The Power of Sport: Clementine Painter’s Legacy of Empowerment

Welcome to the Legacy All Stars podcast. We feature inspirational stories from people who dedicate themselves to helping others. Here is your host, Alan Pavloski. Welcome back to the Legacy All Stars podcast where we celebrate inspirational people making a difference in the lives of others. Today's episode of the Legacy All Stars podcast. I am honored to welcome Clementine Painter, a true change maker in the world of sports. With a career spanning over 20 years, Clementine has led purpose driven initiatives at Adidas or Adidas, launched France's first online fitness platform and created partnerships that have empowered over 70,000 girls through sports. Her work blends innovation, equity and sustainability, proving that sports is not just about competition, it's about transformation. Today we'll hear her story, her vision, and the lessons she's learned from driving systemic change in one of the most powerful industries in the world. Clementine, welcome to the Legacy All Stars. Appreciate you coming.

Thank you so much, Helen for having me today and warm welcome to everyone who will tune in later. I'm really excited to be here and to share this conversation with you. I've always believed that sport is more really than competition. So I've quite a lot of really exciting things to discuss with you.

Absolutely. Looking forward to it. Let's first talk about your personal journey and inspiration. You've had such a varied career, from sales to entrepreneurship to global leadership at Adidas. What drew you to focus on purpose driven work?

Yeah, it's an interesting one and I think it's important to start with that. Sport for me is more than competition, it's about community, it's about belonging, it's about empowerment. Early in my career I realized that business and purpose don't have to be different. In fact, they can fuel each other because when you invest in impact, you build trust, you build loyalty and that energy will obviously support the business, the performance of the organization. There are many, many reports now showing the link between purp work and success. So for me that's full circle sport and business working nn and to basically achieve something that bigger than results, to create really something real, something that have a lasting impact.

Yeah, you really can do good while doing well. Right? You launched France's first online gym club back in 2009. How did that early entrepreneurial chapter shape your approach later on?

Yes, that was an interesting part of my career, this startup. So launching France's first online fitness club back in 2009, it was an adventure. It was both from an innovation perspective, but also from a collaboration perspective because I had the concept but like to make it concrete to make it real, I needed some support, I needed some help, I needed the right partners, I needed a platform, I needed coaches. And working closely with the coaches helped me to really deliver a concept that evolved and that was really answering the needs of the community I wanted to serve. So we started with the classics like body sculpt or stretching. And then working with the coaches we evolved with post natal classes, for example. Another element of this experience that's worth mentioning here. I managed to pick partners like Adidas or Veleda to sponsor me and my concept that meant that coaches were Adidas. If someone was registering for a month's classes, they would get Veleda oil to ease the sore muscles or they would get an Adidas outfit. Having Bing brands by my side really gave the project instant credibility and taught me how really powerful partnerships can build impact and trust. That experience really showed me the importance of listening, co creating and bringing the right partners together. So those lessons really I carried forward all of my work later on.

That's great. Let's talk about your work at Adidas. Tell us about the spark that created the Breaking Barriers project and how it grew into something that touched over 70,000 girls.

Well, the spark came from a very clear but troubling reality that I'm sure you and a lot of the listeners have heard. Almost one in two girls are dropping out of sport during adolescence compared with one in three boys. And the reasons are various. Lack of access, cultural expectations, confidential issues, even things as basic as not having the right kit. So we approached it almost like entrepreneurial challenge, really trying to find first of all, what are those barriers really and then tackling one by one those barriers. So it also meant doing some research papers to inform our work. It obviously means finding the right partners because Adidas was just a brand selling products like we didn't know like where those barriers, like how to tackle those. So we partnered with gender equity experts like womanwing coaches, experts like Soccer Without Borders or Common Goals, for example, to have the scale. But we'll talk about that later. Really co creating the solution with those partners was really helpful. And we had a few moments during the project quite early on where we had to pivot because you had our Covid moment. We had planned so many good in person events and we basically had to shift everything online. But in the end I think that helped us really reaching even more people. So not too bad, not too bad. That experience really taught me to be agile. And yeah, it's good to have a plan, but it's also good to know when to pivot.

