Full transcript
0:00A young runner opens [music] the trunk
0:02of his car. Inside, there are only a few
0:05boxes of shoes. One by one, [music] he
0:08sells every pair himself. No grand
0:11showroom, no massive company, just
0:14determination and a simple belief. At
0:18that moment, no one could have imagined
0:19that this humble beginning [music] would
0:21one day grow into one of the most
0:23valuable sports brands in the world. But
0:25this story isn't [music] just about
0:26success. It's a story of crushing debt,
0:30of legal [music] battles, of the
0:32constant threat of betrayal, and of the
0:34bold decisions that would ultimately
0:36change Nike's destiny [music] forever.
0:39Welcome to Morvex TV. Nike's story
0:42doesn't begin with a massive factory or
0:45billions of dollars in investment. It
0:47begins with a young man, a young man who
0:50loved running [music] and couldn't stop
0:52asking one simple question. Why were the
0:55best running shoes so expensive,
0:57especially for the athletes who needed
0:59the most? That young man's name was Phil
1:02Knight. He grew up in Portland, Oregon.
1:04[music] As a young adult, he became a
1:07middle distance runner at the University
1:08of Oregon. It was there that he met the
1:11man who would shape the course of his
1:12future, his track coach, Bill
1:15Bowererman. But Bowererman wasn't just a
1:17coach. He was an obsessive innovator. He
1:20was constantly searching for ways
1:21[music] to help runners perform better.
1:23He cut apart shoes. He stitched them
1:26back together. He experimented with new
1:28designs, all in pursuit of making them
1:30lighter, faster, and more [music]
1:31comfortable. At the time, the global
1:34athletic shoe market was dominated by
1:36German companies. The highest quality
1:38shoes were available, but they came with
1:40a high price tag. Cheaper alternatives
1:43existed, but their quality [music]
1:44simply couldn't compete. Phil Knight
1:46believed there was a gap between those
1:48two extremes. a place where highquality
1:51running shoes could be sold at a [music]
1:52reasonable price. While studying for his
1:55MBA at Stanford University, Knight
1:57explored that idea [music] in an
1:59academic project. He argued that
2:01highquality, lowerc cost running shoes
2:03made in Japan could one day challenge
2:05[music] the dominance of the German
2:07brands. At the time, it was nothing more
2:09than a classroom assignment. No one
2:11imagined that just a few years later,
2:14that very idea would begin [music]
2:15turning into reality. After completing
2:18his MBA, Phil Knight set out to travel
2:20the world. One of his stops was Japan.
2:24There he met executives from the
2:25Onitsuka Company, the manufacturer of
2:27the running shoes sold under the Tiger
2:29brand. Knight told them he wanted to
2:31sell their shoes in the United States.
2:33Eventually, [music] he secured the
2:35rights to distribute them. When the
2:37first shipment arrived in America, there
2:39was no corporate office, no impressive
2:41[music] showroom, no large sales team.
2:44Phil Knight loaded the shoe boxes into
2:46the trunk of his car, drove to track
2:48meetats, spoke directly with athletes,
2:51asked them to try [music] the shoes,
2:53listened carefully to their feedback,
2:55and passed every suggestion back to the
2:57manufacturer. This wasn't just selling
2:59shoes. It was a process of understanding
3:02the [music] market. Every pair sold,
3:04every conversation, every athletes
3:07experience became another lesson for
3:09Knight. Then in 1964, Phil Knight and
3:13Bill Bowererman founded a company called
3:15Blue [music] Ribbon Sports. It wasn't
3:17Nike, not yet. It was simply a small
3:19distribution company selling shoes
3:21imported from Japan. But both men shared
3:24a much bigger vision. One day, they
3:27wanted [music] to build the world's
3:28greatest athletic brand under a name of
3:30their own. What they didn't know was
3:33that within a few years, their
3:35partnership would be pushed to the
3:36brink. A dispute with their supplier
3:38would threaten everything [music] they
3:39had built, and they would be forced to
3:41create an entirely new brand. That
3:44crisis would become the turning point
3:46that changed history forever. [music] By
3:48the late 1960s, Blue Ribbon Sports was
3:51growing fast. What had started from the
3:53trunk of Phil Knight's car had become a
3:55small company with remarkable momentum.
