How sports became culture

Disruption as a competitive edge

Just a few years ago, names like On Running or Hoka felt like niche alternatives. Today, they are global players. Their success comes not only from technical innovation but from becoming aspirational symbols: sneakers that perform on the track yet make a statement on the street as markers of style and identity.

Outdoor is the new Fashion (or was fashion always outdoor?)

Brands like The North Face or Salomon are no longer confined to the mountains. Today, they are part of the urban language: alpine jackets at concerts, trail sneakers in specialty coffee shops. Outdoor has become a cultural code, one that speaks of authenticity and exploration, even if we never set foot in nature.

A clear example is the campaign “Still Dreaming: Sandy Liang by Salomon”, where the collaboration between the New York designer and the French brand shows how outdoor can engage in a dialogue with contemporary fashion, bringing the codes of adventure into the city’s aesthetic universe.

Pop culture as amplifier

In an era where fitness is part of identity, cultural references accelerate legitimacy. District Vision proved this when Harry Styles wore their sunglasses at the Tokyo Marathon: a single gesture that transformed a niche into a global conversation. Sport no longer lives in isolation, it now expands into the territories of music, cinema, and fashion.

From technology to sport

Some brands are exploring visual codes borrowed from the tech world: clean, almost impersonal aesthetics that resonate with an audience used to living between screens and data. Just as Salomon shoes conquered specialty cafés, sport is crossing into the digital realm to project coldness, precision, and modernity.

The psychology of belonging

Fitness is personal, but it is also profoundly collective. Running shows this through the boom of run clubs, and CrossFit through its tribal culture. Here, brands like Velites—a Spanish startup that this year became an official sponsor of the CrossFit Games—see an opportunity: to strengthen bonds that go beyond the product itself, building a story of shared identity.

Where are we heading?

Sports branding is no longer just about training gear, it has become a cultural language. The key lies in the hybridization of sport and fashion, performance and aesthetics, community and differentiation. Brands that know how to read culture, reflect it, and amplify it will be the ones that make the leap from being mere products to becoming symbols.

Think about your brand: does it reflect the culture of your audience?