Eyewitness report, 23 July 2026

Some partnership requests take three meetings just to figure out whether they make any sense at all. And then there's this one: Dan Garten and adidas are dropping a capsule collection about gay life in Berlin. We're bringing free STI testing. Concept done. No follow-up questions required.

So on 23 July we set up our own stand in the adidas Sports Base Berlin, with tests and a whole pile of goodies. The event was open to everyone, no guest list, no door policy, which is frankly how all of our lives should work. That's exactly why we passed the invitation on to you through our Instagram story beforehand. More on who actually turned up later.

The collection: Berlin, unfiltered

There's Pride merch that looks like it was rushed through a rainbow filter sometime in May. And then there's this.

The shirts and trousers say things like "Gay approved" and "Basic gay", plus "too broke for Mitte" and "too gay for Wedding". One tote reads "Meet me at the Stufen", which you either get instantly or you've simply never been to Prinzenbad. There's also a Speedo, a cap and a towel.

Every line is an inside joke. And every single one lands. "too broke for Mitte" could just as easily have been printed on our last bank statement.

Our stand: testing, spinning, talking

We brought two things:

Free STI testing for every guest. On site, no appointment, no need to explain yourself. Results came back the very next day.

A serious amount of goodies. From vouchers to Gut Feeling to Reality Check, our test for home use.

What we didn't bring: any realistic idea of how the evening would actually go.

Our plan was roughly this: nice event, a few drinks, people spin the wheel (we brought an actual prize wheel for exactly that purpose, heh). Instead, people talked. Not small talk between two beers, but real conversations. About testing intervals. About shame. About why getting hold of a test result has to be this complicated in the first place. About the things friends had told them and which of it is actually true.

The evening at our stand, in four phases:

6:30 PM: "So what exactly are you doing here?"
7:15 PM: "Wait. Free? Just like that?"
8:00 PM: "I've got a question, it's probably a stupid one."
9:30 PM: Goodbye hug.

Quick note at this point: none of those questions were stupid. They only feel that way as long as there's nobody around to ask.

The vibe

Nobody doing the bouncer stare, no scene attitude. Instead, a room where people said out loud what they'd otherwise type into a search bar at 2 AM before closing the tab immediately. Somewhere between Speedos and drinks.

Some of you were there too. You got tested and talked to us and asked questions that rarely find a good place to land.

And then came the part nobody had prepared us for: so many of you thanked us. For being there. For the fact that sexual health education doesn't have to come with a wagging finger. Some of you hugged us goodbye. Just like that. Excuse us, how unbelievably sweet are you? 🥹🫶

Thank you

Thank you to Dan for the invitation and for a collection that gets Berlin exactly as Berlin is. Thank you to adidas Sports Base Berlin for the space and the organisation. And thank you to everyone who came by, including those who walked past the stand three times before working up the nerve.

Pride is more than a slot in the calendar. So is taking care of your own sexual health.

So: ask. Get tested. Talk about it, as openly as you did at our stand. Not just in July, but all year round.