20 Interesting Nike Facts
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Nike was founded on January 25, 1964, by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight.
Phil Night has written about his journey and how he started Nike in his book Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE.
Many hardcore fans of the brand mispronounce the name ‘Nike’. It is correctly pronounced ‘ny-kee’ which comes from the name of the Greek goddess of victory.
The famous Nike logo was designed for just $35 by Carolyn Davidson, a student at Portland State University. Later, she was given more than $640,000 worth of Nike products.
The slogan of Nike - ‘Just Do It’, was inspired by Gary Gilmore’s last words. The serial killer said ‘Let’s do it’ before he was executed.
Nike sells footwear, clothing, and sports accessories in thousands of stores across the world. In total, there are over 900 million items sold every single year.
When Nike first started, it was called Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1971, its name was changed to Nike.
The Air Jordan 1 was made famous by basketball player Michael Jordan; however, he hated the colors red and black when he first saw the shoes.
Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal (also known as Shaq) went to meet the Nike owners dressed entirely in Reebok apparel. This was because he didn’t want to sign into any contracts with Nike.
The company is constantly trying to introduce new ideas to the market. In 1991, they released denim acid-wash golf shorts, which did not become hugely popular.
The very popular LiveStrong bracelet was first seen in 2008; but, Phil Knight was not convinced of the idea and even laughed at it during an interview with Oprah.
Many names of Nike’s products have been taken from sports teams. For example, ‘Columbia Blue' is named after the ‘Columbia Lions’ - a team that has a blue logo.
Phil Knight was writing one of his college papers when he decided to start his own shoe company. He believed that shoes made in Japan could compete with other sports companies such as Adidas.
Nike supports the University of Oregon and their sports teams, and also provides them with exclusive apparel and funding.
Nike Golf, which is a branch of the Nike company, was started in 1984 by Bill Wood; but, it only gained popularity when Tiger Woods was signed in 1996.
Romanian tennis player Ilie Nastase endorsed Nike in 1972 after signing a contract with them. He was the first athlete to promote Nike.
In 2003, popular footwear store Foot Locker ceased to stock Nike’s more expensive ranges as they believed the prices were too high.
Zoom Air, one of Nike’s most popular shoes, was introduced to the market in 1995 but was first given the name Tensile Air.
Phil Knight, one of the co-founders, wanted to change the name to ‘Dimension 6’, but in the end, Nike was the preferred of the two potential names.
In 1978, Nike created a new advert for their Air Max shoes, and for the first time, a Beatles song was used in a commercial. The song which was chosen for the ad was Revolution No. 9.
Thank you for reading. We hope you like it. Also, check out Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE on the Astrix Shop.