Nike

Nike Sneakers

The birth of Nike began in Oregon, USA. Phil Knight, a middle-distance runner and accounting student at the University of Oregon and his coach Bill Bowerman were at the beginning of this great adventure.

When Phil Knight finished his studies in 1962, he went around the world. During his stay in Japan, he took up an old ambition that he shared with Bowerman. Namely, to import Japanese running shoes to the United States and sell them there at a reasonable price. He contacted Onitsuka Tiger, and when they asked about Knight's company in a conversation, he bluffed, saying he represented Blue Ribbon Sports.

The first 200 pairs of shoes arrived in America in December 1963. With these shoes, the company created a good reputation among college athletes. Bowerman was eager to improve the design of the Onitsuka shoe, while Knight could only think of how much more profit it would bring to produce and sell their own shoe. Jeff Johnson, an employee, came up with the name "Nike", derived from the Greek goddess of victory, and the famous logo was designed for $35 by Caroline Davidson, who attended the same university as Knight. It was at that historic moment that Nike was truly born.

Nike parted ways with Onitsuka Tiger in 1972, and the very first Nike shoe made its debut at the Olympic trials in the United States: the "Moon shoe". A year later, Steve Prefontaine became the first major athlete to wear a Nike shoe in competition. In 1974 Bowerman was dreaming of improvements again. This time it was about a new outsole. By pouring rubber into a waffle iron Bowerman created a whole new outsole.

Around 1978, Nike started selling its products abroad; Kenyan marathon runner Henry Reno broke four world records in Nike shoes, and tennis star John McEnroe brought extra attention to the tennis scene by wearing Nike products.

Today, Nike is known for many sneaker silhouettes, but is always recognisable by the famous ‘Swoosh’ that appears on every model. Most popular are the Air Force 1, Air Max 90, Dunk, Air Max 1, Air Max Plus, Air Max 270, Blazer, Air Max 95, Air Max 97, Huarache and Vapormax.

Associated with great athletes like Rafael Nadal, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Tiger Woods, Nike is stronger than ever, continually responding to the needs of the athletes and recognised as one of the best sports brands ever.