Nike features first trans athlete in TV commercial

SPORTS apparel company Nike has featured its first trans athlete in an advertising campaign.

Duathlete Chris Mosier, 35, is the first tran athlete to compete for the United States mens team at the Olympics and features in Nike’s Unlimited Courage campaign which aired this week.

It is the first time Nike has featured a trans athlete in an advertisement and the first time it has sponsored a trans athlete.

“I think back to when I was younger and how much I would have loved to see a trans athlete in a commercial, in an ad representing a major sports corporation,” Mosier told Running World.

“I want to get to a point where every young person can play sports and be their authentic self. I want every high schooler to have the opportunity to play sports in the gender with which they identify and have it not be a big deal.”

The 40 second advertisement shows Mosier training and racing while answering questions about being trans, a fact he admitted to Rolling Stone he would never be able to get away from the label.

“I knew that the minute I said, ‘I’m a trans athlete,’ that I would never get away from it,” he said.

In a statement released via Nike, Mosier said appearing in the ad was a dream come true.

“Being the first trans man on a U.S. men’s national team was a dream come true for me,” he said in the statement.

“I always wanted my name on a jersey. To represent our country at the highest level, in my sport, is just outstanding. It’s just such an amazing opportunity — and an amazing opportunity for other people to see themselves reflected in someone succeeding in sports as a trans man.”

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