INITIATIVE

RECIPROCITY IN SPORT. RESPONSIBILITY IN PRODUCT.

Born from a summer spent rehabbing an ACL, The Mile Project began with a realization: access to resources often depends on proximity, while usable products go without purpose. During recovery, Salomon sample shoes became part of my rehabilitation. I had access to what I needed because of where I worked. I wanted to extend that access to others.

With the support of Salomon's North American team, I'm developing an initiative to redirect unused seasonal footwear to students and faculty at Monument Valley Middle & High, a Navajo school in southeastern Utah. Planned for October 30, the first activation will bring students together for a one-mile walk/run event, connecting existing resources with greater access to sport.

The mile is personal. Four months into recovery, I've been cleared to run a mile, walk a mile, and repeat as I rebuild. Every mile marks progress, a reminder that small steps can create meaningful change.

Rooted in reciprocity and inspired by mālama ʻāina—caring for the land that sustains us—the project challenges how the sports product industry approaches the resources it produces and the communities it depends on. Rather than treating unused product as an endpoint, The Mile Project explores how it can become a starting point for opportunity and standard practice.