Hi there,

I've always been into running.

It's been a constant in my life. Not because I'm chasing some runner's high or trying to hit a specific pace, but because there's something grounding about it. Just me, the road, and the rhythm of my own breathing.

I'm not one of those people who wakes up excited to lace up. Most days, it's a negotiation with myself. But I always feel better after I go – that's the simple truth that keeps me coming back.

So when my mate mentioned this run club he'd joined in Sydney, I was intrigued but skeptical. What rattled me? Learning that hundreds of people were showing up. At 6am. In classic Sydney fashion: full makeup, matching Lululemon outfits, looking photo-ready before sunrise.

The morning economy in full swing.

It got me thinking – when did running, this solitary, meditative activity I'd been doing for years, transform into such a social phenomenon? When did the shared struggle become something people actively sought out?

And then it clicked.

Running itself hasn't changed. What's changed is how brands are building communities around it. What we're witnessing is a masterclass in authentic brand-building for 2025.

The Community-First Branding Revolution

Here's what's interesting: Run clubs weren't dreamed up in boardrooms by suits drawing strategy pyramids on whiteboards.

They emerged organically. People wanted to move together. Simple as that.

And yes, COVID accelerated everything. When the pandemic locked us down, something fundamental broke in our collective psyche. No gyms. No social contact. Just four walls and endless Zoom calls.

Turns out even a miserable 5K feels like freedom when you've been trapped inside for months.

The lesson was clear: we're hardwired for connection. We need those breathless post-run conversations more than we need proper form. We crave the shared suffering, the collective achievement, the nod of recognition from someone who just pushed through the same pain.

When restrictions lifted, these communities exploded.

What brands discovered wasn't just a marketing opportunity – it was a fundamental shift in how people connect with products. This isn't advertising anymore. It's alignment.

People don't want to be sold to. They want to belong. They're choosing brands that create space for community rather than just adding to the noise.

Run Dawg in LA: Raw energy. Zero polish. Absolutely no corporate aftertaste. They bark during runs. Literally bark. It's f**cking weird, authentic, and completely immune to focus-group thinking.

Why does it work? Because it wasn't designed to sell anything.

Run Clubs: The Dating App Nobody Downloaded

Let's be clear – there's something inherently attractive about sweating alongside strangers who share your values.

Strava's 2024 data tells the whole story: 58% made new friends through fitness groups, while nearly 20% of Gen Z dated someone they met through exercise. They're four times more likely to choose a workout over a bar for meeting people.

Think about that. People actively choose burpees over Bumble.

Maybe they're tired of the endless scroll chasing that elusive endorphin high. Maybe they want to see someone's character before their curated highlights. Maybe watching someone push through kilometre four reveals more than any dating profile ever could.

The appeal is authenticity. No filters. No angles. Just humans, equally disheveled, collectively suffering.

Physical exertion strips away pretense. Five k's in, nobody maintains their carefully constructed persona.

Some come for fitness. Some for mental clarity. Some are absolutely hunting for connection beyond the superficial swipe-right culture we've built. (no judgment here, I met my wife through Bumble) Fair enough.

For brands, this is strategic gold. They're not selling performance gear anymore – they're facilitating human connection. Maybe even love.

Suddenly that overpriced running shirt feels like an investment compared to another month of dating app subscriptions.

Building Brands Through Ritual, Not Ads

The power of these communities comes from their ritualistic nature.

Wednesday, 6:00AM. Same corner. Same warm-up playlist. The regulars proudly sporting their club merch. The newcomers nervously figuring out if they belong.

It's identity through participation. A silent nod that says: I'm part of this. I understand the code.

Each club develops its own language. Inside jokes nobody else gets. Ridiculous nicknames. Group chats that never sleep. Blurry post-run photos on the Gram where everyone looks terrible but tags everyone anyway.

Then comes the ritual coffee. The half-hearted stretching. The "just one beer" that becomes three. The "same time next week?" that becomes years of showing up.

The Brand Strategy Hidden in Plain Sight

The genius part? Nobody actually cares how fast you are. These clubs cracked the code: showing up is the only qualification for belonging.

Traditional brands spend millions trying to engineer this kind of loyalty.

These communities achieved it organically. Without a single strategy deck in sight.

The smartest brands aren't trying to hijack these communities — they're learning from them.

When Track Mafia in London launched, they weren't selling shoes. They were selling belonging. The gear came later, almost as an afterthought. A way for members to signal their tribe.

Patta Running Team in Amsterdam understood this from day one. As a streetwear brand moving into fitness, they flipped the script: build the community first, then create products the community actually wants.

It's the perfect inverse of traditional brand building.

Instead of: Create product → Find audience → Build community

They followed: Build community → Understand audience → Create product

And that's the core lesson for any brand today: Culture first, commerce second.

The brands that get this aren't just surviving. They're thriving while their competitors scratch their heads wondering what went wrong. (And probably still commissioning expensive focus groups to figure it out.)

@stevecole__

Lunge Run Club is CRAZYYY! Match with all of them on Lunge 💜

How Gen Z Changed the Branding Game

What fascinates me most is how Gen Z instinctively understands this.

They've grown up bombarded by ads. They can smell inauthentic branding from a mile away. Probably because they've spent their entire lives with brands trying to "connect" with them through cringe TikTok dances and emoji-stuffed captions.

For them, a brand isn't what you say about yourself. It's what the community says about you when you're not in the room.

This generation doesn't join communities because of the logo. They wear the logo because they've already joined the community.

That's the fundamental shift most brands still haven't grasped. And probably won't until it's too late. (Looking at you, enormous corporations still dumping millions into TV spots nobody watches.)

