When the most decorated 100-metre sprinter ever stepped to the line for a final time, she told herself what she knew: that she was prepared, powerful and this race was hers—for her. The next handful of seconds were to honour everything that had brought her to this moment.Green, yellow and black hair whipping behind her—a self-proclaimed "daughter of the soil", who chose to wear the colours of her nation's flag for her final finish—gold-hued&nbsp;nails splayed in front of her, <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-celebrates-shelly-ann-fraser-pryce" target="_blank">Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce</a> exploded off the blocks in the World Athletics Championship final in a capacity-filled Japan National Stadium in Tokyo. She ended her 100-metre career in the same way she began racing 18 years ago in Japan—with fierce speed, strength and composure. It was a bold tribute to Jamaica, the nation whose unyielding support has carried her through two decades at the top of the sport.In her decades of dominance—from becoming the first Caribbean woman to win Olympic gold in the 100 metres in 2008, to returning as World Champion in 2019 after giving birth to her son, Zyon—Shelly-Ann has embodied the power of duality.&nbsp;The ability to have longevity in athletics's shortest, most intense discipline; exuding femininity and self-expression in a physically demanding sport; proving motherhood and greatness can coexist.What athletes everywhere, and especially young girls, can take from Shelly-Ann's lead: the courage to run your own race, on your terms. To trust that setbacks don't define you, only your response to them. And the assurance that, if you believe in yourself and work with discipline, harmony is possible. Dreams and family, career and legacy.For that and for the now 276 incredible races and finishing line moments, thank you, Shelly-Ann.Below, go behind the scenes of the GOAT's final meet days in Tokyo.

The shoes. The hair. The finish. At the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Shelly-Ann, a five-time world champion, ended her career her way.

Sofieke van Bilsen is a 29-year-old Dutch photographer with a passion for storytelling through imagery. She is the in-house photographer for the German women's national football team, and was team photographer for the German Olympic Team in Paris 2024. She works closely with Nike athletes such as Faith Kipyegon, Eliud Kipchoge and Sifan Hassan.In her photography, she aims to create compelling visual narratives, focusing on the deep connection between emotion and athleticism. She strives to capture the raw moments behind the scenes, the untold stories of the journey and everything in between, bringing the spirit of sport to life.Sofieke's personality creates instant connections with people, and she is loved by the athletes she works with. Her relaxed and enthusiastic personality complements an incredible skill level and the ability to work in high-pressure environments for athletes.

Sofieke van Bilsen

Photo essay

Icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Ran Her Final 100 Metre On Her Terms

Over the course of his career, LeBron James has shared his passion for the game globally, partnering with Nike to travel throughout Greater China during his offseason, galvanizing a nation in its love for basketball and hoops culture. Just as LeBron's career has evolved through different eras, his tours have represented different values over the many times he's visited since 2005. Below are some of his most memorable moments in the country.

2005–2009

LeBron began his debut tour in Beijing in August of 2005. He was invited to watch the awards ceremony of the Nike Battlegrounds tournament, but he'd depart as more than just a spectator. From the moment he stepped down in China, he believed his tour could become a cross-cultural exchange rooted in a shared love of hoops and a mission to inspire the next generation of young players in China. "Basketball is not only a sport, it's also a bridge that connects people", he said.&nbsp;"This is a great learning experience for everyone. I hope I can continue to help grow the game globally and inspire the youth in China to reach their dreams".

LeBron's legacy in China is woven into special China-specific iterations of his signature footwear. In 2007, LeBron James appeared alongside NIKE, Inc.'s then-President & CEO Mark Parker to debut his Nike Zoom LeBron V "China" colourway.

LeBron returned to Beijing in 2009 after his MVP season, where he enjoyed a hero's welcome. As part of his trip, he donated equipment and provided scholarships for the Zhenhua School, a school for the children of migrant workers in suburban Beijing.

To celebrate his season, LeBron was presented with an exclusive pair of the Nike Air Max LeBron VII, featuring a Shenyang-inspired design dubbed "Loyalty" created by the local artist Ray Lei, and a Shanghai-inspired design dubbed "Family", created by the local artist Sic.

2011–2015

LeBron embraced his role as a global ambassador for the game, focusing on the opportunity to inspire China's young players. In 2011, his tour expanded to eight days over four cities, promoting grassroots basketball through a series of skill clinics and tournaments.

In 2012, with a fresh gold medal to pair with his championship ring, LeBron James made a triumphant arrival in Beijing to kick off a four-day tour as part of the&nbsp;Find Your Greatness campaign. "Greatness is defined by how much you want to put into what you do", said LeBron. "Greatness comes with victory. It also comes with being able to come back from adversity".

In 2013, LeBron returned to China with plenty to celebrate: his second straight NBA championship and MVP awards for both the regular season and the Finals.

In 2014, LeBron James was the first mentor to announce the roster for the Nike RISE, designed to help players raise their competitive game and improve their skill.

In 2015, Nike RISE 2015 evolved with LED Courts and motion-tracking drills to create a pinnacle training experience, teach the fundamentals of basketball and push the boundaries of sports training.

An emotional finale saw four players chosen to represent China at the World Streetball Championships.

2016–2019

After winning another NBA title in 2016, LeBron entered Guangzhou to a massive championship parade, the streets flanked by tens of thousands of fans, many of them in Cavs #23 jerseys. It was a signal for just how widely James's legacy had expanded throughout Asia.&nbsp;His More Than an Athlete campaign inspired young players to see basketball as one of many tools for affecting social change.

After a warm welcome from thousands of fans, he spent most of his time in Beijing working out with and coaching members of the Chinese Junior National basketball team.

Visiting primary schools throughout Beijing, LeBron shared his personal basketball experiences with young athletes, emphasising the role that hard work, dedication and self-belief played in his path to success.

In 2018, the first day of his "More Than an Athlete" tour in Shanghai began with a panel discussion with students at the Shanghai Theatre&nbsp;Academy, and ended with a park shootaround. Hundreds of fans gathered outside the court to watch him play, hoping to catch a glimpse of the icon.

This month, LeBron flew to China for his "Forever King Tour", his 15th in the country and marking the 20th anniversary of tours in Asia. There, he joined some of the world's most passionate hoopers and basketball fans, reiterating his commitment to giving back to the game across the world.

Over the course of his career, LeBron James has shared his passion for the game globally, partnering with Nike to travel throughout Greater China during his offseason, galvanizing a nation in its love for basketball and hoops culture.

Journey of an icon: 20 years of LeBron James in China

Hours of powering up steep ascents and navigating gnarly descents. Whipping mountain winds, glaring direct sun and biting evening temps. Getting mentally right with the fact that the next aid station is far, far away. Ultra trail running can sound like a gruelling, relentless sport reserved for the wildest, most hardcore athletes among us.According to our <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-acg-all-conditions-racing-department" target="_blank">All Conditions Racing Department</a> runners—six of whom just conquered pinnacle UTMB races across the French, Italian and Swiss Alps, on trails spanning 15 to 174 kilometres, with elevation gains of 1,200 to nearly 10,000 metres—the grit, determination, joy and freedom trail running gives you are worth every ounce of work. See for yourself.

<h3>ROSS GOLLAN</h3>Race: Experience Trail Courmayeur (ETC); 15K with 1,200m elevation gain Global finish rank: 29th

<h3>MARIE NIVET</h3>Race: ETC; 15K with 1,200m elevation gain Global women's finish rank: 7th

CESARE MAESTRIRace: ETC; 15K with 1,200m elevation gain Global finish rank: 2nd

<h3>BAPTISTE COATANTIEC</h3>Race: Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB); 174K with nearly 10,000m elevation gain Global finish rank: 11th

<h3>ANTHONY COSTALES</h3>Race: Courmayeur—Champex—Chamonix (CCC); 101K with more than 6,050m elevation gain Global finish rank: 15th

<h3>DREW HOLMEN</h3>Race: CCC; 101K with more than 6,050m elevation gain Global finish rank: 3rd

Powering up steep ascents. Navigating gnarly descents. Whipping mountain winds. Ultra trail running is a relentless sport. But the payoff is well worth the grind.

Ultra trail running can take everything you've got—and give you even more

On the raucous machinery floor of Nike's Air Manufacturing Innovation facility, a group of engineers study an inflated Air Max unit prototype. Its shape is stunningly technical. This "clover" unit, the visual cue that would later become the flowering, minimalist Air bag for the new <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-air-liquid-max-merges-superior-comfort-and-air-max-heritage" target="_blank">Nike Air Liquid Max</a>, is curved to help the wearer glide from each step to the next. The ride is meant to be incomparably smooth.&nbsp;But there's a catch. The unique shape of the bag is so complex it needs a lot of special attention. It's the first Max unit to include internal cut-outs. The trim, or the perimeter of the bag, is complicated to get right. Air Max engineers have a word to describe Air: elastomeric. It means that Air has the ability to transform based on changing variables like temperature and humidity. As soon as you introduce more complexity to the shape of a filled Air bag, the harder it is to cut it to a precise shape over and over again across a full size run. Think of a cookie-cutter mould. The more complicated the shape, the greater the margin for error when you slice the dough. Now imagine that dough is curved upward. That's the case for this Max Air bag, and any dip or rise in room temperature can make the bag change shape ever so slightly.&nbsp;What's more, the same design has to be replicated hundreds of thousands of times.&nbsp;High complexity. High precision. All in a minimalist silhouette meant to feel like the most nothing Max ever.&nbsp;

What does it mean to walk on Nike Air? There's the comfort, obviously. Every step should feel effortless. Then there's the unmistakable look, beginning with the Air Max I in 1987, when the big see-through bubble was actually a prism into the future of shoe cushioning. But Nike Air could never just be a platform built on inspiration. It needed to be built on technical rigour to give a precisely tuned feeling.&nbsp;While the evocation of "walking on air" is easy, creating it is anything but.

The silhouette was originally briefed in 2019 and tag-lined "The Most Nothing Max". The goal was to create an Air Max that felt light, fluid, flexible and barely detectable—a goal that's historically been at odds with the platform.

