Fourth grader Evie Hoffman with her Mallory Swanson Gx Gatorade bottle. Players on Gatorade’s roster have inspired Hoffman to push herself farther than she thinks she can. Photo Credit: Shawna Hoffman

Gatorade’s Gx Collaboration water bottles feature athletes who are renowned in their sport and advocate for societal issues. Gatorade has added several prominent female athletes to their roster in recent years, which has given the women a platform to inspire young girls. 

Gatorade contracts are a prestigious deal that many athletes covet. The brand’s scope allows athletes to reach more people than the athlete alone, giving them the chance to advertise their values on a large platform.

Women’s sports across the field have gained popularity because of increased opportunities such as partnering with Gatorade.

The spotlight on female athletes continues to expand as people advocate for representation. Increased exposure to outstanding athletes, such as basketball sensation Caitlin Clark, has aided this process. Clark’s exceptional abilities, coupled with the noticeably high rate of media coverage throughout her early career, have helped her name become widely known across the country.

Clark collaborated with Gatrorade on a limited edition capsule collection in Dec. 2023. This box included a Gx bottle and towel, co-designed by Clark alongside Gatorade. Her designs featured her jersey number, 22, and self-selected slogan: Dream Big.

The athletes’ focus of these collaborations is clearly promoted by Gatorade, and Clark shared hers with NIL Daily shortly after the release of her products. “This collab is all about inspiring young girls to chase their dreams. I always dream big, and now I want to show them: you can too,” Clark expressed.

Many of Gatorade’s other featured athletes share similar ambitions to Clark’s, which they’ve advertised through their respective projects. Sydney McLaughlin, an elite track and field athlete, designed her bottle in 2022 to encourage everyone, youth in particular, to live their lives independent from the opinions of others. To “run their own race.”

Young people look to stars like Clark and McLaughlin to be their role models, and girls especially need strong leaders to show them they have a place in sports if they choose it.

Global stars like Serena Williams, who created not one but four versions of a Gx bottle design in 2020, are leading this cause.

Williams was the first athlete to be brought into the design studio with Gatorade’s team to co-design a water bottle. She wanted to stress the strength needed to be a mother as well as an elite athlete, which Gatorade fully enabled her to do. Williams has been recognized for her incredible career and life through these bottles, and seeing such an influential woman working with a famed brand lets girls know they too can accomplish great feats.

Senior varsity tennis player Victoria Rice has seen the impact of Williams’ powerful collaboration with Gatorade. “Gatorade collabs and collabs in general definitely improve viewership of women’s sports and also support the female athletes themselves, which is really important,” Rice noted.

Gatorade’s unique approach to female representation has allowed their message to penetrate many different age groups and environments. Water bottles are seen everywhere, from shelves in stores to desks in schools and easily spread awareness of women’s sports. 

Fourth grader Evie Hoffman received Mallory Swanson’s Gx Gatorade bottle for her birthday last year, and it has compelled her to interact with sports. “Once I got the water bottle, I watched more basketball and football. It just inspired me with sports,” Hoffman explained.

When such a commonplace item as a water bottle becomes the medium by which ideas are spread, people adopt the ideas almost subconsciously. The mere exposure to athletes on water bottles can familiarize the names and peak curiosity, drawing in more young people to get involved.

Girls are exposed to women they might never have heard of and begin to wonder how they can become like those athletes.

Swanson and Clark are some of these inspirations to many young girls, including Hoffman, and  they have encouraged their fans to try something out of their comfort zone. “The [Gatorade] bottle inspired me and got me back in the habit of golf,” Hoffman shared. “My biggest inspiration is Caitlin Clark. When I play golf, I feel like I can hear her voice and it’s like she is telling me to push beyond my limits. Telling me to try harder.”

More girls are participating in sports and traditionally “boyish” activities due to the rising representation of women in sports. Gatorade’s collaborative collections are one of the factors contributing to this. 

“Having products endorsed by athletes inspires the next generation to pursue sports as well, especially when they see people that look like them,” Rice reflected.Gatorade’s innovative Gx Collaboration Bottles have allowed women’s sports to diffuse into everyday life and facilitated the spread of athletes’ hopes to better the game for future players. As the Gatorade roster athletes aim to emphasize, it’s all about “fueling tomorrow.”