TOGETHXR, Uninterrupted Join Forces To Tell Incredible Story Of AD

Jessica Robertson, the Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of TOGETHETH
XR, understands both the double-edged swortd that comes with the telling of stories in the sports space in her startup, a collective with women’s sports stars Sue Bird, Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim and Simone Manuel.

“It’s honestly a dream, but it’s also a big responsibility,” Robertson said in a phone interview. “And I think part of the challenge in this space we know to be true is visibility. And when we talk about 4% [of total sports coverage for women’s sports] in coverage, what we don’t talk about is the quality of that coverage, the depth of that coverage, the diversity of that coverage. So we wake up every day, and I do have a freedom of which stories to tell, I’m also mindful of the power and the responsibility of that freedom.”

Accordingly, TOGETHXR chose an inspirational arc, that of the WNBA player Asia “AD” Durr, for a documentary, “Never Knocked Down”, a vital capturing of the zeitgeist of 2022. The partnership with LeBron James’ UNIUNI
NTERRUPTED has produced a riveting look at the WNBA lottery picks’ multi-year return from COVID to the court. Forbes has obtained a first look at this trailer, which you can see below. The full doc will be released on TOGETHXR’s Youtube channel on Aug. 24.

Robertson and the TOGETHXR crew spent hours with Durr, charting their course through both off-the-court physical challenges, the process of coming to terms with their identity (and working with their family on all of it), amid a push to return to the court to play in the most challenging basketball environment possible.

“AD has been through a lot,” Robertson said. “Just naturally, we, as a brand, myself as a storyteller, have been tracking their narrative and journey because there’s a lot of really compelling and interesting and nuanced narrative threads and what they’ve lived over the last few years… Their journey back to basketball and understanding just from a human perspective, when one thing that you self-identify with and through is taken from you, then the big question is not just will it come back. But it’s also, who are you without that thing? And I think AD has been answering those questions in their life.”

It is no accident that Robertson and TOGETHXR chose this story amid alarming levels of attacks, both verbal and physical, directed at the trans community. For Robertson, the way she believes she can best combat that isn’t with statements of denunciation, but by opening the world to stories like Durr’s. Showing, not telling.

“I think it takes a human lens… and storytelling to do that. And Durr perfectly exemplifies that human experience. And also, you’ll fall in love with them, and how could you hate or want to keep her out?… I think rather than taking on issues, strongly making strong statements, which TOGETHXR certainly does because we are also an activist brand, I think there’s a real power in authentic human storytelling.”

Robertson credits Uninterrupted for their partnership, another company who aligns with TOGETHXR’s values, and expects this to be the first of many. It’s part of how allies in this space are collaborating to amplify and change both the stories highlighted and the nature of how they are told.

It’s been something many in this landscape have been saying for a long time, Robertson as vital as any among those doing so. But in “Never Knocked Down”, she’s doing more than telling it. She’s showing it.