In an Air Max legacy that was founded on the big bubble, designers wondered whether an Air Max unit could, should, feel like nothing. A filled Air bag, when combined with layers of cement foam and rubber, can come across as rigid and slappy, making it challenging to feel a smooth step-to-step transition.&nbsp;"Liquid Max had to set a new visual precedent, but the Air unit also had to give a new sensation for walking on Air", says Ditte Kuijpers, design director, Nike Sportswear Innovation Footwear. "People needed to both feel and see how it was different. Every component of the shoe had to work together for this to happen".

To begin, designers and engineers discussed how this unit would break from Air Max models of the past. A few key descriptions stood out as inspiration: sleek. Reductive. Minimalist. The Air Max unit had to be lighter and more flexible than previous models. When Nike designers began conceptualising this sleeker unit, one source came from an unlikely place: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-air-max-scorpion-official-images-release-date" target="null">Air Max Scorpion</a>. Released in 2021, it was maximalist in the truest sense, featuring an enormous unit shaped by ambitious proportions. It was the largest unit ever created in terms of volume of Air per square inch. One observation stood out from designing the Scorpion bag: its emphasis on a term called "point loading". This is when each area of cushioning is precisely mapped against the entirety of your foot, comfortably spreading your bodyweight out on certain points of the bag. Each part of the Air unit can have a different stiffness or softness.&nbsp;

"Scorpion gave the team a good starting point", says Wade Flanagan, director of Nike Air Innovation. "We learned new techniques that could help us tune the bag for flexibility across different zones. Comparing the Scorpion bag to Liquid Max, we wanted to make something lighter, more flexible, more minimalist, but just as responsive".But cutting the bags to achieve this effect is complicated, says Flanagan. Each Air bag almost has a mind of its own because of how it can change in the slightest of circumstances. Trimming each one perfectly, he says, is like hitting a moving target.

The silhouette's name shifted to Liquid Max for good reason: the unit had to move with a undetectably smooth transition, like liquid. One of the designers' early prototypes used a modified version of the Air Max Dn8's Air units, a row of pressurised tubes across the full length of the foot. To create a more contoured system that worked with the foot, and to reduce the number of parts in the shoe, designers experimented with different versions of a drop-in midsole.Some prototypes of the Air unit were more organic. Others were more industrial. Some shapes tried turning visual details into mechanical advantages. Could a sly spelling of "Air Max" on the outsole create a trampoline-like effect through the middle of the letters? The possibilities were wide open. Testing wasn't limited to the physical world, either. A digital method called Finite Element Analysis, or FEA, helped designers simulate the real-life forces of a person walking in the shoe, putting pressure on different regions of the unit and then measuring how it responded.&nbsp;

This testing through trial and error helped designers and engineers land on a beautiful, two-chambered, full-length Air unit design. Maybe its most noticeable shift from Air units of the past was also its most challenging on a technical level: cutting out inserts in the bag; coring out unnecessary parts in the middle; and moulding it in a curved, rockered shape to make it more minimalist. Trimming a unit this complicated inside and out, on a curve? It hadn't been done before. It would require a more precise kind of Air manufacturing.&nbsp;

The Liquid Max team began working closely with the technicians at Nike's Air Manufacturing Innovation (Air MI) facilities in Beaverton, Oregon. There was basically no margin for error. Cut the bag at a poor angle, and the bag can pop. Cut it too wide, and you leave behind messy, awkward flanges around the perimeter. A dynamic ingredient like Air is also highly sensitive to the environment around it, meaning the bag can change shape in an instant based on the indoor temperature, resulting in inconsistent sizes. Air unit manufacturing is the equivalent of baking the world's coolest soufflé.

The final version of the Liquid Max Air unit is what happens when bold creativity meets manufacturing ingenuity. And the strategies employed to make the Air unit go beyond any single shoe."The Liquid Max unit is an example of when our designers, engineers and Air MI technicians set their sight on a challenge and overcome it", says Flanagan. "A lot of that comes from being inspired to challenge limitations and push Air Max to a new place so we can provide new benefits to people who wear it".

Nike Air Liquid Max is the first Max unit to include internal cut-outs. It ushers in an era for the Air Max franchise where precision and complexity go hand in hand.

Explore Nike, Converse and Jordan footwear and apparel design stories featuring Nike Air Force 1, Nike Air Jordan, Nike Air Max and more.

Design

Making it

Less Is Max In the Newest Version of Nike Air

About Nike—stories from inside NIKE, Inc.

This is, obviously, a running story.But the story of the <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-pegasus-42-official-images" target="_blank">Nike Pegasus</a> is also something more specific—a case study in how restraint, clarity and attention to fundamentals can produce lasting success. Launched in 1982, the Pegasus would go on to become Nike's most consistent and popular running shoe of all time, a franchise that has endured across eras, innovations and shifting footwear philosophies. "There's no modest way of saying this", said Sebastian Tesche, product line manager of the Pegasus 35. "The Peg is the single biggest and best running shoe in the world. It's bigger than many of our competitors".It wasn't designed to be an icon. It was designed to solve a problem.

In the late 1970s, Nike's earliest experiments with Air were full of promise but hindered by the realities of the technology. The 1978 Tailwind introduced Air to running yet it introduced stability issues that the company would spend the next several years trying to fix. The Columbia and Aurora that followed solved some of those problems but felt stiff at a time when runners wanted something livelier underfoot. Fortunately, Nike knew Air was a long game.&nbsp;

The great thing that we always thought about Air at that time—and it's still true—is that it doesn't lose its cushioning properties hardly at all through time", said Howard Banich, who oversaw running product in 1982. "Jeff Johnson, Nike's first employee, always wanted us to do an ad that showed a person coming back to the shoe store with just the Air bag from their shoe and saying, 'I would like another shoe around this please.' Because the Air bag was still going strong".Still, the question remained: how do you put Air where it matters without making the shoe too expensive or too complicated?One solution came from an ongoing innovation project led by former Nike CEO Mark Parker. Known internally as the Air Wedge Trainer—the concept that would ultimately become the Pegasus—it&nbsp;borrowed an Internationalist upper and outsole, added a heel Air unit encapsulated in polyurethane and positioned Air right at heel strike. It was essentially a simpler, cheaper expression of Air and it tested well.

"A heel wedge still provided the benefits of Air where it was needed the most—under&nbsp;the heel at heel strike—but it was less expensive because it was really only a third of the size of the full-length Air-Sole that was used in the Tailwind", Parker said.At the same time, New Balance had just released the 990 with a provocative tagline: "At a suggested retail price of $100, is the 990 too expensive or too inexpensive?" The price point shocked the market and galvanised Nike. If the competition was willing to push upward, Nike saw an opportunity to create a shoe that delivered performance at a more approachable cost.The Air Wedge Trainer, with its strong test results and modest bill of materials, suddenly looked like the perfect platform.

Building a "best practices" shoe

With the Air Wedge Trainer as a foundation, development for the Pegasus took place at Nike's facility in Exeter, New Hampshire, where the heel Air wedge concept was built into a fully realised running shoe. Bill Peterson designed the outsole. Bruce Kilgore, deep in Air Force 1 development, offered design input. Parker integrated those ideas into a simple, functional upper: grey, with Dark Navy accents—a look one European sales rep later described as "a rainy day".Nike also made a strategic shift to hit its target price of around $50: manufacturing moved to Korea, to the Poon Young factory. Very few running shoes were being produced in Korea at the time. Components had to be imported—Air wedges from the US, nylon from Germany—and Nike developers scrambled to refine techniques. "The Air unit didn't fit correctly in the shoe at first", recalled footwear innovation veteran Steve Roth. During a holiday back in the US, he spent two weeks in Saco, Maine resizing Air wedges by hand so they would sit properly in the midsole.Still, the project moved fast. In only about four months, Nike had a completed shoe—one built around Air and a carefully selected set of core features: a new EVA foam called Tomilite offered a resilient ride. A Waffle outsole, with lugs orientated for motion, gave runners better ground contact and stability. The upper was simple, lightweight and unpretentious.

"The Pegasus was essentially our 'best practices' shoe", Roth said. "It had Air, yes, but it was mostly about: what are the best features we can put in a product that hit the sweet spot of the market?"It wasn't the flashiest running shoe in the line, nor was it meant to be. It was designed to work.

A running manual for the masses

Nike's confidence in the Pegasus showed in the small details. The company had begun releasing "owner's manuals" with its higher-profile footwear to help runners understand new technologies and the Pegasus received one, too. It walked consumers through Air, Tomilite and the shoe's geometry. The transparency helped reinforce the Pegasus as a shoe built on clarity, usefulness and trust.

Naming the Pegasus

Today, many assume the Pegasus name came from the idea of a half-horse, half-winged creature, an allusion to the balance of EVA and Air in the midsole. But the real story is far simpler.To name the shoe, employees dropped suggestions into a bowl. Several slips of paper read Pegasus, including one from Mark Parker. Nike had been playing with mythology themes—Odyssey, Valkyrie—and Pegasus fit the family. "Names were a lot easier back then", Parker said.The name stuck. And with it came the beginnings of what would become Nike's most beloved running shoe.

The instant hit

Nike introduced the Pegasus at the 1982 New York City Marathon. While Alberto Salazar powered to his third consecutive win in a pair of Mariahs, the men's Pegasus debuted in limited quantities as part of Nike's technical running line. It launched to select dealers and quickly posted strong early sales: nearly $200,000 in under a month, with roughly 8,000 units sold. By December, that number had climbed to more than 35,000 pairs.When the Pegasus rolled out more broadly in early 1983, the reaction was immediate. "The initial reaction to the Pegasus was very good", said Jim Docherty, who began his career as a Nike EKIN that year. "When the Tailwind hit the market, some consumers thought it was too soft because most midsoles were fairly firm at that time and the Tailwind was a big change from the norm. The Pegasus with heel Air bridged the gap between old EVA midsoles and total Air".

For young runners and store employees alike, the Pegasus quickly became the reliable choice—the shoe you knew you could recommend. In 1983, long before he became a Nike Running veteran and future Pegasus PLM, Tim Slingsby was a student working in a running store. "The Pegasus was your go-to shoe when someone would come in, you would sell them", he said. "As a high school kid, you knew it would work, it would perform, and it was a great price. It had everything".Within six months, Nike had sold nearly 300,000 pairs, generating $6.4 million in men's sales alone.The formula worked.

