THE HARDER ROAD, A FUNNER WEEK !
September '25
A *couple* of weeks before the CPH Half, Nike reached out: make some noise about exactly that. Of course, we wanted to.
So we made a book. The Harder Road. Nike gave us access to their infinite digital archive and told us to curate pictures to tell a story. The result: a book about people doing hard things. And Nike’s history of supporting them. It’s about the people we don’t know, who keep pushing. Not because it’s their job, not because they have to, but because they like the challenge and know they’ll come out stronger on the other side.
It doesn’t have to be sports-related, even if the book comes from sport. The whole point is that it can be whatever you want it to be — personal, work-related, or something else entirely. To me, it’s about navigating discomfort, staying in that space long enough to grow. And yes, there’s a line to sport: not all discomfort is good. That small pain might disappear, or it might turn into injury if you push too far. So maybe The Harder Road isn’t just about doing hard things, but about learning how to move between them. I don’t know, and I don’t need to — it’s personal, different for everyone.
Fast forward to now. We got through — but it wasn’t easy. And how boring it would have been if it was easy? You always perform best last minute, after a week of stress. You can’t live being stressed all the time, but during busy periods, it keeps you sharp.
After work in Aarhus, we drove to Copenhagen to set up for the week. The rain hit as we left — the start of a bumpy week. Bad weather had already pushed the exhibition a day, so Thursday became all about fixing. The backyard needed work, and hiring help was out of the question. What we thought would be a quick job turned into nine hours of pulling weeds and sore backs. But by the end, it shined — better than it had in a century !
THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF THE WEEK
Meeting time: 6 AM. We were hosting a run with Nike — not a social run, not a shakeout run, just a run. Bagels from our new friends at Bagel Belly, and we had to pick up coffee. Nike running gear for everyone came to run with us. Also, to celebrate the launch of Nike’s newest Vomero running silhouette, the Vomero Speckle Plus. A PROPER morning in my book !
The rest of the day disappeared — every last second spent getting 100% ready for the evening's big event. An intimate dinner for friends and family of the house, and an open concert with Elias Rønnenfelt after. Seated inside a small circle, in contrast to the cold brutalist surroundings. With people representing both Stoy and Nike — from the sports, fashion and music industry.
Everyone has a Harder Road, and it's never ending !
It was rock and roll from there. We spent the concert serving beers to everyone who showed up — all the Copenhagen locals loved the Ceres Top we brought from home !
EVERYONE, THANK YOU FOR COMING TO OUR OPEN CONCERT WITH NIKE AND ELIAS RØNNENFELT — WE HOPE YOU HAD A GOOD TIME; YOU MADE OURS EVEN BETTER!
LASTLY, THANK YOU, NIKE, FOR SHARING THE ROAD WITH US ! DON’T GIVE UP ON TOUGH THINGS — THAT’S WHERE YOU GROW.
