UNDER ARMOUR | IMKE SALANDER

This is one of seven long-form athlete portraits we made across five countries for Under Armour 2020. This particular portrait of runner/cross-trainer Imke Salander really landed for me. Imke fully embodies that spirit of constantly confronting the perpetual challenge of the day. Of doing your work, no matter what level you’re at or what you’ve accomplished. That willingness to risk failure, to find the edge of who you are.

As I was digging in on Under Armour 2020 last August with @andre_stringer — who was already months into his process — we made a concerted effort to foster a deeper dialogue around the question of how athletes use sport as a means for self-transformation. We knew there was a kinship to documentary inquiry and discovery at the heart of the campaign. An effort to find something unvarnished and real. These long-form films became that substantive layer where we could ask questions and in return, offer practicable wisdom and insight from the frontlines of sport to the athlete inside us all.

Imke’s commitment — which was on a level I’d never seen in person — transformed the tenor of this entire shoot. She’s remarkable, in the truest sense of the word. We hope she inspires you too. Special thank you to the fantastic crew in Hamburg, @nathancaswell who cut this with verve and passion, Erik Press for balancing an intensive travel and shooting schedule with ease, and Mikel Cook who operated a run of shoots with me, including this one, and brought the fire on all of them.