Asics launches mental health campaign with Mind

Sportswear brand Asics is committing to using the power of sport to uplift the world in 2021 with a new campaign focusing on getting people moving for positive physical and mental wellbeing.

In partnership with the mental health charity Mind, Asics is launching a Sunrise Mind campaign this month to get people moving and to raise funds to help support services, including physical activity-based projects.

Using sunrise as a symbol of hope, Asics and its athletes, including Eilish McColgan, Noëlle Roorda and Kiryu Yoshihide are encouraging everyone who can, to move at sunrise and capture the positive impact of movement on their mind with a sunrise selfie. For every #SunriseMind selfie shared the sportswear brand will make a donation.

Gary Raucher, executive vice president categories at Asics EMEA, said in a statement: “We know Covid-19 has put even more pressure on the wellbeing of millions of people. We also know and believe that sport and movement can lift spirits and help people feel better.

“For us, 2021 is about unlocking the unique power of sport to uplift our minds. That starts with encouraging people everywhere to move with us at sunrise and will continue throughout the year as we demonstrate our commitments to our founding philosophy of a sound mind, sound body.”

To coincide with the campaign, Asics has also released a special Sunrise Red Collection featuring key styles, including the Gel-Nimbus 23, Gel-Resolution 8 and Gel-Quantum 360 in a striking Sunrise Red colourway.

The move is tied to the running brand’s return to its roots, as Asics an acronym of the Latin phrase Anima Sana In Corpore Sano or a Sound Mind in a Sound Body, is to be placed at the core of its business philosophy.

In 2021, Asics said that it will undertake a landmark research project into the positive impact of sport on mental wellbeing. It will use cutting-edge biometric technology to capture the true impact of sport on the minds of thousands of participants around the world.

Ahead of the research project’s full roll-out, Asics has also conducted an initial feasibility study involving a group of elite athletes, including British Olympic runner and European Triathlon Champion Beth Potter, alongside everyday athletes as a basis for comparison.

The Moving Minds Measured study, overseen by Dr Brendon Stubbs, a leading exercise and mental health researcher based at King’s College, London, measured a series of brain pathways known to influence the emotional and cognitive elements of mental wellbeing.

It found that after a short amount of physical activity, the everyday athletes experienced an overall emotional uplift, including up to a 29 percent improvement in their ability to cope with stress and up to an 18 percent increase in their relaxation levels. They also reported a significant drop in negative emotions like frustration, up to 135 percent and were up to 28 percent less prone to making rash decisions and reacting negatively to challenges or disruption.

Image: courtesy of Asics