Gatorade

What it really means to win from within

Every athlete knows the feeling. That moment when you’re a step too slow. When the defender gets there first. When your legs won’t do what your mind is telling them. It’s not just physical. It’s mental. A loop that plays over and over: not fast enough, not strong enough, not good enough. The difference between great athletes and everyone else isn’t that they don’t hear that voice. It’s that they refuse to let it win.

Gatorade’s ‘Win From Within’ had always been about inner strength. But we wanted to go deeper. To show what that actually looks like when you’re in the thick of it. The doubt. The frustration. The moments when quitting feels easier than pushing through.

I led the creative on ‘Fixation,’ featuring Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade. We filmed in Houston the day after the NBA All-Star Game, with Cannes Grand-Prix winning director Rupert Sanders and two-time Oscar-winning editor Kirk Baxter. The concept captured a truth every competitor knows: the fear of being second makes you hungry to be first. No dialogue. No voiceover. Just the relentless inner drive to be better than you were yesterday.

The campaign sparked conversations about these two NBA greats and the rivalry between them. Fans debated who would come out on top. Athletes shared their own stories of perseverance. Over 30 million views. 20% increase in social engagement. And a reminder that Gatorade isn’t just fuel for the body. It’s a symbol of the fight that happens inside.