The every-runner's shoe

By 1985, Pegasus sales had reached 2.5 million pairs. Nike had found its lane and owned it. Longtime Nike designer Bob Lucas compared the shoe to an automotive staple: "to use an automotive analogy, auto manufacturers have their Pegasus in their lines: a Honda Civic, the Toyota Corolla. … that kind of product line where it's a value-based proposition".Over the next several years, Nike made only modest adjustments to the shoe—incremental material updates, seasonal colour changes—while leaving its core intact. That restraint became part of the Pegasus's identity. "I think everybody always knew it was one of those things where you didn't want to change it", said Clare Hamill, a leader at Nike Running in the mid-1980s. "That was the biggest challenge—how&nbsp;to make it better without changing it".

At the heart of the early Pegasus was a simple principle: don't complicate it. The midsole, upper and outsole were all guided by what Hamill described plainly. "The core philosophy of the Pegasus was, keep it simple. No junk. Give people what they need and don't overbuild".Runners felt that clarity. By the late 1980s, the Pegasus had become a dependable constant in an increasingly crowded running landscape, one defined less by flash than by trust. The 1989 Air Pegasus, built on existing tooling with a soft poly-pag and synthetic suede upper, would later be remembered as a high-water mark. "If you asked loyal Pegasus wearers through the years what their favourite version has been", said former Nike Running Leader Kevin Paulk, "I would be willing to bet a lot of people would say the Peg '89. It had a nice soft upper and fit like a glove".

From its earliest years, that has remained the draw of the Pegasus: a running shoe built not to chase trends but to earn loyalty, mile after mile.

The Peg wasn't designed to be an icon. It was designed to solve a problem. See how that solution became "the single biggest and best running shoe in the world".

Nike Pegasus: The Origin of a Running Workhorse

Words: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="/company/people/department-of-nike-archives" target="_blank" class="ql-size-small">Department of Nike Archives</a>Not every breakthrough in sports science begins in a lab.For Nike's iconic Waffle sole—one of running's most game-changing innovations—it began in the kitchen.It was 1971 and <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/stories/bill-bowerman-nike-s-original-innovator" target="_blank">Bill Bowerman</a> was wrestling with a problem he'd been turning over in his mind ever since a hard, slick new urethane track had been installed at the University of Oregon two years prior, which was injuring runners. Bowerman had to face a reality: he had chosen a track surface that wasn't holding up, and he needed to find a fix. How could his runners get better grip? Spikes dug in too deep; flats didn't bite enough.One morning, while glancing at his wife, Barbara's, waffle iron—a Model 251 by Bersted Manufacturing Company, which the Bowermans had received as a wedding gift in 1936—he was struck by the grid pattern. The raised squares seemed like the exact geometry that could deliver the lightweight traction he'd been chasing.He poured liquid urethane straight into the family waffle iron, only it instantly glued shut permanently, ruining their 35-year-old wedding present. Undeterred, he drove into town, bought several more secondhand waffle irons, and kept experimenting. Those first imprints came out inverted with concave bumps, but they sparked the idea that would lead him to refine moulds and materials until a workable prototype finally emerged.

What resulted was the first version of the Nike Moon Shoe—a design that would shape the future of running for decades."The Waffle sole changed everything", says Nike Running Historian Rick Lower. "Not only did it transform how runners thought about traction and cushioning but it showed people what Nike was about: solving problems in new ways".

A catalyst for the future

In 1971, Nike, then still known as Blue Ribbon Sports, an American importer of Japanese running shoes, hadn't yet become the global force in sports innovation that it is today. The fledgling company was still finding its footing, and Bowerman—co-founder, coach and relentless tinkerer—was at the centre of that push. To him, every surface was a problem waiting for a solution.&nbsp;That included the new Astroturf laid down at Autzen Stadium, where the Oregon Ducks football team struggled for traction. In wet conditions, players often ditched their boots for basketball shoes with a herringbone outsole that gripped better. Bowerman and teammate Jeff Johnson began exploring traction ideas for football as well as athletics, a line of thinking that would lead to the Astrograbber—a shoe prototyped in 1972 and <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-bode-rec-astrograbber-official-images" target="_blank">reissued decades later</a>."There had been no real innovation in outsoles for decades", says Nike Running Historian Rick Lower. "Running shoes were basically just a sheet of rubber to protect your feet from the road, and traction and cushioning were secondary. Bowerman wasn't willing to accept that".Inspired by the moment in his kitchen, he began pulling in a network of local resources to help refine the moulds and materials—tire shops, machinists, cobblers. Early prototypes disintegrated after only minutes of running. Others left athletes with cut ankles from exposed wire that was embedded in the rubber mixture for traction. Yet each failed attempt nudged the idea closer to the finishing line.

By November 1971, the Waffle sole had its first taste of competition when members of Oregon's cross-country team wore early versions to win the NCAA title. Through the winter and spring of 1972, more college&nbsp;and local South Eugene high-school&nbsp;athletes quietly tested pairs. By the following summer, Bowerman and Geoff Hollister were hand-cobbling a small batch of prototypes for a bigger stage: the US Olympic Trials in Eugene.They weren't perfect, especially not for the marathon level. "It was basically just an upper stitched to a thin sheet of waffle", Lower says. "So minimal it was like running barefoot". Still, a handful of brave runners laced them up. Some thought the Waffle sole footprints looked like astronauts' footprints on the moon, becoming part of the lore that gave the prototypes their now-iconic nickname: the Moon Shoe.For the fast-growing company, it was a pivotal moment. Even if the shoe wasn't ready for mass release, it was proof the idea worked and evidence that this small Oregon company could push running footwear in an entirely new direction.

The bridge to a running movement

The Moon Shoe itself never went to market, though a few pairs are believed to have been sold out of Nike's Eugene retail store, making it possible to have snagged one if you were in the right place at the right time. But the shoe's DNA spread quickly. By 1973, Nike released the Oregon Waffle. Two years later came the Waffle Trainer, Nike's first blockbuster success.Designed by Bill Bowerman and Geoff Hollister, as well as famed Bowerman collaborators orthopaedic surgeon Stan James and podiatrist Dennis Vixie, the Waffle Trainer became Nike's most popular running model. It was created at the request of runner Jon Anderson, who wanted a more substantial training shoe, but went well beyond satisfying Anderson's needs—it became the best-selling training shoe in the country. By 1975, orders had topped 100,000 units, and its blue upper with a yellow Swoosh became one of the defining looks of Nike's early years. To this day, it remains emblematic of Nike in the 1970s.

The milestone sneaker didn't just give everyday runners better grip. With a flared sole and a new cushioning sensation unlike anything they'd felt before, it changed expectations of what a running shoe could be."That shoe was the bridge", Lower explains. "It took the Moon Shoe's experiment and turned it into a global product. From there Nike's reputation as an innovator was cemented".But it wasn't the end for the Moon Shoe. After making its revival on Nike collaborator and French designer Jacquemus's runway last January, the iconic silhouette was reimagined for a new generation. Sleek and fashion-forward, the new sneaker, coming soon, bridges performance heritage and style with speed, capturing the same restless drive that defined its earliest incarnation. What was once vaulted as Nike's racing DNA is now primed for the future.

Long live experimentation and innovation

The waffle iron tale might have stayed legend if not for a discovery decades later. When Bowerman's son Tom renovated the family property in Coburg, Oregon, he unearthed a long-forgotten rubbish pit near the carport. Inside were discarded prototypes, moulds and the rusted shell of the waffle iron Barbara Bowerman had tossed after Bill glued it shut.&nbsp;Today, that iron rests in the Department of Nike Archives at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., acting as a reminder of the kitchen tinkering that became the blueprint for Nike's approach and long-term success: experiment boldly, keep refining and never stop pushing forward.

Born of need and elevated by expertise and diligence, today the Department of Nike Archives (DNA) cares for hundreds of thousands of artefacts and a limitless vault of connected stories.&nbsp;The brand archive began organically in the 1970s and officially became DNA in 2006. The department's purpose is to both preserve and accelerate the ever-evolving and interconnected story of Nike. "Knowing who you are and the fights you've come through can do huge things for morale, inspiration and creativity. That's what DNA provides". - Phil Knight

Department of Nike Archives

Created from the experimentation and ingenuity of Nike's co-founder Bill Bowerman, the Nike Moon Shoe's unique design would shape the future of running for decades.

Feature

From waffle iron to world stage: the true story of the Nike Moon Shoe

25 January 1964. Saturday.The Beatles registered their first number-one hit song in the United States: "I Want to Hold Your Hand".And on a cold, rainy day in Portland, Oregon, a coach and his former athlete met for lunch at the Cosmopolitan Hotel to discuss a possible business partnership.One hour later, Phil Knight and <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/magazine/bill-bowerman-nike-s-original-innovator" target="_blank">Bill Bowerman</a> stood, reached across the table and shook hands. Blue Ribbon Sports was born.To understand how two Oregonians arrived at that moment—and why it held—we have to go back a decade, to a teenager who had just been cut from baseball.

The Beginning

Phil Knight grew up in Southeast Portland and went to Cleveland High. As he tells it, he was the last cut on the sophomore-and-under baseball team—a decision that stung."I was heartbroken but my mum said, 'You are not going to mope around the house. You're either going to get a paper route or go out for track'. Well, that was easy. I went out for track".That decision set him on a course that would change his life, and, eventually, the sports world.Knight tried out for athletics and quickly found his stride. While he was physically smaller than his teammates, he was fast, competitive and willing to work.At one early meet, his father, William, a labour lawyer who would later become publisher of the Oregon Journal, introduced him to Oregon athletics coach Bill Bowerman. The two older men had attended the University of Oregon together. That day was his first introduction to the coach who would later shape his life.By then, Knight was already starting to win and place in local races, enough to earn a name in Oregon's competitive prep scene. During his junior year, he spotted a headline that stuck with him: Bill Dellinger, a runner from the University of Oregon, who had just won the mile at the national championships under Bowerman's coaching."It was startling", Knight said. "It was a huge headline in The Oregonian and that's when I became aware of Bill Bowerman and what a phenomenal programme he had".