Yeah. You know an old saying, one is not judged by how they succeed, but how they react to failure and or different circumstances. You talked about the pivot and I think it's so impressive that there's certain organizations that were able to pivot from COVID and some that just didn't really react quickly enough or understand what was needed to be different. And so it's really great to hear that you were able to pivot during COVID and make this a success even with that challenge.

Yeah, I'm very happy we managed to do that. Really?

Yeah. Beyond the numbers, what are you most proud of from that initiative?

Yes, I mean the numbers. Obviously this is something we had in mind as a vision. The project started really as a five year commitment to support 15 nonprofit organization across Europe to empower 100 champions and to reach 50,000 girls. We overachieved this one and really glad we did. But obviously those numbers tell only a part of the story. What really stays with me is more the individual impact that we didn't plan. So many girls. I saw so many girls really changing, like gaining so much more confidence, acting as role models in their communities, starting their own local initiatives. To give you a few examples of outcomes, we didn't plan because it was a pan European project. The common language was English. Some of the girls, some of the staff members we worked with, English was not their first language. So at the beginning it was a bit of a challenge. And in the end most of them are fluent. So that's an outcome we didn't even think about. But that open doors for them. Some of the champions, another example, some of the champions are now part of the board of their non profit organization. So we just give them a little push, like a bit more confidence and they took the chance and they succeeded. So yeah, very happy about all those outcomes. We didn't expect, we didn't plan.

Yeah. Unintended consequences don't always have to be bad, right?

No, exactly, exactly. No, it's really the combination of the scale and the human impact. It's really what makes this project very special.

Yeah. Some of your work tackled topics that were once taboo, like menstruation and breast health. How did these efforts change the conversation in sports?

Well, those topics had been ignored for years, sometimes like you said, even considered taboo for too long. Yet if nearly one in two girls are dropping out of spot, we can't overlook barriers linked to their bodies changing and their well being. So again here we didn't assume anything. We worked with researchers with Coaches with the nonprofits to really create practical solutions. And I would say we started with the education bit, but obviously it also included bra fittings, for example, because a lot of women are actually wearing the wrong size bra because they've never had a proper bra fitting. So I mean in everyday life of a woman, it's not nice. But especially in women and girls like playing sport, it's even worse. I think what changed is that these conversations moved from whispers, you know, on the sidelines to really being part of the mainstream sport culture. Coaches because they heard what we were saying to the girls. For example, because we did menstruation awareness workshop with Manchester United, with Newcastle, with Team gb. Some coaches were here and they heard that we were talking about that. So then the girls were more confident coming to the coaches to talk about that. And the coaches were also more confident for that conversation. So more support, less embarrassment and that's really naming the barrier, working together on solution. It kind of normalized the conversation and yeah, it helped keeping more girls in sport. So I think, yeah, we opened some doors. Still some work to do for sure.

You talked about some of the unintended consequences or additional effects that you didn't expect. But can you share one really personal, unexpected success story from this program that really stays with you?

I have many, but you said one.

Well, you can share one or two. But I just think that there's so many powerful things that can be shared by the behind the scenes, unintended portion of what these kinds of programs can do to help people.

Yeah, I think what I really, really enjoyed and I think that this is also where the impact on the overall industry was the biggest. It's when we managed to bring all the different work streams from the project together. So let's say we are in one of our clubs, like a sponsored club at Adidas and there is a topic that is covered by a startup we've been working on like the body of a Woman. So the WELLHQ to name them. We worked with them for all demonstration awareness workshop. And then we also have an athlete coming in to do some Q and A with the girls. But we also have a champion who is talking about the overall project of breaking bars. I think this is for me where the magic happens where we manage to connect all the dots together from the project and also internally linking to a product. For example, with Adidas having a really big range of different bras for different support, for different sizes, different body shapes or period proof types or adaptive products. So yes, I think when all the Dots are connected. This is, for me, where most impactful.

Got it. Got it. The Breaking Barriers program scaled beyond Europe through Breaking Barriers Academy, as well as partnerships with groups like Common Goal and Soccer Without Borders. What did you learn about collaboration through that process?

