A real brand has long been Patrick Lange, one of the world’s most successful triathletes. In his still relatively young professional career, he has already made history. Not only is Patrick a two-time Ironman World Champion in Hawaii, but he was also the first athlete to break the magic 8-hour barrier at the prestigious race and still holds the running course record for what is probably the world’s most famous triathlon. Now Patrick Lange is taking the next step in his career.

After a nearly year-long Corona-related break from competition, Patrick put a real exclamation point on his first two races of the 2021 season in Tulsa, USA, and four weeks earlier in Gran Canaria. With the victory at the Ironman Tulsa as well as fourth place before in with world-class athletes peppered starter fields he puts the triathlon scene with his courageous races in appreciative astonishment.

Yes, Patrick has changed. He has worked meticulously on his physiological potential, but also on his appearance as a professional athlete. He has found himself even more, and with the start of the 2021 season, he will present the (sports) world with his logo PL5 and his new website www.patrick-lange.org.

With bib number 5, I won my first world title in Hawaii. On that day, not only a childhood dream came true. This victory was my breakthrough as a professional athlete. For me, the 5 still stands for all my commitment, the will and the attention to detail with which I pursue my sport every single day. And for all the dreams I still want to fulfill.

– Patrick Lange, 2-time Ironman World Champion (Credit: Björn Hunger)

So straightforward, emotional and authentic as Patrick himself is the new appearance. Powerful and dynamic is the logo design, whose clear shapes are mirrored in the website design. Patrick’s values and standards as a brand are ideally visualized, thus also offering his stakeholders a visual anchor of his personality.

A consistent presence across all channels is arguably the most important asset for professional athletes, aside from athletic success. A clear brand strengthens the marketing potential vis-à-vis sponsors and the media many times over and reinforces the differentiation from competitors. Finally, an own brand can also be used to build up own merchandising lines, which results in another source of finance. But only if the brand in all its manifestations does justice to the athlete in the sense of identity-oriented brand management will it be successful in the long term – even beyond the active career.