Speedo’s Art of the Cap is a campaign put on by Speedo combining handful of Olympic gold medal winning US athletes, including Nathan Adrian, Natalie Coughlin, Cullen Jones, Dana Vollmer and Ryan Lochte, with stars in the world to create some kick-ass limited edition caps while also raising some money for charity.
Each athlete were combined with an artist who designed a limited edition Speedo cap, with the proceeds going to support the charity of the athlete’s choice. In Adrian’s case, he choose to have the proceeds from his cap sales go to Kids Beating Cancer. The charity works to help children receive cancer treatment no matter what the finances of the family looks like.
Adrian was paired up with Peruvian artist Gianmarco Magnani. The cap, which features a navy ship themed blue and grey, with a matching anchor and the number “08” emblazoned as though the cap were the side of a battle ship. The number represents Adrian’s first Olympics, back in 2008 in Beijing, where he won a gold medal swimming in the heats of the 4x100m freestyle. The theme arose from Adrian’s upbringing on the Puget Sound in Bremerton, Washington, near the Naval Shipyard.
“I feel like I’m in a really blessed position,” said Adrian. “With that position, I’ve always felt a need and a desire to give back to people who haven’t been given the ability to live their dreams.”
The basis of the cap design and the resulting artist they were paired up with was rooted in the personal history of each of the athletes.
Here is the promotional video that Speedo produced outlining the history behind the artwork that was chosen for Nathan Adrian’s cap:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vcy4t2UqmM