Rebeca Andrade: the people outside the frame

An athlete’s name rarely contains the whole story of an achievement. Adidas’s Illuminated documentary series proposed a different frame, looking at the relationships that surround the performance rather than only at its result.

WAYFARER covered the project in April 2025, including a planned episode with gymnast Rebeca Andrade and her coach, Xico Porath Neto. The pairing gave the Brazilian story a specific centre: the connection between an athlete and someone whose work is part of the preparation that an audience does not usually see.

The wider series also featured figures including Aitana Bonmatí, Mikaela Shiffrin and Anthony Edwards. Its opening chapter followed Edwards with his friend Nick Maddox, placing memories and conversation alongside a public sporting career.

As a cultural proposition, the project asks for a useful adjustment of attention. Coaches, friends and family are not incidental extras in a story that belongs to one star. They can be part of the structure that makes sustained work possible. The podium produces an individual photograph. The longer account begins outside its frame.