Iconic Livestrong bracelet turns 20 years old
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Lance Armstrong wears the iconic yellow Livestrong bracelet in 2007. Photo: Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images
It's been 20 years since a bright yellow bracelet became a cultural phenomenon.
Why it matters: During a giddy period in which Austin laid claim to the world's most famous bicyclist, the Livestrong bracelet thrust the city into the center of global philanthropy.
Flashback: The Austin-based Lance Armstrong Livestrong Foundation partnered with Nike to create the bracelets in 2004 after the shoe company learned the foundation created a program for cancer survivors called Livestrong.
- "They ordered 5 million bands, and we thought there was no way we would sell anywhere close to that amount," Doug Ulman, Livestrong's president during the bracelet's launch and now CEO of Pelotonia, a nonprofit aimed at accelerating cancer research, tells Axios. "It was a new idea and something that had not yet been done. We were wrong. The confluence of events that helped launch the wristband created a fervor that no one could have predicted."
Zoom in: The bands launched on "The Today Show" in May 2004, followed by the Tour de France, where almost every rider wore one.
- Nike's Olympic athletes wore them. John Kerry and George W. Bush both wore them as they faced off in the presidential election. Oprah urged viewers to buy them.
- The foundation says the bracelet was key to its efforts to raise money for cancer support, and they raked in over $100 million for cancer survivors and research programs.
- "We quickly realized that the 5 million was not going to be enough," Ulman says. "We ran out of inventory for a period of time which simply drove more demand."
What they're saying: Ulman, a three-time cancer survivor, says he still keeps his bracelet with him.
- "I stopped wearing mine every day a while back, but I keep one with me at all times. In my bag. In the car. … it is a constant reminder of my own survivorship and that of so many millions of others."
Between the lines: After Armstrong's doping scandal, the foundation was rebranded to Livestrong and contributions to the foundation fell off.
- In 2022, per the most recent tax filings available, the Livestrong Foundation had $1.35 million in revenue.
- A decade earlier, in 2012, just before Armstrong acknowledged his doping in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the foundation's revenue was $38 million.
The big picture: You're unlikely to see someone wearing the bracelet now, although they're still available online through Livestrong for $1. But they're no longer a fundraising incentive, according to Suzanne Stone, the foundation's CEO and president.
- "It's really more than what the dollar is going to raise," Stone tells Axios. "I would argue that the wristband is more relevant than it's ever been. You don't have to be afraid to walk up to somebody else who's wearing a wristband because you know what it means. You have something in common instantly."
What's next: Stone said the foundation will be especially focused on adolescent and young adult cancer patients moving forward.
- Livestrong is fundraising and creating programs for young cancer survivors who will have to manage cancer as a chronic condition for the rest of their lives, Stone said.
- Much of the foundation's work remains based around exercise, holding dozens of triathlons and races — like Austin's Livestrong Challenge — across the country. It has also partnered with the YMCA to create an exercise program for cancer survivors and a program for personal trainers to better help cancer survivors physically recover after treatment.
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