At the turn of the century, cycling was the biggest sport and Major Taylor was its biggest star. Taylor was the first African American world champion, yet no one really knew his story–until now. We launched ‘Major’, a Hennessy V.S campaign that brought light to this incredible man and showed how his inner drive pushed him deeper into competition with his own self.

IN A WORD, I WAS A PIONEER AND HAD TO BLAZE MY OWN TRAIL.

Major Taylor

The films were directed by Derek Cianfrance and included a teaser inspired by a real photo of Major.

To maintain authenticity, we went all the way to Ukraine to shoot inside one of the world’s last existing wooden velodromes.

With photographer, Jack Davison, we nodded to the surreal cues of our film. The stills were seen on their website and in retail.

In collaboration with Affinity Cycles, we also created a custom bike inspired by Major’s actual racing bike. It’s been featured at ComplexCon and in T Magazine’s Editor Picks.

The campaign collaborations extended to a capsule collection by Pyer Moss designer, Kerby Jean-Raymond. ‘MMT 140’ clothing line can be seen at Hypebeast.

We discovered Major’s plaque in his hometown of Indianapolis had been damaged for years. So we worked with artist, Kadir Nelson, to create a bronze statue of Major as a way to pay tribute. The artwork is now on permanent display at the One Tower in NYC.

After our launch, the Major campaign toured with ComplexCon.

A 7X WORLD RECORD HOLDER.
A WORLD CHAMPION.
THE WORCESTER WHIRLWIND.
THE BLACK CYCLONE.

Since the campaign launch, Major Taylor’s legacy has received more attention and was highlighted in New York Times, Overlooked series and in NPR.