Gatorade’s latest advert campaign, with the slogan “Fuel the Love Forward”, features, besides Serena Williams and Usain Bolt, also April Ross, who shares her story about how she fell in love with volleyball and how she uses sports to support gender equality and communities in Rwanda.
In the 64-second spot, the professional beach volleyball player says: “I’m a Southern California girl. I spent summers at the beach. Having bonfires, surfing. It was always the beach. I had no idea then that volleyball would become the love of my life. When I was 14, I had a moment. I remember running this 1-2-3 set and everything just slowed down. It was all a rhythm and I just crushed it.
It was the first time volleyball really clicked for me and I knew that I could be good at it. The more that I play, the more help I realize I need and, at the same time, the more help I need to give other people. In partnership with Gatorade I’m able to use sports to promote gender equity and communities in Rwanda. I know now it’s more about the process than the outcome. Help Fuel the Love Forward.