Watch Kevin Plank’s 2016 SXSW Interactive Keynote

"Under Armour is an amazing, powerful brand. I never had a perfect vision of what it would look like, but I got up every day and never believed that it couldn’t happen." – Kevin Plank on building the Under Armour brand from the ground up.

Watch Kevin Plank – founder and CEO of Under Armour – discuss how the brand became a worldwide athletic apparel phenomenon and how the company is winning the battle for best wearable fitness tracker during his 2016 SXSW Interactive Keynote, "How a Sports Giant Is Now Tackling Your Health."

Plank not only discusses what it means to be a true entrepreneur, but also speaks about the will to find a way (to make things happen) when it comes to his brand. He talks about the importance of protecting that brand and how to elevate it to the next level. Plank’s choice for how to define his company? "A performance company," he says, "because it’s completely unlimiting."

With Under Armour’s acquisition of Austin-based startup, Map My Fitness, the company began a new chapter in its history—one based on connected fitness. Their foray into the space can be largely attributed to Plank’s desire to have customer data that could then be used to UA’s advantage to understand more about their community…and they succeeded. With purchases of Endomondo, My Fitness Pal and Map My Fitness, Under Armour is now the largest digital health and connected fitness community in the world, with more than 60 million registered users.

Watch the video above for the full session with Kevin Plank, moderated by Robert Safian, Editor-in-Chief of Fast Company, from Monday, March 14 at SXSW. Browse more 2016 Keynotes, Featured Sessions, Showcases, Red Carpets, Q&As, and more on our YouTube Channel. Stay tuned to sxsw.com and follow us on Twitter for the latest event recaps and 2017 information.

Photo by Jason Bollenbacher/Getty Images for SXSW

By Jordan Roberts

05/19/2016