Meet Zeina Nassar: The Veiled Boxing Athlete in Nike’s ‘Dream Crazier’ Ad
Over a year ago, Nike showed every brand the meaning of true diversity and inclusion and launched the “Nike Pro Hijab” line, in collaboration with Saudi Designer, Mashael Alrajhi, during ‘Fashion Forward Dubai’ in October.
The sportswear brand created a durable single-layer Nike Pro cool mesh, one of Nike’s most breathable fabrics. The stretchy mesh material is combined with an elastic binding in order to allow a personalized fit that adapts to both the wearer’s head and her sport. Additionally, fluff threads were used at the neck and face to eliminate rubbing and irritation that can occur when sweating.
One of the first hijabi athletes to promote Nike’s line was Zeina Nassar. The young Muslim athlete and global ambassador joined Nike again for their “Dream Crazier” ad. “If we show emotion we’re called dramatic. If we want to play against men, we’re nuts. And if we dream of equal opportunity, delusional,” the voiceover in Nike’s new ad begins.
The ad is an ode to women who fight the norm, defy expectations, and achieve the unthinkable.
Zeina Nassar stood out as a hijabi boxer in the ad. “Boxing first came to mind when a friend and I came across workout videos of female boxers. Their discipline and elegance within a sport I’d always been told was about men pointlessly beating each other up had me hooked,” Zeina told Material magazine about how her career started.
Born and raised in Berlin to Lebanese parents, Nassar knows what it means to truly ‘dream crazier’ in a male-dominated field, add to that being a veiled woman who refused to take it off during a match. The four-time German boxing champion took to Instagram to celebrate the new decision by the International Boxing Association, allowing women everywhere to box in hijabs. “A huge win for me and for women across the world”, she wrote in the caption.
Nassar encourages women to not let themselves down. “If you’re on it, you should do it and look at other inspiring examples in life. Never lose confidence in yourself. You just have to pull it through, that’s very important. You’re never alone, you always have people around you who believe in you,” the champion told Fizzy Mag.
