Where there’s a will

Athletic clothing brand Under Armour has unleashed muscled actor Dwayne Johnson in a year-long marketing campaign that spotlights eight trailblazing athletes.
The “Will Finds a Way” campaign is pitched as “a motivational journey” in which Johnson profiles the athletes in a series of films.
They are world champion sprinter Natasha Hastings, Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini, Dennis Smith Jr of the National Basketball Association, taekwondo national champion Zoe Zhang, world champion judoka Teddy Riner, stuntwoman Jessie Graffm triathlete Johnny Agar and state boxing and gymnastics champion Javon “Wanna” Walton. 

 

Johnson can cite his own life as an example of how willpower can beat the odds and produce success. He carved a new path for himself when his dream of becoming a pro football player was crushed. He ended up with less than $7 in his pocket.
“Over the years, I’ve failed hard and had my back up against the wall,” he says. “Through the struggle on my way back up, I’ve learned there’s one undeniable constant to success and that’s to always be the hardest worker in the room.

 

“Our ‘Will Finds a Way’ campaign celebrates the power ‘will’ has to overcome the odds and achieve the unthinkable. I’m honoured to work alongside some of the most hardworking everyday women and men and kids for this campaign, all of whom have risen to greatness through unwavering will, determination and being the hardest worker in the room.” 
In the films from creative agency Droga5, directed by award-winning directors the Malloy brothers and Nathalie Canguilhem, Johnson explains how the athletes overcame social anxiety, escaped turmoil and war, or battled physical disability. 

 

Hastings missed out on quintessential childhood experiences to focus all her energy on running and has had to face those who criticised her strong, athletic build. Those realities, driven by her will to reach her full potential, propelled her to become one of the best and most elite runners in the world, where she’s known as “the 400 Meter Diva”.
Mardini experienced war in her home country, Syria, but her sheer will for survival powered her strokes across treacherous ocean waves, when she saved other refugees by swimming their boat to safety. She went on to compete as a swimmer with the Refugee Olympic Team and continues to train to meet her next goal – competing in the 2020 Olympics.

 

Smith Jr suffered a knee injury that threatened to end his dream of making it to the elite collegiate level in basketball and then on to the NBA. After learning to dunk on the playground and ignoring the trappings of outside influences, he made it to the courts of the NBA.
Zhang experienced a devastating injury that forced her into early sport retirement as a winningclass champion on the national taekwondo team, but instead of stopping there, she changed course and took advantage of her hard-earned skills to become one of China’s most famous actresses with a focus in martial arts. 

 

Riner devoted his life from a young age to judo and is aiming to become the greatest judoka ever seen. People think it comes naturally to him, but no one sees how early he starts his day, how many hours he spends in the gym and how he keeps his body and skills topnotch. 
Graff is a real-life superhero. Despite her supernatural abilities to navigate prominent elaborate obstacle courses and handle stunts for prominent films and television shows, she believes her true superpower is her will, as she continues to surpass her competitors, both male and female.

 

Agar is an inspiration to Under Armour, having become a partner in 2017 and starring in his own homemade version of an Under Armour commercial. He faces enormous challenges daily. With cerebral palsy comes the loss of ability to walk or feed himself, but he gets up every morning to train for athletic competitions most people without the constraints of disabilities wouldn’t approach. 
Walton is all too familiar with the word “no” after hearing it repeatedly from doubters not believing in his dreams. His uncompromising approach to training and becoming a champion in both gymnastics and boxing fuels his vision of becoming heavyweight champion one day.

 

To see all the “Will Finds A Way” content and the springsummer 2018 UA Training collection, visit www.UnderArmour.com/willfindsaway and download the UA Shop App. The campaign will feature hundreds of items of content created for the digital and social platforms.
To view the campaign films, go to YouTube.com/UnderArmour and learn more about it at UA.com or Facebook.com/UnderArmour and join in the conversation on Twitter and Instagram. 
In Thailand, check out www.UnderArmour.co.th and “UnderArmourThailand” on Facebook.