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As a footballer, David Beckham never shied away from a challenge, and that made him one of the biggest stars in his sport, both in the United Kingdom and far beyond. For the watch brand Tudor, which signed him as a brand ambassador, Beckham ventured into a world entirely new to him and was introduced to the art of freediving. In this article, we tell our readers about this unusual adventure.
David Beckham and Tudor – Partners Since 2017
In 2017, it was announced that Tudor and world-famous football icon David Beckham had agreed on a partnership, with the legendary athlete set to serve as brand ambassador for the sister brand of Rolex. As the face of Tudor's new campaign, the former football star was to help make the brand's watches even better known worldwide while also reaching new audiences.
Signing prominent figures from sports or from the arts, such as music or film, is a long-standing tradition among makers of fine luxury watches. It is always about achieving a desired image transfer as well: certain qualities of the star in question are brought to the fore so that, going forward, the public will associate them with the watch brand.
In David Beckham's case, the focus was likely above all on his remarkable run of success, sustained over many years with some of the most famous football clubs in the world, which made him one of the best-known sports personalities internationally in the late 1990s and the 2000s.
David Beckham: Playing for Top Teams in England, Italy, and Spain
The major milestones of Beckham's career as a professional footballer include clubs such as Manchester United, AC Milan, and Real Madrid. In addition, Beckham captained the England national team from 2000 to 2006. One of the absolute highlights of his sporting career was undoubtedly the treble in 1998/99. That season, with his club at the time, Manchester United, Beckham won not only the English league championship but also the FA Cup.
And finally, the Manchester side also managed to defeat FC Bayern Munich in the Champions League. When Beckham announced the end of his football career in 2013 at the age of 38, he could look back on an impressive number of victories, and he remained very much in the public eye. The former pro's enormous popularity has not waned to this day. He has more than 37 million followers on Instagram, and on Facebook almost 55 million people regularly keep up with their star's latest activities.
Known for His Fashion Sense and Individual Style
One reason for this is likely that Beckham still stands out for his keen interest in fashion and an individual style that had already become his trademark on the pitch. He has long been regarded as a male style icon and a sought-after advertising partner for a wide range of brands. Incidentally, he shares his strong fashion sense with his wife Victoria, who first rose to international fame as a singer with the Spice Girls and later went on to build a successful career as a fashion designer that continues to this day.
The courage David Beckham repeatedly demonstrated through his committed play on the pitch, but also through his independent fashion choices, was accordingly placed at the center of Tudor's campaign with the famous footballer, whose motto is "Born to dare."
Whereas Beckham had previously often been seen in public wearing Rolex watches, the posters used in the campaign now featured products from the smaller sister brand. Chief among them was the new Heritage Black Bay S&G dive watch launched in 2017.
Speaking about the start of his collaboration with Tudor, the football star said that what fascinated him most about Tudor's watches was the attention to detail they express. He added that he had also learned more about the luxury watch brand's history, shaped by adventures and daring expeditions, which immediately won him over.
Models such as the Heritage Black Bay S&G, as well as the Black Bay Chrono and the Black Bay Bronze, likely appealed to him above all because, in addition to their high durability and reliability, they feature a design that doesn't push itself obtrusively into the foreground yet can be distinguished at first glance from countless other products on the dive watch market.
Exploring Below the Surface
In spring 2019, Tudor announced that, as part of the joint advertising campaign – true to its motto "Born to dare" – David Beckham had ventured into a completely new realm and accompanied reigning freediving world champion Morgan Bourc'his on one of his dives in the open sea. Video footage captured on this occasion shows Beckham training for the adventure on land in full diving gear and being taught the special breathing techniques of freedivers by Bourc'his, before the two head out to sea together to dive.
Born in France in 1978, Morgan Bourc'his was considered an excellent swimmer from an early age. At 22, he moved to Marseille, where he began to devote himself intensively to freediving. In this sport, he won the world championship title in Egypt in 2008 as a member of the French national team.
His greatest success to date, however, is considered to be a feat accomplished in September 2013. At that time, Bourc'his became world champion in constant weight without fins, reaching a depth of 87 meters. On that occasion, with a depth of 89 meters, he even surpassed the existing French record of minus 89 meters, and in 2017 he improved once again to an almost unbelievable depth of 90 meters.
David Beckham Leaves His Comfort Zone and Overcomes Himself
Diving alongside such an experienced and successful freediving world champion was certainly no everyday experience for Beckham either. In fact, he stated that he first had to overcome his initial reservations and step out of his comfort zone. But he said he likes putting himself in challenging and uncomfortable situations because they bring out the best in him.
For this experience, Beckham and Bourc'his were accompanied not by the Black Bay Bronze or the Black Bay Chrono, but by chronometer-certified models from the Pelagos collection. Derived from the Greek word for "living in the open sea," the collection's name alludes to the fact that these watches are especially resistant to water ingress and thus ideally suited to demanding, extended underwater use.
Their water resistance is rated at an impressive 500 meters, and in the manufacturer's own tests they even withstand pressure of up to 62.5 bar. Their titanium cases and bracelets are about forty percent lighter than stainless steel, and the power reserve of the in-house manufacture movement developed by Tudor is a generous up to 70 hours.