The Hamburger of Runners

Although small and lean, Knight never let size hold him back. In 1955, he played on Cleveland's city-championship basketball team, finished second in the league 880-yard (805-metre) run and took fourth at the state meet. By autumn, he'd earned a spot on Bowerman's athletics and cross-country teams at the University of Oregon.Long before his first practice, though, his father had already turned to Bowerman for guidance—an early glimpse of the connection that would define both men's careers. Curious to get the coach's perspective on whether Phil should attend university or join the military, William Knight wrote to him that autumn.Bowerman replied with his trademark mix of bluntness and care."My first concern is for your young man's education", he wrote. "All will not be fun and frolic. It takes hard work for success in anything … it is a privilege to have your son here, also a responsibility for me, for you and for him".

Like many freshmen before him, Knight soon learned what that meant, struggling under the bombastic Bowerman. "After my freshman year, I had to sit down with myself and ask if I was going to go back to that crazy man, or not", Knight recalled. "I realised if I go back, I'm just going to have to do things his way because he's not going to change. So, I went back".That decision proved pivotal. Bowerman saw potential in Knight—not&nbsp;as a star runner but as an ideal test subject. "I wasn't one of the best runners on the team", Knight admitted. "Bowerman knew he could use me as a guinea pig without much risk".He called Knight the "hamburger" of runners—hearty stock, forgiving, determined—and began using him to test early shoe prototypes. In August 1958, Bowerman sent Knight a letter outlining his summer training plan and added a postscript, "If you have a pair you think would make good flats, send them down. They'll be ready when school starts".The pair Knight received that autumn featured an experimental white, rubber-coated fabric—"the kind you'd use for a tablecloth you could sponge off", Bowerman later said. They were crude, functional and a glimpse of what was coming. The coach was still years from finding a manufacturing partner, but his drive to build a faster, lighter shoe had already found its first willing tester.

From Athletics to Business

By the time Knight graduated from Oregon in 1959 with a degree in business, his competitive drive had shifted from athletics to the classroom. The next stop was Stanford, where he enrolled to pursue his MBA.At first, his path seemed uncertain. But during his final year, a class called "Small Business Management" caught his attention. It was a class that would quietly spark the idea of a lifetime."It was the only entrepreneurship class, so it was one of the classes that I was most interested in", Knight said.&nbsp;He developed a strong rapport with his professor, Frank Shallenberger, who assigned the students a simple but open-ended project: invent a new business, define its purpose and create a marketing plan to support it.Knight had recently overheard a conversation among photographers at the Oregon Journal, where he'd worked summers during university. They were talking about a surge of inexpensive Japanese cameras that were starting to rival the more powerful and costly German models."Electronics was a popular topic at that time and the smart kids chose to write about things like that", Knight said. "But I didn't know anything about electronics, so I wrote about something that I did know about—shoes".Drawing from his experience as one of Bill Bowerman's wear-testers, he built his hypothetical company. By 1962, German sports shoes were on the rise in the US—high quality, yes, but expensive. Knight saw an opening.He turned the idea into a paper he wrote almost literally overnight with a single bold hypothesis: Can Japanese sports shoes do to German sports shoes what Japanese cameras did to German cameras?Knight argued that Japanese-made running shoes could compete on both price and quality with the dominant German brands. Knight received an "A". When the assignment was over, he couldn't shake the idea. "I wrote a letter of enquiry to virtually every Japanese shoemaker that I could find".Only one company replied: the Kow Hoo Shoe Company of Hong Kong. The letter, written in imperfect English, was polite but discouraging."It is with regret to inform you that due to lack of [such] equipment and material, we can hardly manufacture [such] type of shoes and trust that every shoemaker in Hongkong (sic) fails in doing so. We are expert in manufacturing golf shoes, skating boots and bowling shoes, etc.".It wasn't the answer Knight had hoped for, but it didn't matter. A seed had been planted that would soon take root.Shaken but not deterred, he was about to face the opportunity of a lifetime.That story—and more—will come in future Department of Nike Archive features on The Record.

Go behind the scenes of the famous business deal between Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman—co-founders of Nike.

History

The Handshake That Started It All

At the base of K2, the world's second-highest peak, two American climbers sat among their gear, snow-streaked ridgelines rising behind them. Their faces were lean from 68 days on the mountain. Both wore yellow Nike Long Distance Vectors (LDVs)—one of the brand's top long-distance running shoes at the time—which looked as battered as the climbers themselves. A picture was needed to mark the moment; one of the men raised a thumb towards the camera. The photograph, taken by mountaineering photographer Dianne Roberts in 1978, would go on to become one of Nike's most unexpected origin stories.

An Unlikely Sponsorship

Months earlier, Nike had quietly supplied the expedition with those lightweight trainers, a last-minute gift meant for the 110-mile approach to basecamp. "A lot of it was off-trail", recalled Rick Ridgeway, one of the climbers in the photo and a leading American alpinist of the era. "You can imagine they were pretty trashed by the time we got there".In those years, most climbers relied on stiff leather boots built in Europe. The LDVs were the opposite: soft, breathable and fast. "They were just more flexible and more comfortable", Ridgeway said. "What was really cool about those LDVs is that you need to hop around on rocks. This was a rough hike so you could boulder hop. They breathed better. They were functionally superior to the more rigid traditional trekking shoe".

Internally, Nike referred to the model as the "Long Distance Vixie" because Eugene podiatrist Dennis Vixie made the last. Externally, it was known as the Long Distance Vector.At the time, Nike hadn't yet stepped into the outdoor business—the shoes had simply been a goodwill gesture for the expedition. No one could have predicted that they would plant the seed for an entirely new category.

By the time the team descended, the fabric sneakers had nearly fallen apart. Ridgeway and Roskelley held them together with tape and glue for the long walk back to the roadhead. "Being up that high for that long without oxygen, it was hard", Ridgeway remembered. "But we made it. And on the way out, we started talking about how the shoe could be modified to make it into a usable trekking shoe".When they returned home, the climbers mailed their blown-out LDVs to Nike along with a short list of suggested improvements, including a tougher sole and more rugged upper, while still keeping the shoe lightweight and flexible. Those notes would help spark Nike's first outdoor footwear line and, eventually, the category that became <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-reintroduces-acg-all-conditions-gear" target="_blank">All Conditions Gear</a> (ACG).

From Climb to Concept

Nike's design team took the climbers' feedback to heart. The field-worn LDVs had proven that lighter footwear could thrive where only heavy boots once ruled. The idea that "light is right" began to ripple through the brand's ranks.By 1981, that thinking produced three shoes that merged the best of Nike running with durability for rough terrain: the Lava Dome, the Approach and the Magma. Nike's first shoe to use a GORE-TEX lining; the design shape would later inform early thinking behind the Air Force 1. "It became very apparent that world-class athletes [were] going really lightweight", recalled product manager Monte Mayko, who helped lead the project from Nike's Exeter, New Hampshire factory. "It made total sense".

Inspired by the K2 photograph and the climbers' first-hand notes, the Nike team reimagined what a hiking shoe could be. The result was a category shift toward performance minimalism. "The whole notion of light is right and less is more and functional minimalism—climbers really get that at their core", explained Kirk Richardson, a lifelong mountaineer who would later lead ACG. "Nike intuitively got it. Bowerman and Knight were absolutely right". The new designs, built in Exeter and Saco, Maine, featured lightweight uppers, Waffle soles and durable midsoles derived directly from Nike's running heritage. For climbers and trail runners, they felt revolutionary: fast, flexible and protective enough to take the punishment of rock and scree. "Turning a training shoe into a trekking shoe. Nobody had done that", Ridgeway later said. "It was kind of revolutionary".

As those early designs hit the market, Ridgeway continued testing prototypes and corresponding with Nike designers. "They'd send me a prototype of the shoes to try out so I field tested them", he recalled. One of those early ads—the first print campaign for Nike Outdoor—used Roberts' K2 photograph of Ridgeway and Roskelley. The caption read: "Not everyone was willing to wait for our hiking boots".

The Big Ascent

By the mid-1980s, Nike's outdoor experiments had evolved from one-off projects into a legitimate design philosophy. Yet without a unifying category, they remained scattered, a mix of hiking boots, trail runners and small-batch apparel experiments without a single name or purpose.That began to change in 1987, when a small internal team was tasked with formalising Nike's outdoor efforts. According to Tom Clarke, then vice president of product marketing, Nike had been talking about being in the outdoor business for some time and had a stable of avid outdoor people around product management.

The team saw an opening in a market dominated by legacy brands in Europe still building heavy, rigid gear for mountaineering specialists. An opportunity to create athletic gear designed for movement in all conditions.Clarke, Richardson and a small team in Beaverton and Exeter began sketching out a strategy. Footwear and apparel would live under a single collection guided by four principles: high performance, durability, versatility and functional excellence. It was the beginning of a significant shift in performance outdoor footwear that would also make its way into apparel.The idea quickly gained traction. Within two years, a full outdoor business plan emerged.

The Name Takes Hold

Nike's outdoor plan was coming together, but a fitting name was still missing. Around the same time, Nike Running had begun using the phrase "All Conditions Gear" for a small line of year-round performance apparel—gear designed to handle any weather. The overlap in philosophy caught the Outdoor team's attention. When Clarke's group discovered the term, they adopted it to define the new collection, a name that embodied Nike's commitment to performance regardless of terrain or weather, echoing the same spirit that had driven Ridgeway and Roskelley's K2 ascent a decade earlier.

By 1989, it became official. Under Richardson's leadership, ACG launched as a fully integrated line of footwear and apparel designed for athletes who ran, hiked, climbed and explored outdoors.Nike made sure its debut felt authentic. The first catalogue shoot took place at Castleton Tower in Moab, Utah—a notorious rock spire revered by climbers. "We wanted to position it as a pretty real brand", said art director Ron Dumas. "We had these guys climb this tower and so we got in a helicopter. It was just about sunset and I was sitting on the rail holding onto the photographer and he's hanging out of the helicopter. The tower was beautiful and these guys are just little dots on top. It was phenomenal".

Released in 1989 as part of ACG's inaugural product launch, the Huascaran jacket featured a nylon microfibre GORE-TEX shell.

Inspired by Mount Huascarán in Peru, its design included underarm gussets, double storm flaps, cargo pockets and a zip-in liner capability, reflecting ACG's early focus on durable, all-conditions performance.

