Fighters Overcome Obstacles in ‘The Ring’ for Futuristic Films’ Striking Hayabusa Spot

For the launch of Hayabusa’s first-ever athleisure line, the fight apparel brand approached Futuristic Films and director Jasper Gray to create, shoot and edit a brand anthem. The vibrant hero film centres around the ‘The Ring’ - known in combat sports as a place of honour and respect, where fighters come for the ultimate challenge and to improve themselves. The fighters featured in the film are Hayabusa athletes and brand ambassadors who enter a surreal, industrial world and through a striking and symbolic visual narrative, overcome their inner obstacles to join forces as a team.

Hayabusa (Japanese for ‘peregrine falcon’) is a global leader in the combat equipment and technical fight apparel industry - most well known for its boxing gloves that are used by professional fighters and combat athletes around the world. Taking a step into the leisure clothing world for the first time, the brand’s athleisure line is designed around athletes’ lifestyles, whilst embodying Hayabusa's high-end quality and design language.

To portray the athletes’ fighting spirit alongside the comfort of the new athleisure products, Futuristic Films transformed a warehouse into a hyper-moody, dreamlike environment, using LED lighting to punctuate highlights of colour against the darkness. An LED light tube ‘ring’ hangs above the fighters as they perform a series of technical stunts and combat displays - punching through glass, exploding through piles of rocks and shadowboxing between lasers. 

This footage was captured in an overnight shoot after weeks of pre-production, under the careful watch of director Jasper Gray and DoP, Will Gardner. The all-nighter generated an excitement matched by both the crew and the athletes - whose stunts were made all the more impactful by Futuristic Films’ own senior editor, Matt Wade. 

Going above and beyond the brief that asked for “striking visuals of people looking badass,” the film is an original direction for the brand, whilst still capturing the essence and values of Hayabusa and the combat lifestyle. Creating a group of superheroes and an engaging, dynamic world for them to exist in, Jasper pushed the boundaries of what the standard clothing launch looks like as Futuristic Films saw the project through from storyboard to the final product.