Exploring Berlin’s Creative Football Culture

In September 2024, the Berlin Marathon celebrated its 50th anniversary. With 60.000 people at the starting line, the marathon set record-high attendance.

Berlin’s running scene has long been established, but recent years have seen a burgeoning interest among new communities, with running clubs and brands emerging regularly.

As a timely celebration of this scene, Beinghunted. and New Balance launched The Center of Modern Running during the marathon week. The center paid homage to everything running and serving as a space for community events, exhibitions, product testing, design history, recovery facilities, and a cafe hosted by The Barn. In other words, a multi-purpose space placed in the heart of the city at the historic Kranzler building.

The Center of Modern Running was developed to welcome all runners – passersby and industry insiders alike, with a packed program of daily events ranging from runs to panel talks and podcast recordings. This accessibility led to a surging interest throughout the week, making it a stand-out highlight in a packed program of activations across the city.

The center’s distinct aesthetic language developed by Berlin-based VAUST Studio set a new tone for a publicly accessible brand hub unprecedented in the field of sportswear. Additional work by Joy Studio and GROTESK Group established a cohesive visual universe that gave the project an echo into global awareness.

Special thanks to the countless people who made the project come true, to VAUST, GROTESK, Joy Studio, The Barn, Rocket + Basil, and many others