Additionally, the warm winter jacket was constructed with a Regulator-lined interior and a snap-off hood.

A decade after the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Nike ACG marked the mountain's irreversible transformation with a before-and-after patch showing a landscape changed forever. Instead of measuring height like other ACG "landmark" pieces, the jacket captured impact, memory and permanence.

Built as an insulation layer within ACG's late-'80s systems approach, the Mount St. Helens Jacket used thick Polarfleece, ribbed cuffs and a reversible YKK zip to integrate seamlessly with outer shells. Technical and modular by design, it showed how storytelling and function came together in early ACG systems thinking.

This Kilimanjaro Anorak K2 was worn and autographed by climber John Roskelley, one of the two Americans photographed at K2 basecamp in LDVs whose trek later appeared in an early 1980s poster and in a 1989 ACG ad.

Built with two- and three-layer GORE-TEX and a nylon microfibre shell, the anorak included reinforced yokes, underarm gussets and multiple zip pockets, reflecting the technical design ethos that shaped ACG's early years.

When the first ACG collection dropped that autumn, anchored by the Air Wildwood, Lava High and a series of GORE-TEX and fleece outerwear pieces, Nike had officially staked its flag in the outdoor market.

The photograph of two climbers at the base of K2 had become something larger: the spark that ignited an entirely new dimension for Nike.

The wild moment that sparked Nike's first outdoor footwear line and, eventually, the category that became All Conditions Gear.

The Birth of ACG: The Summit that Launched a Legacy

Words: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="/company/people/department-of-nike-archives" target="_blank" class="ql-size-small">Department of Nike Archives</a> In 1971, Watergate was just a hotel, NASA was preparing Apollo 15 and a small Oregon company had just sold its first pair of shoes.The shoe—a football boot called the Nike—retailed for $16.95. Its defining feature was a tick-shaped stripe created by a Portland State University student for $35. Few noticed the shoe, but the mark would long outlast it.At the time, Nike wasn't yet the global sports brand it would become. Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman were still operating as Blue Ribbon Sports, a small distributor of Japanese running shoes. But contracts with their supplier were winding down, and Knight knew the company's future depended on more than someone else's product. To succeed, BRS needed a shoe of its own—and with it, an identity.That February, Knight contracted a factory in Mexico to produce a black football boot with a white sole. To distinguish it from Onitsuka Tiger models, he needed a brand mark. He turned to Carolyn Davidson, a design student he'd met while teaching accounting at Portland State.Two years earlier, Davidson had been overheard in a hallway telling a classmate she couldn't afford an oil painting course. Knight offered her $2 an hour to make charts and graphics for his side business. Over time, she created ads, brochures and catalogues. Now, he was asking her for something bigger: a stripe for the side of a shoe.

Davidson sketched half a dozen options. In an office in Tigard, Oregon, Knight gathered two employees to review them, including Jeff Johnson, Nike's first full-time hire. None of them made a strong impression. "It came down to a matter of which was the least awful", Johnson recalled.The group settled on Davidson's curving tick. She thought it suggested motion. Knight was unconvinced. "Well, I don't love it", he told her, "but it will grow on me".The stripe—not yet called the Swoosh—was rushed to Mexico so production could begin. Davidson sent Knight an invoice for $35.

Those first shoes carried the new mark into the world, but it looked different on nearly every model. On some, the line stretched wide. On others, it pinched tight. One runner joked that the curvier version resembled a "dead fish". Factories stitched it however they could, and designers adjusted the angle depending on the shoe's shape.

Yet the stripe was already making appearances in the right places. At the 1972 Boston Marathon, two of the top American finishers crossed the line wearing Nike shoes marked with Davidson's design—the first confirmed appearance of a Swoosh in a major race. The company highlighted the feat in marketing the following year.Apparel presented another challenge. On tops and bags, the asymmetry of the mark seemed awkward. Johnson experimented by fanning multiple Swooshes into a circle, creating what became known as the "Sunburst" or "Pinwheel" logo. Borrowed in spirit from the 1972 Olympic design, it gave Nike something bold to put on warm-ups and team gear.

Geoff Hollister, Nike's third employee—who&nbsp;would go on to pioneer the company's early marketing efforts—pressed&nbsp;the Sunburst onto vests and tracksuits. He also applied the Swoosh alone in unconventional ways. In 1974, Steve Prefontaine appeared at a meet in Tacoma wearing a tracksuit with a lone backwards Swoosh across the chest. That marked the first time the logo stood by itself on apparel.In those first years, the design was far from consistent. Some called it the stripe. Others thought it looked strange, even unbalanced. But on marathon finishing lines, in Olympic trials and on the chest of America's most famous runner, the mark was already doing its job: it was sticking.What began as a reluctant choice—a student's sketch rushed off to a factory—had become the emblem of Nike's earliest wins. The Swoosh wasn't yet the global icon it would become, but it was already proving it had staying power.

In the decades since that first football boot, the Swoosh has taken on countless forms. It was paired with bold Helvetica in the 1970s, broadcast to millions in Dennis Hopper's 1993 American football ads, stretched across Niketown Portland's architecture and splashed across caps at Wimbledon. It has been oversized, miniaturised, multiplied and, at times, overused. It has been guarded by Nike's "brand police", celebrated by athletes and parodied by critics.Through all those shifts, one through line has remained: the Swoosh endures. What began as a quick sketch by a college student has become one of the most recognised symbols in the world. More than a stripe, it's a global shorthand for speed, innovation and possibility.

Before Nike was a worldwide sports brand, it was an upstart company in need of an eye-catching visual identity. Here's the real story of the Swoosh.

The Nike Swoosh logo: from humble beginnings to global icon

Editor's Picks

Story Landing

From her start at recording music in a makeshift wardrobe studio in Johannesburg to becoming the youngest African artist to win a Grammy, Tyla has had an unstoppable rise.&nbsp;She's dominated fashion weeks, lit up the VMAs and turned popiano, her signature fusion of Amapiano, Afrobeats, pop and R&B, into a global movement.&nbsp;With her breakout hit Water earning critical acclaim and the Water Dance creating hundreds of thousands of social media iterations, the 23-year-old has solidified herself as both a musical and cultural force. And just like her sound, her style is ever-evolving—one moment in Nike Shox and a tracksuit, the next, giving high-glam red carpet.&nbsp;Where there's music and style, there's sport. Which makes Tyla's new partnership with Nike such a natural fit. A lifelong fan of the brand who grew up coveting her brother's Nike hand-me-downs, the South African pop star has always embraced the crossover of sport, movement and music. Below, we hear from Tyla about the rhythm that drives her, the Nike staples she swears by and why she refuses to be put in a box.&nbsp;

What's your&nbsp;most defining Nike memory?&nbsp;Growing up and seeing my brother get the hand-me-downs from my dad. They were always Nike, and I wanted them so badly. He was the only boy in the family, so he kind of got whatever he wanted. I'd just have to borrow them whenever I could.&nbsp;How did you develop your signature sound and how has it evolved?&nbsp;I'm so happy that I was able to come into the game with a sound that nobody has done, you know? The way my music sounds—nobody sounds like that. The fact that I have my own identity as an artist is what every artist, I'm sure, dreams of. So I'm just grateful that people vibe with it. It's bigger than where I'm from; it touches the world. And it's exciting because it shows just how far we can take this.&nbsp;My hope for the next generation of African artists, especially women, is that we can make what we want to make and not be boxed into a specific genre. Depending on where you're from or the way you sound, even if you make something that's not generically Afrobeats, if you're from the continent, it's easy to be clumped together. I'd like for us to be able to exist in every space as artists—to create what we want and be recognised for it, without it being watered down into one thing.&nbsp;In terms of my sound, it started with a vision. I knew that I wanted to be in pop, but I didn't want to do it in a normal way. I didn't want to be a generic pop girl. Where I'm from, I had huge influences from Western music, but also local music. I wanted to mix it all into one and see what I could do.&nbsp;My manager had this small house in Johannesburg, and I would go there every weekend. They made a studio out of a wardrobe, and I remember always going in there, recording, trying new things, experimenting. That's where I wrote my first song.&nbsp;From there, it just evolved into something I'm so proud of because it really felt like I brought a vision to life. When I signed to the label, I told them, "This is my vision. I really want this to be my sound". They supported me in that, and we just figured it out along the way.&nbsp;&nbsp;

With your nonstop schedule, what Nike pieces do you rely on to stay comfortable and stylish on the go?&nbsp;Definitely sneakers.&nbsp;Especially the <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.nike.com/w/womens-shox-shoes-5e1x6z7e8jqzy7ok" target="_blank">Nike Shox</a>. But&nbsp;recently I've been wearing the Clogposite collab with Supreme. I have every colour—&nbsp;literally&nbsp;every colour. I put them on for everything. At airports, in the studio, walking around. They're just so comfortable and convenient.&nbsp;I just feel like it makes you look more fly when you have a good shoe on.

Tell us about your personal style and how it's evolved.My style has evolved a lot over time. When I look back at some pictures, I'm like, "Oh my gosh, what were you thinking?" I&nbsp;get bored so quickly, and I change my mind all the time. I'll love an outfit today and a month later, I'll hate that I ever put it on.&nbsp;People say my style is kind of "Flintstone"—ripped up, distressed, all that. It started when I had to dress up for shows but didn't have access to a lot of resources. Me and my friend Thato would take random pieces, cut them up, tie them together—literally make outfits out of nothing. The more I did it, the more I loved it, and it just became my thing. Now, I hate anything that looks too perfect.&nbsp;I used to have a really clear vision for how I wanted to look. These days, I'm more open and experimenting. Before, I wasn't that deep into fashion—I'd just put something on, and if I felt fly, that was it. Now, with fashion weeks and having greater access to brands, I've really fallen in love with it. I want to try everything.My aesthetic depends on how I want to feel. Sometimes I want to feel pretty, sometimes cosy, sometimes boyish. It&nbsp;depends on my mood. I don't want to look the same all the time. When I look back years from now, I want to see many different versions of myself. One hundred different Tylas.&nbsp;What excites you most about this partnership?I mean, I'm a Nike girl. I love the brand. Nike isn't just athletic clothes, it's fashion. I really like that because when I wear Nike, it doesn't feel like I'm just putting on a shoe or top. You feel fly wearing it. All the collabs, vintage Nike, it's always been something that I gravitated towards. I also love how diverse Nike is. I'm really excited to work together, not only to wear the clothes but to hopefully create something with the team too. Maybe a Tyla shoe?&nbsp;That would be fire.&nbsp;

Where there's music and style, there's sport. Which makes Tyla's new partnership with Nike such a natural fit. Hear from the Grammy Award-winning artist about the rhythm that drives her, the Nike staples she swears by and why she refuses to be put in a box.

