The Case Study Interview with 2025 and 2026 Virgil Abloh™ “Post-Modern” Scholar Aaron Williams explores the thinking behind his Arena x YMCA case study, which examines how a swimwear brand and community organization could collaborate to expand access to swimming while strengthening Arena’s connection with youth athletes.
Aaron is a finance and management major at Lehigh University and a Division I swimmer. Inspired by his own experience in the sport, his project explores how swimwear brands can partner with organizations such as the YMCA to reach new audiences and create more inclusive pathways into competitive swimming.
In the interview, Aaron explains how starting his swim career at the YMCA laid the foundation for his idea, how he evaluated Arena and the YMCA’s current digital experiences to identify consumer gaps, and why direct-to-consumer retail and seamless purchasing are becoming increasingly important in the swimwear market. He also shares how data analysis skills from his internships informed his case study and offers advice for future Scholars preparing their
📲 Follow Aaron’s journey: LinkedIn
