.bg-image.parallax__element.px-full-width-media__background { position: absolute; transform: translate3d(0, 0, 0) !important; height: 100% !important; } .hs__custom-header a { color: #fff; text-decoration: underline; } .hs__custom-header a:hover { color: #fff; text-decoration: underline; opacity: 0.8; } .hs__custom-header { position: relative; color: #fff; padding: 280px 0; } .hs__fading-background { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; } .hs__custom-heading { text-align: center; margin-bottom: 150px; } .hs__custom-heading .headline-element:first-child span { text-transform: uppercase; } .hs__custom-heading .headline-element span { font-size: 3.5294117647rem; } @media (max-width: 39.99em) and (min-width: 23.4375em) { .hs__custom-heading .headline-element span { font-size: 1.4117647059rem; } .hs__custom-heading { margin-bottom: 50px; } .hs__custom-header { padding: 80px 0; } } People run for different reasons. For some, it’s a way of crafting a particular physique or maintaining general physical health, while others seek cognitive benefits seeing it as a form of meditation. Whatever the intention, the connection between the mind and the body can’t be understated and exercising one will no doubt benefit the other.
It’s important however that both veterans and newbies alike be equipped with the very best training technology if they’ve any hope of reaping the rewards. It goes without saying but no one is improving their endurance or boosting their creativity if they’re injured. Introducing the right gear will make runs both more effective and more sustainable and a sneaker like the adidas Ultra Boost is not only practically beneficial but stylistically on point too.
Take the new Ultra Boost DNA, the silhouette features not only the most up to date adidas Running technology — reflective PrimeKnit, ventilation, a high-tech Fit Counter — but also a sleek aesthetic providing the mental edge that comes with looking good.
A sneaker like this is defined by the individual wearing it, shaped by their character, style, and reasons for running (or not). Photographer, director and avid runner Vitali Gelwich, for example, is driven by curiosity and running allows him to fully immerse himself in his surroundings. Preferring to run in more natural environments, the practice is a distraction-free escape from the city that helps him clear his head and generate new ideas.
To better understand Gelwich’s relationship with running, we sat down with the creative to ask him a few pressing questions. Read the short interview and peep the new adidas Ultra Boost DNA on his feet below. If you want to cop the silhouette, it’ll be available August 9 via adidas stores and adidas.com.
Where do you enjoy running in Berlin? Do you have any favorite routes?
I enjoy running in Berlin’s parks, mostly the quieter, bigger ones — the one between Tegel and Wedding, for example. I’ve been running around Humboldthain for years but Tierpark is also a big favorite.
I was never a city runner in Berlin because I find the surroundings and traffic distracting, they disturb the joy of running.
From sneakers to tech, to your outfit, what essential items are in your training kit?
I always carry a jump rope as well as some kind of music player like my iPhone or a small portable box. I try to listen to stuff while running that I would never normally listen to.
Why is staying fit important to you?
It cleans my mind, it cleans my body, and it cleans my soul. It's like giving the body a little restart, shutting down the internal computer and letting it rest for a while so that I can start fresh with things working fluently again.
Also, I wanna be sexy… *laughs* just kidding!
How does running impact your creativity?
When I'm abroad I’ll just take my runners and start running randomly. I love to watch things happening around me. I don't know, I work with my eyes so everything I absorb kinda affects my creativity. Running sometimes brings we closer to the place I'm working too.
It doesn't always impact my creativity directly but the fact that it keeps me and my mind clean results in more ways of being creative.
What else do you do to keep your creative mind sharp?
Actually, this is something that I very often ask myself. I’m pretty much an addict when it comes to my job so I do everything around that. I research, I read, I shop, I try, and I play around. And of course I watch a lot too, I look at everything around me.
Sports in general — even if I'm not the biggest sportsman — keep me sharp at all times but sometimes I just enjoy doing nothing. Lately, I love to stop thinking and I love the sun and I love nature. I love to just sit somewhere in the grass or the sand and just do nothing. Nowadays these are some of the hardest things for me to do.
What are you working towards right now?
I just finished working on projects with Highsnobiety, global campaigns for two brands, and several productions in Germany. So next I’m trying to do a week of just nothing on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. I’ll be happy to be in the ocean very soon. I plan on running every day too.
It probably sounds cheesy but going for a run and seeing the most beautiful coasts is a huge luxury for me. Forget all the money and gold and expensive stuff, that's something that really makes me happy.
Do you have any tips for people wanting to get into running but that don’t yet have the confidence?
If you want your mind clean and you want to feel your body then get your ass up and just start. It’s not something you can advise someone on, it needs to come from within yourself. The first run is going to be hard but once you find your rhythm and start to understand your body it’s going to get easier. Try to start alone, listen to yourself, and your thoughts and you’ll solve a lot of problems while running.