Welcome to the family

5 questions with global sensation Tyla

For A'ja Wilson and Issa Rae, being real has always been their foundation for success. Now they're dropping gems as they chat about the A'One Signature Collection. You're gonna want to pull up a seat.

A'ja Wilson's <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/stories/behind-the-design-a-ja-wilson-signature-shoe" target="_blank">new signature shoe, the A'One,</a> debuted on 4 February 2025—the silhouette is a reflection of her expressive honesty, to herself, the game and in her relationship with Nike. Real through and through, <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/stories/aja-wilson-interview-overcoming-self-doubt" target="_blank">A'ja sets the tone</a> for how to be confident, authentic and tenacious, on and off the court.

Watch the WNBA champion and the award-winning actress and writer chat about A'ja's passion for the game, the importance of her family and what she wants all hoopers to get from the A'One, her new signature shoe.

Real talk with A'ja Wilson and Issa Rae

It was the first time A'ja Wilson saw a physical sample of her first signature shoe, the A'One. She turned the shoe over in her hands. Ben Nethongkome, the shoe's designer, saw tears well up in her eyes. "I promised I wouldn't cry", she joked to Nethongkome. She wore her excitement openly, unguarded."A'ja is one of the most honest, original, expressive players I've ever worked with", says Nethongkome. "In designing her shoe, she's never brought anything less than her honest point of view. That's exactly the kind of feedback you need when you collaborate on a design with an athlete". That expressive honesty is core to A'ja's shoe, but also to her life, her game and her relationship with Nike. She joined the brand after turning pro in 2018. She became the face of Nike Basketball's Cosmic Unity line, building a rapport with designers like Nethongkome. She quickly established her voice as an athlete who was comfortable giving clear feedback on what was working in a particular product, and importantly, what wasn't. The brand encouraged her to share more. In 2022, she was invited to be a member of Nike's <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-athlete-think-tank-second-cohort" target="_blank">Athlete Think Tank</a>, a group of professional athletes who are encouraged to give unfiltered feedback on how the brand can better support women athletes.

"You have to be real with people, and that comes from being confident", says A'ja. "Any time I'm doubtful, I remind myself of my identity. Waking up, I gotta be like, 'Girl, you're blessed, you're A'ja. Go take care of business'. I'm fully equipped to feel how I feel and execute my game plan in life".&nbsp;On court, her game shimmers with a take-charge aura. A ball leaving her fingertips on a turnaround jumper still is traced with her confidence as it rotates towards the rim. Her signature shoe, then, had to be canvassed with that self-belief.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Pink A'ura launch colourway symbolises A'ja's ability to lead with confidence, loyalty and passion, with layers of pink creating a gradual ambiance that's flush with Leo energy and lights up the court in her favourite colour.

The silhouette's Cushlon ST2 foam works with a firmer base to deliver explosive responsiveness and smooth, cushioned landings so hoopers stay ready for every play.

A post-game quote that speaks to A'ja's trademark tenacity is immortalised on the heel: "Weakness, weakness. We don't have time for that".

Celtic symbols for "Mum" and "Dad" pay homage to A'ja's parents, further harking to her belief that family means everything.

A'ja's signature logo is inspired by the star she draws inside the "A" of her signature while referencing her role as an "A1" hooper who inspires kids to reach for their dreams. With that motivation in mind, the Nike A'One will be available in kids' sizes as small as 13.5.

Nethongkome and his team spoke at length with A'ja about what technical qualities she needed in the A'One. She was clear that comfort and support were key for her, as those qualities would support her on-court versatility at both ends. No gimmicks. So, the midsole combo needed to do a little bit of everything. A Cushlon SLT midsole balances a plush ride with a responsive court feel, while a firmer foam carrier is wrapped around the outside to help brace A'ja's footwork against hard cuts. A lateral TPU outrigger helps keeps her over the footbed.&nbsp;&nbsp;Like A'ja herself, authenticity is at the heart of the shoe. It was in the refinement of the upper where Nethongkome watched A'ja show up to design meetings as her most animated self. Nethongkome describes meeting Wilson in Los Angeles a few years ago. The team kitted out a studio entirely with mood boards, inspirational images, swatch samples and more, from ceiling to floor. Rather than wait for their cue, A'ja took the reins. She held tiny material swatches and compared palette combinations. She sifted through images of natural objects that held important metaphorical meaning for her, like clamshells containing a precious pearl. She talked out loud as she held neutral colours to the room's light—not just a grey, but a specific grey, the grey she'd like to use someday for her wedding day.&nbsp;

"It's not uncommon for athletes to be a little bashful during a design work session, because design feedback isn't necessarily in their wheelhouse", says Nethongkome. "Not A'ja. Her energy was infectious. Actually, her enthusiasm also helped some of our more bashful designers open up, too, because no comment was off the table".&nbsp;Her honesty deepened the expressive detailing layered into the A'One. One of the review sessions last year involved travelling four hours north on I-5 to meet Wilson in Seattle, who was attending a concert later that night. Wearing a short-sleeve top, A'ja sported a new tattoo design above her right tricep, which Nethongkome noticed. A'ja explained that the intricate symbols were Celtic characters representing her parents' names, Roscoe and Eva.&nbsp;&nbsp;Nethongkome asked, Can we add some of these family details into the shoe's design? The Celtic script was later incorporated into the shoe's inside tongue. Her late grandmother, Hattie, is memorialised through inspirational quotes on the outsole. The upper's pearl motifs are directly influenced by the pearl necklace she gave A'ja when she was a child. A'ja's willingness to share, with sincerity, created a two-way exchange that transformed the shoe into a more personal memento, one that narrated Wilson's closest connections, ambitions and goals.&nbsp;

Speaking of goals, A'ja describes the innate accountability that comes along with being a signature athlete, with her own shoe. The products need to be bigger than her, she says, because her legacy in basketball needs to be about more than her personal success. While indelibly personal, the shoe had to relate to all backgrounds, all skill levels, from the most skilled pro to the novice who's picking up a ball for the first time.&nbsp;"Going after this legacy I'm chasing, to be the best, is a huge responsibility", she says. "But something I've always wanted to be about is for fans to see me as a real person. We can sit down and have a normal conversation. I'm chasing this goal, but I'm not on this unapproachable pedestal. We can be real with each other".&nbsp;&nbsp;A'ja's brought nothing but realness to the A'One. Sometimes, that includes some playful banter, even the occasional dare. A few rounds before she saw the final version—the meeting when she got tears in her eyes—the team pulled a prototype from the bag that was a typical sample size, a men's 8. She was emphatic. "That's it", she said. "I'm wearing these tomorrow".&nbsp;&nbsp;Then she smiled. "Try to stop me".&nbsp;

When you're designing for the queen, you have to perfect the crown.

How we made A'ja Wilson's signature shoe as real as she is

The Willy Wonka factory for innovation. The NASA of sports science. The epicentre of performance product creation. Athletes, industry leaders and visiting partners have described the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, in myriad ways. Our teams like to call it their dreamland. The place where creating, designing and breaking limits to better serve athletes has no bounds. The secret rooms where the unimaginable—the future of fastest, strongest, greatest—is made real. The images below capture a behind-the-scenes look into those unknown spaces, with audio context from Nike employees who help bring the dreams to life.

LEBRON JAMES INNOVATION CENTER

The <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/inside-the-nike-sports-research-lab-lebron-james-innovation-center" target="_blank">LeBron James Innovation Center</a> is where listening to the voice of the athlete is made tangible.&nbsp;While athletes are observed,&nbsp;others are at play too: researching, testing and, yes, creating the future. The goal is to understand athletes' unique needs and opportunities, contextualise challenges and generate breakthroughs across the spectrum of play and movement in a variety of environments.&nbsp;Much of that action takes place in the building's top floor, the Nike Sport&nbsp;Research Lab (NSRL), which houses the world's largest motion-capture installation (400 cameras), a basketball court, pitch and track with 97&nbsp;force plates, sweat-wicking mannequins and three environmental climate chambers that can mimic nearly any condition on Earth. Some of the innovator's prize tools: more than 80 prototyping machines that allow the Nike team to produce samples to test in under an hour.

DEPARTMENT OF NIKE ARCHIVES (DNA)

Understanding the past can inform and inspire how we innovate for the future, and no space at Nike preserves and stokes a more thorough accounting of our heritage than the Department of Nike Archives. This 50-plus-year Nike archive is the greatest in the world. From the actual broken waffle iron Bill Bowerman made famous to the self-lacing shoes from everyone's favourite futuristic film to Serena's iconic gladiator outfit, DNA houses the tangible history—papers, posters, photographs, memorabilia and of course, shoes—that represent the culture and soul of the Swoosh.

AIR MANUFACTURING INNOVATION (AIR MI)

There's something magical about putting on a fresh pair of Nike Air shoes, and we think it's thanks to our&nbsp;<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-air-blueprint-pack-official-images" target="_blank">unique Air technology</a>. In just three facilities in the US—two located a mile from Nike World Headquarters—experts on our Air Manufacturing Innovation (Air MI) team make that magic happen. Air MI is where we produce the propriety TPU material that forms our Air units and where we hold 500-plus patents. It's also the place where a highly skilled team comes together to build the products that will help break sport barriers. Inside the facility are engineers with 15 specialities across them, who custom-build technology platforms and flexible, scalable production lines to deliver the exact capabilities needed to manufacture the next generation of Air. That's in partnership with skilled production teammates, trained across the line, to ensure the highest fidelity and quality of our Air units.

