François Arnaud Is Turning Up the Heat as Under Armour’s New Global Ambassador
If you needed another excuse to appreciate François Arnaud’s… work… Under Armour just gave us one. The sportswear brand has announced the Heated Rivalry star as its newest global brand ambassador, with Arnaud leading its new “For When It’s Hot” campaign centered around the company’s iconic HeatGear® line and other training essentials. The partnership arrives just months after Heated Rivalry turned the actor into one of the internet’s favorite hockey boyfriends, making the timing feel almost too perfect.
For us, though, what makes this campaign especially worth celebrating isn’t just that Arnaud looks great in compression shirts. It’s that Under Armour is embracing him as he is.
Arnaud, who publicly came out as bisexual in 2020, has become an increasingly visible queer figure in mainstream entertainment. Rather than downplaying that part of who he is, the campaign leans into it in a way that feels refreshingly natural.
The campaign video is simple but knows exactly what it’s doing. On a sweltering summer day, Arnaud works out in full Under Armour gear while two unsuspecting neighbors become equally distracted by the view. One is a woman trying to cool off with a drink. The other is a man washing a car. As the camera alternates between Arnaud exercising and the pair openly admiring him, the joke becomes clear: everyone is thirsting over François Arnaud.
When his workout ends, Arnaud pulls off his shirt, wipes away the sweat, notices his audience with a grin, and tosses the shirt straight toward the camera before the screen cuts to black. It’s cheeky, self-aware, and notably never treats the attraction from either character as unusual. They’re simply both captivated.
That may seem like a small creative choice, but it’s one we don’t take for granted. Major athletic brands haven’t always been eager to embrace queer representation in their marketing, particularly when it comes to presenting bisexuality without turning it into the punchline. Here, the joke isn’t that a man is checking out another man. The joke is that François Arnaud is so ridiculously attractive that nobody can keep their eyes off him.
Speaking about the partnership, Arnaud reflected on how unexpected the moment feels. “If you’d told the skinny awkward kid I used to be that one day I’d be an ambassador for a sportswear brand, I would’ve laughed.”
He continued: “What makes this moment feel so special is that it’s a reminder that we don’t always end up where we expect, and growth can look very different from what we imagined. Grateful and honored to partner with Under Armour, who were willing to meet me right where I want to be.”
Under Armour says it was drawn to Arnaud because of what he represents as much as his on-screen presence, pointing to authenticity and self-confidence as qualities that align with the brand’s evolving identity. The company also acknowledged the excitement surrounding his breakout role in Heated Rivalry, noting the enthusiasm from fans and the organic connection between the series and the brand.
Considering how often we watched Scott Hunter train in Under Armour throughout Heated Rivalry, seeing that relationship evolve into an official partnership feels like one of those rare moments where marketing actually makes perfect sense.
And if this is what “when it’s hot” looks like, we completely understand why the neighbors stopped what they were doing.
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Featured Image: Image via Under Armour.
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