Eight 8 Lines Is Providing a New Lease of Life for Paris’ Next Gen
Cassy Nsimba breaks down how the run club uses community to power an active lifestyle in Nike’s latest campaign.
With the imminent arrival of this year’s Olympic games, a new collective of active Parisians is landing in the spotlight. Dynamic, welcoming, and admittedly, picture perfect, Eight 8 Lines run club has been making strides with its alternatively social and light-hearted approach to running in a mission to switch up France’s tradition-rich and mildly orthodox sporting landscape. Taking different locations around Paris, it invites both newbies and experienced runners to join the weekly meet-ups and take part in an hour of feel-good running, giving them the chance to make new friends along the way.
Now, in a snapshot of their typical escapades, Nike taps the run club in a new Hypebae-produced campaign, celebrating the launch of Pegasus 41. Sharing a close-up of 15 running members – from a quickly growing cohort of around 50 – the visuals showcase how the diverse cross-section of runners is helping to push forward their movement across the city.
“Running in a group creates a unique dynamic of motivation that I never felt before.”
Amongst the collective is regular attendee Cassy Nsimba, one of the group’s more experienced track athletes. Nsimba joined Eight 8 Lines back in 2023 when she had just started out as an athletics coach for young people. While the runner devoted all her free time to staying fit, she had often found training for herself to be a solitary experience, leaving her demotivated and uninspired. Speaking to Hypebae in reflection on her time at the club, she shares, “When I met the co-founder, Lourdes, we instantly developed a sibling-like bond and so, the decision to join Eight 8 Lines was easy. It felt like the group’s ideas and values resonated with me, they bring together people from all walks of life, of different levels, who share the same passion for running,”
It wasn’t long before Nsimba’s perspective towards sport and exercising drastically changed. “Running in a group creates a unique dynamic of motivation that I never felt before,” she explains. Attending the meet-ups every Monday, she began to establish a balanced routine of staying active that “enables members like myself to maintain a drive to run.” As a result of her attendance, the runner went on to sign up for various long-distance races, attributing the range of abilities in the group to a “unique form of mental support” that embraces the club’s mantra: Alone we go fast, together we go far.
“These moments after the sessions strengthen the sense of belonging.”
Besides the physical benefits, Eight 8 Lines aims to create a cultural experience for its runners. As well as planning routes around landmarks such as Hôtel de Ville, Louvre, and Panthéon, several creatives that have joined the group have helped to put on small events and parties after runs as a sort of reward for finishing the workout. “We foster the emergence of new creative voices within our community,” Nsimba says. Whether a roadside DJ set, impromptu photo shoot, or food tasting, the run club offers a platform to express creativity without taking away from the fitness element. “These moments after the sessions strengthen the sense of belonging and make the experience more enjoyable.”
Above all, inclusivity remains key to the running club’s success. To unite more Parisians through the act of running, Eight 8 Lines commits itself to giving back to the community by offering free equipment, training sessions, and the opportunity to partake in charity work. “We try to collect sports shoes and redistribute them to those in need,” she reflects. “Already, we have implemented initiatives in Lebanon and Sri Lanka but aim to expand internationally soon.” An exciting project next year will see the introduction of a youth team where the runner will join a committee to select athletes from various neighborhoods and help them find sponsors. In a proud statement of the future, she expresses, “Our goal is to look beyond ourselves and support these talents.”
Discover the new Hypebae-produced campaign featuring Nsimba and the Eight 8 Lines community in the gallery above.
To shop Nike’s new Pegasus 41 running sneaker, head to the brand’s website, global stores, and select partner stockists now.