Advanced Product Creation Center (APCC)

The APCC is a top-secret, state-of-the-art facility focused on innovation in product design. Consider it the home of rapid prototyping for Nike designers, scientists and researchers who need to test, refine and create new ideas for athletes at scale. With advanced methods of make, the APCC explores more flexible and forward-looking approaches that streamline the development and manufacturing process, reducing time and effort, while pushing boundaries in sports innovation.⁠ You'll find chemical, mechatronics, process and robotics engineers, as well as machinists, all dedicated to accelerating ideas through trial and experimentation, faster and more precisely than ever before.

Photography by <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.instagram.com/alastairwiper" target="_blank">Alastair Philip Wiper</a>, shot for the "<a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.design-museum.de/en/exhibitions/detailpages/nike.html" target="_blank">Nike: Form Follows Motion</a>" exhibit at the Vitra Design Museum.

Get a behind-the-scenes look of Nike's World Headquarters and the places where we create, design and dream, all to serve athletes.

The spaces where Nike creates the future of sport

The connection between what we wear and how we look and feel is undeniable; the relationship has the potential to bring power, confidence, poise, tenacity.&nbsp; That connection is no different if you're a young athlete. The way you wear your hair, the personal tweaks you give to your kit or your pre-game routine, the feeling you get when you just see your shirt—all of these details reinforce your persona, on and off the pitch. This is no truer than for the future icons of sport, standout athletes who aren't waiting to be told how to look, dress or go after their goals. Here, five of Nike's up-and-coming athletes share what makes them feel and look their best for their sport.&nbsp;

<h3>LESS REALLY IS MORE</h3>Maddy Elmore Athletics, University of Oregon "In the summer, I like wearing just a sports bra and tight-fitting clothes—as little clothing as possible. We warm up in this rain jacket that is huge on me, but when I take it off to race, there's a real transition in how I feel. With less on, I feel more free.&nbsp;My kit has changed as I've progressed. I always thought briefs would be super uncomfortable, but now I love them. When I put them on and I'm doing my strides before a race, I feel good. I used to have lucky socks and all those things, but now that I've got older I tell myself, this is just another day. If everything's not perfect right before a race, it's OK, because I do this every day in training.I'm from Eugene, I was born and raised here, so the Oregon kit is very meaningful to me. When I was younger I would go to watch all the meets at Hayward Field. Now, I wear the same kit as athletes I always looked up to, and I take a lot of pride in that".

<h3>THE RITUALS MATTER</h3>Jaiden Rodriguez Football midfielder, USA National Team"It's always an honour to step onto the pitch, but playing for the national team is something else. We always talk about 'borrowing the shirt'—it's not yours until you're on the senior team. On youth teams, you're borrowing the number. It is a privilege even to step in the dressing room. &nbsp;There are different personalities and different rituals for the team. It's all over the place until the end, when we come together before we head out onto the pitch. I don't know if it's a superstition, but I always hold my shinguards in my hand while I warm up. I like being light on my feet when I get my touches in. Then, when we go into contact, I put them on, pull my socks up and I'm ready to go".

<h3>THE BEST LOOK IS A REAL LOOK</h3>Simone Jackson Football forward, University of Southern California"Shirts mean so much to me. I have the one from my U20 Women's World Cup team framed, and it's a constant reminder to dream big. I also feel like shirts play a big part when I'm supporting. I vividly remember going to the Women's World Cup final in Lyon—my family and I were fully decked out. When you're there and you get the shirt, you're almost one with the team. It's just 10 times better. So, if I go to a game, I get the shirt. On game day, I am big on my hair. In Black hair culture, sometimes you feel like you have to add or straighten. I'm a natural-hair girl, because I think you don't necessarily have to do something to feel red-carpet ready. When I play, I wear my hair in its most natural, curly state. I want to let all the little girls that look like me know that your best look can be your most natural look, so my hair is super big, as poofy as possible. I don't really do make-up. I brush my teeth and smile big. Maybe I'll do my edges, if I'm feeling a little extra. Football is obviously a team sport, and I've always been big on looking uniform with the team. At USC, we don't do last names on the back of the shirt, and I like the fact that it's team before self. We have our team mantra on the back, 'we over me'. But off the pitch, I want to be the most unique. Even if we have the same thing, I want to dress it up differently, turn a head or two. I like bright colours, clothes that are fun yet simple. I make every day a fit day; I'm not afraid to go to class looking fitted".

<h3>DRESS FOR THE ENERGY YOU WANT</h3>Kiara Romero Golf, University of Oregon "I like to dress up when I play. I want to feel good out there. I'll curl my hair, wear ribbons and do a little bit of make-up. I like that tennis vibe some players have—kind of country club. I usually go with a skirt and a light top, a sweatshirt or a long sleeve. Most of the time I keep the colours subtle, then some days I'll feel it out. If it's a nice, easy day, I'll take it easy with the colour. If I feel like I need to play more aggressively, I'll go with a brighter colour to match that energy. I always match the colour of my top with the pen I use on my golf ball. Golf balls all look the same, and you don't want to accidentally hit someone else's, so everyone marks their ball. I have like, eight pens in my golf bag. Actually, there's a lot of stuff in there. Golf gloves get a lot of attention. I do this thing where I don't close the glove completely, it just kind of hangs open. When I get nervous, my hands get a little sweaty. The gloves are looser that way, less restricted, and I like a bit of airflow in there".

<h3>FIND YOUR VISUAL REMINDER</h3>Scottie Antonucci Football midfielder, USA National Team"I remember when I first put on the crest for the national team. I was at my first camp and I went to the equipment manager to pick up my stuff, and when I looked down at the crest in my hands, I was like, this is a little weird. This is what Alex Morgan wears. This is what Carli Lloyd wears. This kit is worn by all these players, and now it's in my hands. Knowing that I'm playing for something more than myself is extremely important to me. When I'm feeling down or I know I've got to keep pushing through, I'll look down at my crest. I'll even tap on it sometimes. It reminds you that you're playing for something that all these players before you did too—men and women that you've always looked up to. Now, you play a small part in that. That's what really motivates me on the pitch".

Learn more about Nike's 50 years of advancing women's sportswear and women's sport in the new book "<a href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/look-good-feel-good-play-good-nike-apparel" rel="noopener noreferrer">Look Good, Feel Good, Play Good: Nike Apparel</a>", which charts a visual history of the relationship between women and the garments they wear.

Make-up. Hair. What it feels like to wear the kit, the shirt, the gear. Five up-and-coming Nike women athletes explain why these details matter—and how they bring power to their game.

"The better I look and feel, the better I play"

<h3>Any conversation about women in golf inevitably includes Michelle Wie West. A phenom who picked up clubs at age 4, Michelle is a force on the greens. She was the youngest player ever to make the cut for the US Women's Open at 13. She signed with Nike at age 15. And as a teenager, she famously fought for women's sport equality to play alongside men on the PGA circuit, debuting at an early-season open in 2004 with a second-round 68 that still claims the record for the lowest PGA round by a woman.</h3><h3>Michelle went on to win the US Women's Open and five more events on the LPGA tour. Last year, she retired from her professional golf career, earning a standing ovation as she sank her putt on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. She'd set her mind to a new goal: growing her family. Michelle and her husband, Jonnie West, had a daughter, Makenna, in 2020, and wanted a second child—but the couple hit heartbreaking obstacles, including pregnancy loss and a difficult IVF journey.</h3><h3>Finding strength to get through hard moments is something Michelle says she's always tapped into as an athlete. It's those same athlete-minded traits—perseverance, dedication, passion—that she wants to instil in her daughter and, as of last October, her new baby boy, Jagger Jerry Yoojun West.</h3><h3>Here, Michelle shares what victories look like to her now, the joy she's found in working with Nike on products for women and mothers, and what's next for her in sport. </h3>

To get through IVF, I drew on my experience in hardship and adversity as a professional athlete. Especially the physical aspects. As a professional golfer, I had to learn how to keep my stamina up, keep my body strong, and that helped me steel myself through the injections, the bruising. Of course, it's not a complete one-to-one, but I found there were many similarities to sport. You can try too hard, get frustrated and feel stuck. I've learnt in both that sometimes you have to let the process take over.When I think about pregnancy now, I think about it like training for a major. When I got pregnant with my first child, it was during COVID, and it happened so easily that I didn't even think about it. Getting pregnant the second time was completely different. It didn't come as easily. I paid more attention to preparing my body for birth. I worked with a nutritionist on an eating plan. While I couldn't really work out too much, I was mindful about movement like walking. And I was more intentional on managing my energy levels, and my emotions as well.

As a mum, I absolutely channel the mental training I developed as a golfer. When I'm tired, when my toddler's crying, I tell myself to take a deep breath and not auto-react. It's like hitting a really bad shot on the green and just not letting it get to you. And just like in sport, leaning on other people is crucial too. Making sure I involve my partner and not trying to do everything myself, not trying to be that super mum or guilt myself into that. And then sometimes I'll just text my husband and say "I'm going to get my nails done. Figure it out".

Being part of the <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-athlete-think-tank-second-cohort" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nike Athlete Think Tank</a> [a collective of women athletes who help advise the brand] has been a such a cool experience. I feel grateful and lucky to be welcomed into that community, and I've made so many amazing friends—women ranging from young girls in their teens to fellow mums. It's been interesting to see that, while we all have different sports backgrounds, we've battled many of the same issues and problems. And it's been fun and meaningful to have input into <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/stories/all-movement-all-moments-our-next-era-of-designing-for-women" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nike women's products</a> that have come to market, like the <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-leak-protection-period-innovation" rel="noopener noreferrer">Leak Protection Period Shorts</a>, and to see Nike incorporate our suggestions. Part of the work I did with Athlete Think Tank was giving insights for <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-s-new-wearable-pump-compatible-sports-bra-and-easyon-shoe-give-mothers-more-support" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nike's new Swoosh (M) Bra</a>. This nursing bra allows women to move while they express breast milk, and I'm really excited to try it out. When I was pregnant last time, the technology was just being developed, so this pregnancy I absolutely got a hands-free pump. I think the bra is <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/stories/we-knew-women-needed-this-bra-yesterday" rel="noopener noreferrer">a game-changer for women</a>. When you're plugged into a wall to pump, you're stuck. To be able to nurse or pump while you're, say, walking on the treadmill, doing something for yourself, is so huge. After having my daughter, I remember I would have to leave the golf course to go pump between shots. I'd have to take a hole off. With this bra, I could pump on the golf buggie! It is physical, mental and emotional freedom to not have to be in the corner of a locked room every two and a half hours to pump. And I think products like this can prolong breastfeeding journeys. It's been fun to see the Nike maternity line expand, to try out different things from the line. I also helped give insights for the Nike (M) apparel, which people think is just for pregnancy and postnatal, but can absolutely be for an IVF journey too. You get so bloated and nothing fits, and that takes a big hit on your psyche when you're already feeling pretty low. My maternity style this second time around was tighter rib-knit dresses, two-piece sets. I wasn't afraid to experiment. I wore a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C-Vqi9eyJ0-/?hl=en&img_index=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nike Swim two-piece in my third trimester</a> and just sized up. I got the triangle bikini, and it was holding on for dear life. One thing I would love to see more of is people supporting women through pregnancy losses. To talk about that more, and to put supporting loss on par with supporting pregnancy. I think Nike, and all of us, has done a good job of starting to <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/stories/this-is-a-product-that-can-change-people-s-lives" rel="noopener noreferrer">talk about periods and menstrual cycles</a>, to develop products to help support those moments, but I think there's so much more that is involved in the road to motherhood.

