How Reebok Europe and Mental Athletic Made a Running Utopia
“Hello and welcome to Sunlight Oasis.” No one said this at the entrance to Reebok Europe and Mental Athletic’s pop-up during Milan Design Week, but they definitely could have — ideally in a cheerful, robotic tone as the doors opened onto this futuristic sporting utopia. Sunlight Oasis was a 3-day experience connecting movement with mindfulness, physical achievement with spirituality — an experimental, multi-media space which was part-exhibition, part-shop, and part-community hub. Through talks, activities, wellness, and more, Reebok Europe and Mental Athletic ushered Milan into the next era of running.
Such a conceptual event was as on-brand for the sportswear giant as for its collaborator. Mental Athletic, for those who don’t know it, is a young print magazine and sporting platform founded by Gabriele Casaccia last year. It sits at the avant-garde intersection between sports, fashion, culture, and community. Its editorials are gritty, grainy, and fashion-forward; the graphics are racy and futuristic. Documenting niche and headline stories alike, it’s an extremely beautiful take on running and movement. One cover of the first issue boasted an interview with renowned runner Kílian Jornet. Another cover was a cow.
Together, Reebok Europe and Mental Athletic presented an industrial-feeling space awash with pink and orange lights, inviting chill zones, and dreamy curtain installations. In the first room was an immersive experience documenting the journey of ultrarunner Lydia Oldham at the Speed Project—an underground, 340-mile race from Los Angeles to Las Vegas which took place at the beginning of April. In long-distance running terms, this is the edgiest, toughest event out there, and Oldham completed it in 112.5 hours. She also spoke in-person at Sunlight Oasis on its opening night.
For something a little less… intense, visitors of the space could then step into the ‘activities room’, an escapist, tranquil environment where all the week’s physical activities took place (mindfully, of course). There was also an area dedicated to the Reebok FloatZig1, the brand's new hyper-cushioned, chunky-looking running shoe. Across all spaces there was a carefully curated program of community runs, talks and conversations, niche forms of yoga, free movement sessions, soundbaths, listening sessions… for those who like their run with an esoteric touch, this was heaven on earth.
For a piece of the action, shop the Reebok FloatZig1 here.
