Local tennis professional Christian Didier Chin (All photos: Asics)
Mental health was among the key conversations surrounding the Covid-19 crisis. Sporting brand Asics took a cue from its name — an acronym of the Latin phrase Anima Sana in Corpore Sano, which means a sound mind in a healthy body — to renew its commitment to use the power of sport to uplift the mind and soul.
Its Sound Mind, Sound Body campaign encourages the transformative power of sport through a landmark research project this year that will explore the positive impact of sport on mental well-being. Cutting-edge biometric technology will be used to capture this data across a massive pool of everyday and elite athletes. An initial feasibility study has shown promising results, including up to 29% improvement in stress-coping ability, 18% increase in relaxation, 135% decrease in negative emotions and 28% reduction in rash decision-making or reactions.
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In tandem with the monumental study, Asics is launching Sound Mind, Sound Body, a film that brings to life the essence of the campaign with elite Southeast Asian athletes. Local tennis professional Christian Didier Chin stars in this alongside Thailand’s volleyball player Patpasit Na Songkhla and sprinter and SEA Games medallist Onuma Chattha, Singaporean Olympic shuttler Liang Xiaoyu, Vietnamese running champion Nguyen Van Lai and Filipino fitness enthusiast Lovi Poe.
The hero film captures how the athletes find inner rhythm, peace and a sense of community through sports amid the stressors of modern life, and is accompanied by six short films that focus on the individuals’ own journeys in the field of their choice as a testimony to sport’s role in mental well-being.
Watch a preview of the campaign below:
This article first appeared on May 3, 2021 in The Edge Malaysia.