A lot. A lot, A lot, a lot. I learned that true collaboration is built on humility and trust. Like, not Adidas, not Common Goal, not Women Win, not Manchester United. No one can solve systemic barriers alone. But if we come together, then we can really drive change. When you bring people together around a shared objective, suddenly the impact is so much bigger. I worked with grassroots organizations, startup federations. Really, it's not about the logos. It's really about pulling our resources together, our brains together, listening to each other and building solutions that the community or the audience will truly need. So, yes, I learned a lot about collaboration.

Looking back, what do you see as the most enduring legacy of your work at Adidas?

I think the most enduring legacy is the community that has been built internally and externally. Equity in sport is no longer a conversation happening in, like, small circles independently. It's really something that people across the company and beyond are coming together to champion. We had Adidas employees who mentored also some of the champions or who advised some of the startup. And basically we built this amazing community of change makers who have equity really in mind. And that really created a strong sense of community around inclusion and building a more equitable world of sport. So for me, I think that's the community.

Right. There's a lot of publicity right now around some of the more popular and or women's sports that have much greater impact than they used to have. Do you see any ties to the work that you did and how powerful that was to have the spark or the tipping point that would help us get to where we are now? I mean, you see women's football or soccer, you see women, women's basketball, you see track. I mean, there's so many.

Rugby is massive.

I mean, England right now, there's so many.

It's really crazy to see and really encouraging. Yeah.

Do you see the connection between the hard work and the seeds that you had to plant when you were in this program to where some of those successes have come?

Yes, because I think also in this topic, everyone is sharing their learnings, their challenges, their connection. And I think this is helping to kind of, yes, maybe football is a bit more advanced because there is more media coverage, for example, more obviously resources, but then the other sports can just basically learn from that and grow quicker. So, yes, I think it's accelerating, thanks to everyone sharing their best practices. There's not one day when I don't see something on LinkedIn, someone sharing a playbook, someone sharing a report. So, yeah, I'm hopeful. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, there's a certain amount of scaffolding that goes on in any organization or any industry, but this one in particular, because of the media coverage, seems to have people that are able to scaffold what others have done and grow the sport or the initiative even greater than what it was before.

Yeah, definitely.

Yeah. Let's talk about the future. You've said that your daughter inspires your work that you do. What kind of sporting world do you hope she and her generation will inherit?

So she plays football in a girl's team. She used to play in Germany, and we found very easily another team for her here in the uk. And I'm very, very happy for that. I really hope that she grows up in a world where sport simply belongs to her, like, without stigma, without barriers, without hesitation, where she sees as many women as men, leading teams, coaching, shaping the industry. And lastly, I think I would hope that she and her generation use sport not just to compete, but also to connect, to grow, to drive positive change. Because the power of SPOT is just tremendous in terms of connecting people and unifying people. So, yeah, that would be my. My hope for her and her generation, for sure.

For organizations listening today that want to, you know, move beyond talk, what's the very first step you'd recommend to create measurable impact?

It's very simple. The first step is to listen. To listen really actively, deeply to the communities that this organization want to serve. Not to assume anything, not to assume that the organization knows the solution. Start with one small, one concrete pilot. For example, something that they can measure, something that they can learn from and that then they can scale. They just need to start. But simple, small is better than not doing anything.

Yeah. Well, when you think about your legacy, and this is important to me because that's what this show is all about, is legacy. When you think about your legacy, not just professionally, but as a mother, a leader and advocate, what do you hope people will say about the difference you made?

I hope people will say that I helped open doors, that I used sport as a way to create belonging, confidence, opportunity for those who might have been left out on a personal level, like as a mother, but also as a leader. I hope that my daughter, my teams, my colleagues will remember me, that I stood for equity, that I believed change was possible, and that I basically, basically acted on that belief.

Yeah. Yeah. That's great. Well, we've come to the end of our time together. I want to thank my distinguished guest, Clementine Painter, for sharing her inspirational story with us today. I hope her story has inspired you to take action and make a difference. Just like she just said, it wasn't just about putting the pieces together and putting the plan together. It's about acting. So I hope you all find something that means something personal for you to make a difference and take action. I'm Alan Pavloski signing off for Legacy All Stars.