From Couch Potato to One of The Greatest Extreme Trail Runners in History: ASICS documents Christian Schiester’s Inspirational Journey of Improvement
ASICS launches its latest brand film, designed to inspire sportspeople to make a ‘Journey of Improvement’.
Austrian extreme runner, Christian Schiester, is the latest athlete to feature in the new ASICS ‘Journey of Improvement’ brand campaign, designed to motivate and inspire athletes to achieve their goals.
The 90-second video filmed in Austria follows Schiester as he runs through the urban streets of Salzburg, sprints over the Zeller See and scrambles up the Großglockner, the highest mountain in Austria. The digital offering tells Schiester’s inspirational story from couch potato to one of the greatest extreme trail runners in history.
At the age of 22, Schiester was a heavy drinker, smoking over 40 cigarettes a day and severely obese. His doctor advised him that if he continued with his current lifestyle, Schiester would not live to see his 50th birthday. This sobering diagnosis radically changed Schiesters’ outlook on life, as he quit smoking, gave up alcohol and started running.
At first, the road wasn’t easy for Schiester, as he experienced a variety of personal setbacks involving his troubled past. However, after two years of hard work and training, he had competed in the New York Marathon and won his first Austrian half-marathon.
Schiester narrates; “It’s easy to kill your body. It’s easy to kill your brain. But I think it is possible for everyone to change”
A further 25 national titles followed before Schiester wanted to push himself further, entering the Marathon de Sables, a six-day race across the Sahara desert, where he finished in 12th place. As his passion for extreme running developed, Schiester continued to push his body to the next level, entering the five-day Himalayan Run, and breaking the race record by an impressive 15 minutes. In 2006, he took on the Jungle Marathon through the Brazilian Amazon Rain Forest and then went on to win Antarctica Ice Marathon the following year.
The campaign, produced by 180 Amsterdam, debuts on 5th April and is designed to inspire everyday athletes to ‘better your best’. Throughout the narrative, Schiester emphasizes that winning was never important in his life, running simply gave him the opportunity to feel comfortable with his body and enjoy the natural surroundings.
Commenting on the campaign theme, Schiester said; “When I was a child, I used my body as an excuse to stop me from achieving my goals, but now it is my greatest tool. I can use all the power out of my body and run through the greatest places on Earth. I hope my story encourages everyday sportspeople to better your best.”
The below-the-line campaign will be delivered across social media platforms and hosted on the brand’s YouTube channel. This is the fourth instalment of six inspirational short films, which focus on professional and everyday sportspeople and their personal journey of improvement. In Schiester’s case, good old fashioned hard work and determination has been the key to his successful journey.
Alongside this, ASICS has developed a motivational Facebook application to link with the existing online training tool, MY ASICS, creating ‘a fully integrated, inspirational concept’.