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Nike: Helden (Heroes)

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You never do it just for yourself

We made a campaign to celebrate these heroes.

Focusing on local communities and athletes in Germany, the 3-minute film ‘Heroes’ (directed by John Hillcoat) introduces a new generation of German athletes who – as individuals and in their teams – work hard to advance society.

Heroes inspire other people to believe in themselves. To dare to picture themselves at the very top. Or even just to imagine a world where they can take part. To believe in a country that can change and will change because people believe they can be the ones to change it.

We are telling many of these stories in this campaign. From Zeina Nassar, the boxer who changed the rules of boxing so that she and others could wear a hijab in the ring; to Mario Götze who was diagnosed with a career-ending injury but refused to quit. There’s the Syrian National Cycling team who are now riding for a club in Berlin. There’s Turkiyemspor, a club founded to bring the Turkish and German communities of Berlin together. The Nazari sisters, who walked to Germany from Afghanistan to become the future of German skating. All of the people in our film prove that you never, ever do it just for yourself.

We told these stories with the German version of “Heroes” by David Bowie, a song so beloved in German culture that it was the only one he has performed in German. We gave it a new sound by having Germany’s greatest living composer, Hans Zimmer, recreate it, using David Bowie’s original German vocals, mixed with the voices of people representing brave new Germany.

For more information about the 16 heroes portrayed in the film, visit Nike News.

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