When Raw Dawg drops limited-edition merch that mysteriously sells out in minutes, they're not making a product announcement. They're creating a cultural moment among people who already care.

The Future of Brand Building Looks Like This

So what can every brand learn from these sweaty, community-driven movements?

1. Alignment over attention. Stop shouting for eyeballs. Start showing up where people already gather. Nobody likes the person screaming for attention at a party.

2. Meaning before marketing. Give people something to belong to, not just something to buy. Your logo isn't as important as what it represents.

3. Culture is created, not controlled. The best brands don't dictate culture from above; they participate in it from within. Get off your high horse and join the people on the ground.

4. Relationships over transactions. People will literally pay for the privilege of being around other people they like. If your brand facilitates that, you win. If not, bye.

Authenticity isn't optional. You can't fake community. Trust me, consumers can smell corporate-engineered "community" from miles away. It reeks worse than post-run shoes. And I've smelled some truly horrific things in locker rooms.

When brands amplify a community's existing story instead of forcing their own narrative, people actually trust them.

They're not desperately trying to manufacture culture — they're letting culture lead and simply tagging along for the ride.

This is what Nike understood decades ago with early running clubs. What Lululemon grasped with their ambassador program. What Athletic Brewing now recognizes with their non-alcoholic options at post-run gatherings. (Because sometimes you want the social vibe without the hangover. We're getting older, people.)

They don't sponsor these communities. They serve them.

And in that subtle difference lies everything.

The Brand Revolution Happening at Ground Level

It's wild when you think about it — how something as simple as running in circles together has completely transformed an entire approach to brand building.

But that's how all true revolutions begin: Bodies in motion, aligned by something deeper than marketing.

Some come for the sweat. Others for mental clarity. Many for the community. Plenty hoping that cute person in the neon shorts notices them gasping for air. (Pro tip: They will, but not in the way you hope. Nobody looks good while oxygen-deprived.)

And in that strange, beautiful mess — the endorphins, the overpriced coffee afterward, the shared suffering — something bigger is always taking shape.

A brand strategy that most companies would kill for, happening completely organically.

It's more than just running. It's what branding actually looks like when it's real.

The brands that understand this will win the race. Everyone else is just jogging in place.

(If you've made it this far, you definitely deserve a beer. Or a green juice. Or perhaps a date with that person you've been not-so-subtly pacing behind for the last three k's. I won't judge. Well, not much anyway.)

Brand Wars: Nike Run Club v Patta Running Team

One leverages technology, data, and global infrastructure to move millions. The other builds through authentic relationships and cultural connection to create something irreplaceable.

Nike Run Club

Nike wrote the modern playbook for branded fitness communities. Run clubs in every major city. Workout apps with millions of users. Leaderboards that gamify your progress. City takeovers that shut down streets.

It's algorithm-backed infrastructure at massive scale. You get trainer-guided sessions, perfectly curated playlists, and data tracking everything from pace to heart rate. The experience is polished, consistent, global. Whether you're in Tokyo or Toronto, NRC feels familiar. You're running within an ecosystem designed for millions, powered by decades of athletic expertise and marketing muscle.

Patta Running Team 

Patta took a completely different route. No corporate strategy sessions or user acquisition plans. They started as friends in Amsterdam's streetwear scene, where fashion and culture naturally intersect with movement.

Their runs don't follow apps or training protocols. They follow the city's rhythm. It's collective-driven rather than platform-driven—built on personal connections and shared identity. The crew stays smaller by design. More intimate. More local. They're not scaling globally because that's not the point. They're building something that matters in their own backyard.

Ad Vault: Adidas

"Impossible is Nothing" (2004)

GOAT run club? Has to be.

Haile's spot still kills me. This kid in Ethiopia, running barefoot with books on his back. Dirt roads forever. Nothing fancy about it. Just him talking about chasing dreams. Growing up, those races with El Guerrouj were something else. For Australians reading this.. All I need to say is Bruce McAvaney and you can picture it all.

But look at this lineup. Ali. Beckham. Zidane. T-Mac. You couldn't assemble a better crew if you tried. And somehow Adidas made it feel real instead of just showing off.

The whole thing was so simple it hurt. Black screen. Handwritten words. Athletes talking like humans, not billboards. Ali discussing his comeback. Beckham on being working class. Actual stories, not slogans.

I'm still thinking about Haile twenty years later. When I catch myself making excuses about why something's impossible. Kid literally had nothing. Books, bare feet, big dreams. Look what happened.

Lento Vibes

A bit of random inspo from around the grounds:

• Aldi Takes on McDonald’s — With Free Hash Browns: In a cheeky stunt, Aldi is parking outside McDonald’s locations giving away hash browns to hungry passersby. Free food and a little brand banter? We’re here for it. See the stunt in action

• Heineken Flies a Pub to Lisbon for Two Fans: For the Champions League final, Heineken moved an entire North London pub to Portugal so two die-hard mates wouldn’t miss the match. Pure heart. Watch the relocation

• Meta’s AI Ad Deadline Meta wants all brands creating ads using AI by end of 2026. Big push. Big questions. Welcome to the next chapter of automated creativity. Read Meta’s AI vision

• 2025’s Most Powerful Women in Sports
  From CEOs to athletes and agents, Adweek rounds up the women shaping the future of sport, on and off the field. Meet the power players

• Burger King Turns Static into Sizzle
  In Morocco, BK hijacked radio static with the sound of grilling burgers. The “Flaming Grill Radio” campaign turned dead air into a craving. Hear the sizzle