be Gen Z.
Jogging was a weirdo’s sport1 and now it’s for the cool kids. It’s true what they say: the pendulum always swings. So does the double braid ponytail (see below).
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TLDR: top-line news, releases, and updates
Sota says “Running culture is the new streetwear.” After a LinkedIn post detailing the similar values between running and streetwear took off, Harry Salmons unpacked these observations further with Substack Sota. The most interesting part of this for me has been the surge in clout behind posting on Strava — it’s the new Instagram, but you have to earn it. Shoutout to my favorite local run club that started in Mid City LA and has since become their own cultural and creative powerhouse with incredibly content, sick merch, and vibes on vibes: Koreatown Run Club.
On Running signed FKA Twigs. While this isn’t Twigs’ first shoe deal rodeo (if you will) (the dancer formerly was with Nike, having creatively directed a campaign for the Nike Women Zonal Strength Tights), it’s On’s first non-athlete brand ambassador they’ve signed since they launched in 2010. With this marking their official foray into the running x culture vertical, On will be an interesting one to watch. "The line will include sports bras, crop tops, T-shirts and sweatpants,” which means it was basically crafted with me in mind.
“The last time an Italian man won a Grand Slam tennis tournament, ABBA were in the charts, The Omen was in cinemas and Jimmy Carter was on the campaign trail.” Talk about a lede. This Financial Times profile on Jannik Sinner (absolutely unmatched last name, btw) was wonderful and light. Skinner is signed by both Nike and Gucci, which is giving both on and off the court. “He made a stir at last year’s Wimbledon sporting a special Gucci duffel bag, which required the strict All England Club’s approval.”
The NYT sat down with Brittney Griner ahead of her memoir release, “Coming Home”. It’s dark, but worth it.
Everything is a cult now. At least, that’s what Derek Thompson told Vox in an interview. I love his breakdown early on about how telephones and newspapers were the gateway drug (if you will) to cult-ism, because of “national and even international real-time shared reality”. You’ll find yourself making a lot of parallels from the early 19th century to our modern day, especially in how social media has created a new form of monoculture and real-time shared reality. *insert Spider Man meme*
When everyone watches women’s sports2, advertisers forget how to do their jobs. Apparently, when it comes to women’s sports, marketers forget how to storytell and just buy the banner. The Sports Innovation Lab’s NewFront, which took place yesterday, is attempting to change that. Through establishing a brand playbook and “fishing where the fish are”, they’re hoping to present a clearer picture of how rich the women’s sports advertising landscape is, especially when you try even just a little bit. Storytelling? For ads? Groundbreaking.
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IRL: things I’m seeing, thinking about, and obsessing over in the real world
Last week, I mentioned seeing two things everywhere, but didn’t have photo evidence to back it up: the double-braided ponytail, and mullets. See above for former, and below for latter.
Also spotted: camo. I love to see this print pop up in the urban jungle that is NYC.
That’s it for this week,
Trophy Wife
The earliest joggers used to get cops called on them. True story.
The iconic Togethxr hoodie / tee that just can’t stay in stock.