Burna Boy Takes Charge as On’s Clubhouse President...
Burna Boy is now On’s Clubhouse President, a partnership bringing the brand closer to culture by merging sport, music and community...
Happy new week!
Burna Boy has partnered with Swiss sportswear brand On in a bold, multi-year collaboration that blends sport, culture, and community. An unexpected collab but one that could make a lot of sense. Burna will take on the role of Clubhouse President in On’s growing tennis universe, starting with Clubhouse Nights – the brand’s global event series in New York, Miami, and Paris that fuses tennis, music and art. He will also be helping shape a new cultural space through products, experiences, and creative projects.
This is a big step for On. The brand has made its name through innovation in running and tennis, but now it’s building an identity that sits at the intersection of performance and lifestyle. With athleisure on the rise, On has become just as likely to be seen on the streets or in the office as in the gym or court. Partnering with Burna Boy pushes them further into culture, positioning On as more than just a performance brand, but a fresh, cool player in the global sportswear conversation.
Burna Boy summed it up himself: “For me, everything I do comes from the same place – music, sport, community, and culture. It’s all connected. On gets that. Our partnership is about shaking things up and creating new energy in the world of sports.”
On is already the world’s fastest-growing sportswear brand, and collaborations like this show why. By aligning with cultural figures, they’re signalling that they understand where sport is really heading: beyond performance into expression, creativity and storytelling. It’s a model that Nike and Adidas have perfected, and now On is making its play to compete at that level.
But here’s the thing. Global names like Burna Boy, Zendaya or FKA Twigs will only take you so far. The brands that truly win are those that also go hyperlocal – embedding themselves in city scenes, grassroots sports, and niche communities. Nike didn’t just go global; they mastered New York, London, Paris etc. They built authentic local stories and grew from there.
For On, the next step will be making sure they do the same: tapping into local communities, highlighting real stories, and tailoring marketing to where people live, play and connect. That’s how you build trust, authenticity, and long-term loyalty.
This Burna Boy partnership shows On is serious about culture. The challenge now is to pair these headline-grabbing collabs with hyperlocal depth. If they get that balance right, the brand could transform from a performance label into a true cultural powerhouse.