The Nike (M) Swoosh Bra has adjustable cups to accommodate wearable breast pumps; proprietary hardware on the straps allows individual strap drop-down for nursing; and the interior lining features Nike Leak Protection: Breast Milk, a special moisture-managing material that helps prevent visible breast milk leaks.

Periods can be a barrier to sport and movement for teens and adults—physically, mentally and emotionally. Knowing this, Nike created Leak Protection: Period, an ultra-thin, absorbent liner that helps protect against period leaks to provide extra comfort and confidence. It debuted in the Nike One Leak Protection: Period Shorts.

Nike has extended its Nike (M) collection, adding a new dress along with refreshed tank tops, tops, shorts and leggings.

Nike's expanding maternity and postnatal products

What fuelled me as a pro golfer was that obsession to get better, to see how good I could be. That drove me through practice and through training and through the hard times. If I didn't have that single-minded way of thinking, I felt like I wouldn't reach my potential. And, when I was out there pushing myself—it was fun. There was nothing more fun than playing great golf, knowing that every shot that you hit is going to be good, the putts are going to drop. And when tough times inevitably hit, you're just trying to get back to those moments again. Throughout my career that's what I leaned on; an insatiable desire to be back in those moments. Now, I've transferred some of that ambition into my family. My daughter, Makenna, is 4 years old. And I've loved seeing the positive impact I can make on her and how she sees the world. You know, when they're younger, you don't really know what you're doing, you're just trying to keep them alive. Now, I can see her trying to emulate me, and I'm focused on being the example I want to set—showing her strong work ethic, how to self-motivate, the power of kindness and empathy. During my golf career, I tried to make bold choices, to not be afraid to fail or make a fool of myself, and those are the values I hope to instil in my daughter, my new baby. And it's a fun ride. Makenna is just starting sports, and I am introducing her to golf, but also football, swimming and she's recently gotten into tennis. Really, I'm just her Uber driver at this point. I remember with Makenna, I was on the range 10 days after giving birth. This time I will not be doing that. I definitely want to <a href="https://about.nike.com/en/stories/six-instant-benefits-of-running" rel="noopener noreferrer">get back into running</a>, to do Pilates and strength train and feel strong in my body again. And I still enjoy playing golf! Although tennis is my game at the moment. I'm looking forward to seeing how good I can get at that—and doing it with my daughter.

The golf champion talks about her challenges with IVF and pregnancy, and the model she wants to be for her daughter and new baby.

For the win

Michelle Wie West is still breaking barriers

Are you debating whether to run today? Whether to work out? Whether to set a new, challenging goal that might scare you? Championship coach Dawn Staley has words for you. Take a listen, and make your move.

Dawn Staley was featured in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/citizenmagazine/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-size-small">Citizen Issue 004</a>, themed "Strange World." The issue explores the new and the unknown, the strange moments, and the strange ideas we've encountered, all through the lens of Black women, including actress and cover star Ayo Ediberi, who was photographed in Nike's The Suit.

Dawn Staley portrait by <a href="https://www.justin-french.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Justin French</a>

Follow the voice of NCAA championship coach and three-time Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley for the motivation you need to train, to focus, to meet your next big goal.

Fan hub

The 2-Minute Pep Talk You Need to Get Moving Right Now

<h3>In 2011, Faith Kipyegon walked the grounds at Unhuru Gardens in Nairobi, Kenya, the wind tossing the long grass in her path. She was 16 years old and competing in the junior division of the Kenyan National Cross Country Championships, recognised as one of the most competitive races in the world, a 6-kilometre sprint over rough, hilly terrain through Kenya's Rift Valley. After checking out the racecourse on a leisurely walk, the only variable that mattered to Faith was, poetically, the matter under her feet. "I took one look at the texture of the grass, how soft it was and I told my coach, 'I'm not going to use my spikes today. I'm going to win barefoot'", she says. And she did.</h3><h3>In some ways, Faith Kipyegon, now 30, still describes herself as that same, barefooted young runner who believed she could go the distance. Her performance in Paris this summer secured her place in athletics lore as the only runner, man or woman, to win three back-to-back gold medals in the 1,500 metre. Her 2023 campaign, when she set world records in the 1,500m, the mile and the 5,000m, is considered one of the greatest individual seasons in the history of athletics. In other ways, her identity as a runner has fundamentally changed, particularly since the 2018 addition of her very junior training partner, her daughter Alyn.&nbsp;</h3><h3>Here, Faith shares more on her dominant career, the intersection of motherhood and running identity, the one thing Alyn needs after a victory by her mother, and more.&nbsp;</h3> Running barefoot has always felt comfortable to me. When I started running competitively at 14, I was given spikes to wear for the first time. I was happy to have them, but feeling as comfortable in spikes as I was while running barefoot took a long time. I even turned down wearing spikes a few times. Now, I still can't believe how I'm running in the fastest spikes on the planet.Running is a shared childhood experience in Kenya. I grew up in a small village called Ndababit, in Nakuru country, about 140 miles west of Nairobi. From the time I was in pimary school, we'd run four kilometres to school, run back home for lunch, run back to school and then run four kilometres home, every day until early secondary school.When young runners from the next generation watch me compete, I want them to see freedom—the freedom to challenge themselves in new ways. My 2024 season was beautiful. I was thankful for competing in the 5,000m in Paris and the 1,500m, which happened a few days later. But when I held that silver medal from the 5,000m, I thought to myself, "I can't let this disturb my 1,500 dreams". So I put that silver medal away. I had to be mentally strong to achieve my goal in the 1,500m.Motherhood gives me life as a runner. I’ve gotten extra energy from being a mother to Alyn. She sees how committed I am, how hard I work. During the season, she understands that I go to training camp from Monday to Saturday, and then I go back home, only to spend one day with her. It's really not easy, but she understands the sacrifices I'm making. She motivates me to work as hard as I can.I talk to my daughter before every race. She normally says the same thing to me: She wishes me all the best, and she asks me to bring chocolate back home—and the gold medal.

Motherhood can affect how you see your running career. My approach to Rio, Tokyo and Paris were all totally different. My first gold medal in Rio, I was 22, so young. I was still running for myself. In Tokyo, I had my daughter around me, but she was only three years old, and she couldn't fully understand what I was doing. She was watching me and going, "Mummy's running", not, "Mummy's running for a gold medal".&nbsp;In Paris, she knows what it's like when I win, but she also knows what it's like when I lose. After the 5,000 in Paris, she called me and asked, "Mum, why were you in position two this time? What happened?" It's very difficult to explain to a child what happened in a race while still being a role model to her. It's totally different from Rio. Today, I'm running to inspire my daughter and other young girls like her.All athletes have something that exists outside their comfort zone. For me, that's swimming. I remember in 2011 when I was in Punta Umbria for the Youth International Cross Country Championships. I met with my team at one of the local lakes to celebrate. I looked down at the water, believing it was this shallow pool. I jumped in. The next thing I knew, the water was up to my ears, and I couldn't hear anything. Swimming is the one thing I wish I was better at.When I reach the end of my career, I want to be known for empowering all women, and especially new mothers. It's possible to be a mother, go on maternity leave and come back even stronger than before. Being a mother is not the end of your career. It's the beginning of a new chapter.

The middle-distance champion on her dominant career, the intersection of motherhood and running identity, and more.

How Faith Kipyegon empowers herself—and all women runners

A graphic image takes on new life in the hands of Mark Smith. The power of pictures takes the retired VP of Special Projects in Nike Innovation and long-time Jordan collaborator back to 2005, when he was briefed on an important milestone to the Jordan signature line: the Air Jordan XX, a shoe that would pull out all the stops in honouring 20 years since the debut of the AJ I. The key feature of the shoe would be midfoot straps laser engraved with an unprecedented collage of images from MJ's career. Smith would later describe these details as a living tapestry, a purposefully designed mosaic of images. The graphic had to somehow contain an entire life story within its borders, rendered with the precision that only one tool could then provide."At the time we designed the AJ XX, I couldn't believe the exact detail we could achieve through laser engraving", says Smith. "I was exploring single pulses with the laser and comparing the precision to what I could do with the tip of my sharpest pen. The laser tools were going beyond what we could produce with the human hand".

The Air Jordan XX receives a special treatment for the 20th anniversary of Doernbecher Freestyle, created by the legendary designer Mark Smith.

5 questions with global sensation Tyla

Real talk with A'ja Wilson and Issa Rae

How we made A'ja Wilson's signature shoe as real as she is

The spaces where Nike creates the future of sport

"The better I look and feel, the better I play"

Michelle Wie West is still breaking barriers

The 2-Minute Pep Talk You Need to Get Moving Right Now

How Faith Kipyegon empowers herself—and all women runners

An unforgettable canvas: The making of the Air Jordan XX Doernbecher Freestyle

A Local’s Guide to Running Chicago

A Chicago run team that makes everyone want to run

Hear from our ultimate wear-tester on the new Zoom Fly 6