Footballers have a profoundly interesting relationship with nature. They spend most of their lives on a field. But given how meticulously maintained the grass is – and the 75,000-seat stadium surrounding it – can you really call that nature? We’re not so sure.
Which is why we’ve always been a little sceptical when footballers partner with outdoor brands, claiming their love of the outdoors is second only to their love of football. And you know that as soon as the final photo is snapped, the jacket they’re wearing is headed straight back into a warehouse wardrobe, never to be seen again.
But a recent partnership between Sealskinz and Christian Eriksen has flipped that narrative on its head.
Eriksen doesn’t just say he loves the outdoors – he genuinely does. Growing up in Middelfart, Denmark, a town of just 16,000 people surrounded by green fields and miles of coastline, he didn’t really have much choice in the matter. The outdoors wasn’t a lifestyle he discovered later in life; it was simply part of everyday life from the start. And somewhere between the fields and beaches, football entered his life.
That connection to the outdoors has stayed with him throughout a career that has taken him from Denmark to the Netherlands, Italy and England – including a lengthy spell in Manchester. Within an hour of Old Trafford lie the rolling hills of the Peak District, miles of Pennine trails, some of the most dramatic countryside in England, and some of the worst weather too.
It’s perhaps fitting, then, that Eriksen’s latest off-pitch venture is with Sealskinz – a British brand built around helping people spend more time outside, whatever the weather.
For Eriksen, partnering with Sealskinz wasn’t about attaching his name to another logo. It was about supporting a company, product and team whose values closely align with his own. The Norfolk-based brand has spent more than 25 years developing technical waterproof accessories designed to keep people outdoors for longer, earning a reputation among walkers, runners, cyclists and adventurers who refuse to let British weather dictate their plans.
And this partnership goes further than a traditional ambassadorial role. Eriksen has joined Sealskinz as both a brand ambassador and investor, signalling a genuine belief in the company’s future.
So while elite football may seem worlds away from the everyday outdoors, Eriksen is proof that there is a shared mindset. Whether you’re pulling on gloves for a Premier League match in the freezing cold or zipping up a shell jacket for a Sunday walk in the pissing rain, the principle remains the same: good equipment should work quietly in the background, allowing you to focus on the experience itself.
Which is exactly why this partnership makes sense. Not because Christian Eriksen is a footballer, but because long before he was playing in front of 75,000 people at Old Trafford, he was a kid from a small Danish coastal town who simply loved being outside. The clubs, cities and stadiums may have changed, but that connection to the outdoors hasn’t. And for a brand built on helping people embrace whatever the weather throws at them, there are few better ambassadors than someone who’s been doing exactly that his entire life.
Find out more about Sealskinz partnership with Christian Eriksen at sealskinz.com
