Nike promotes 'nonbinary furry' culture in new ad campaign

Nike’s latest collaboration with Martine Rose is centered around competitive gamers, with the ad campaign for the collection featuring, among others, Dominique McLean, better known by the name "SonicFox." McLean is a nonbinary furry.

In a 2018 interview with Kotaku, McLean said, "I was a furry before I started playing fighting games." McLean said that he discovered his "fursona," or furry persona, at the age of 10 or 11, but did not begin donning furry attire until the age of 16, first with a pair of fox ears. McLean now dons a blue and white anthropomorphic fox outfit.

The Nike collection is described as being "inspired by the spirit of 1990s LAN parties — or in-person gaming gatherings — the collection challenges convention by blurring the lines between sport, gaming and streetwear. Rooted in sport heritage and informed by gaming culture, the collection comprises a range of silhouettes designed for the modern athlete: connected, competitive and boldly expressive."

"The campaign channels Martine’s long-standing fascination with the intersection of sport, identity and culture, featuring a cast of elite gamers as digital athletes. The skill and intensity of Ana, Billy Mitchell, Scarlett, SonicFox and TenZ take center stage in imagery created through a nostalgic lens that nods to vintage Nike ads featuring the top athletes of their era."

McLean appeared both in and out of the fox outfit for the campaign. One shot in which McLean appears without the fox mask shows the gamer appearing to look like a werewolf, while other images show McLean appearing with the fox mask.

McLean came out as nonbinary in 2019, writing at the time, "Hey ya’ll! I’ve been thinking critically about myself these last couple of months, and my entire life perspective on how I look. The more I reflect on my pass and likes the more this makes sense to me. With that being said, I’m coming out as a Non-Binary Man! (He/They) please!"

"I’ve always found myself enjoying things that were typically considered ‘not masculine’ and I’ve always thought of myself as 50% masc and 50% feminine. But I always felt ridiculed and made fun of for liking the more ‘feminine’ things of life.

McLean later added, "And in time I could see myself dropping the He/Him pronouns. I cannot tell if I am genderfluid or not, but I feel identifying as a cis-man just isn’t too right. I definitely know I don’t feel like a woman either, but something in between like He They spectrum I feel fits me most. Hell even when I called myself gay for simplicity purposes, something always felt off about that as well. I’ll probably still continue to say I’m gay but in true hindsight, I think I am prooooobably pansexual. Not sure yet. Sexuality and Gender is confusin’ sometimes!!"

Per Them, McLean, described as the "LeBron James of gaming," won best esports player at the 2018 Game Awards and is tied for the most EVO Championships ever with eight wins. McLean has won over $800,000 across his career.