3:58Runners loved the Japanese-made Tiger
4:00shoes, and Bill Bowererman continued to
4:02suggest improvements, always pushing for
4:05better performance. But beneath that
4:07success, a serious problem was quietly
4:10taking shape. Blue Ribbon Sports didn't
4:12manufacture its own shoes. [music] Its
4:14entire business depended on Japan's
4:16Onitsuka Company. If that supply [music]
4:18chain ever stopped, the company itself
4:20could collapse. And eventually, [music]
4:22that threat became real. Around 1969 and
4:261970, the relationship between the two
4:28companies began to deteriorate. Tensions
4:31grew [music] over distribution rights,
4:32future plans, and control of the
4:34business. Phil Knight began to [music]
4:36suspect that Onitsuka might partner with
4:38someone else in the United States or
4:40simply leave Blue Ribbon Sports behind.
4:42If that happened, years of hard work
4:45could disappear in an instant. [music]
4:47It was during this uncertain period that
4:49Phil Knight and his team made the
4:51decision that would change history. They
4:53asked [music] themselves one simple
4:54question. If we can sell someone else's
4:57shoes, why can't we make our own? It
5:00sounded simple. In reality, it was an
5:03enormous gamble. Creating their own
5:05brand meant everything had to start from
5:07scratch. A new name, a new design, a new
5:12identity, a new manufacturing process,
5:15and the difficult task of earning
5:17customers trust all over again. If the
5:19plan failed, the company itself might
5:22not survive. Around [music] that same
5:24time, one of the company's earliest
5:26employees, Jeff Johnson, suggested a new
5:29name, Nike. The name was inspired by
5:32Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of
5:34victory. It was short, memorable, and
5:38perfectly matched the spirit of sport.
5:41But a new brand needed more than just a
5:43name. It needed a symbol, one the world
5:46would recognize instantly. In 1971,
5:49Carolyn [music] Davidson, a graphic
5:51design student at Portland State
5:52University, was asked to create a simple
5:54yet powerful logo. She produced several
5:57concepts. [music] In the end, one curved
6:00line stood out. A design that captured
6:02the feeling of speed, movement, and
6:05momentum. That symbol would later become
6:08known around the world as the swoosh. At
6:10the time, [music] no one imagined that
6:12this small design would one day become
6:14one of the most recognizable logos on
6:16Earth. For her work, Carolyn [music]
6:18Davidson was initially paid about $135.
6:21Years later, after Nike had become a
6:23global [music] success, Phil Knight
6:25honored her with Nike stock and a
6:27special commemorative ring. In 1971, the
6:31first shoes carrying the Nike name began
6:33to take shape. But the real test was
6:35still ahead. On one side, the company
6:38was locked in a legal dispute [music]
6:39with Onitsuka. On the other, it had to
6:42convince customers to believe in a brand
6:44[music] they had never heard of before.
6:46The challenge was no longer just about
6:47selling shoes.
6:48>> [music]
6:48>> The real question had become, would
6:51people trust an unknown brand? Within
6:53just a few years, that answer would
6:56arrive in the [music] form of an
6:57invention that would change the world of
6:59athletic footwear forever. The new name
7:01was ready. The new logo was ready. But a
7:04company doesn't become great because of
7:06a [music] name or a symbol. Nike needed
7:09something that would truly set it apart
7:11from every other brand. Once again, the
7:14answer came from Bill Bowererman. He
7:16wasn't just a coach. He was constantly
7:19searching for new ways to make his
7:21runners faster. He believed [music] that
7:23if a shoe could be made lighter and
7:25provide better traction, it could make a
7:27real difference in [music] an athletes
7:28performance. Then one day in the early
7:311970s
7:33while eating breakfast at home, his eyes
7:35fell on a waffle [music] maker sitting
7:37in the kitchen. The grid pattern caught
7:39his attention and suddenly an idea
7:43[music] was born.
7:44What if the sole of a running shoe could
7:47be built with a similar pattern? It
7:49could be lighter. It could grip the
7:50track more effectively. And it could
7:52[music] help runners perform even
7:54better. That idea didn't remain just an
7:57idea. Bowererman went straight to work.
8:00He began experimenting. [music]
8:02He poured rubber into the waffle iron,
8:04trying to create entirely new sole
8:06patterns. Some attempts failed.
8:09Materials were ruined. At one point,
8:13even the waffle maker itself was
8:14damaged, but Bowererman refused to stop.
8:17Eventually, he found the design [music]
8:19he had been searching for. The new sole
8:21was lighter, more flexible, and offered
8:25superior traction. It would later become
8:27[music] famous as the waffle soul, one
8:30of Nike's earliest and most important
8:32technological [music]
8:32breakthroughs. Then, in 1974, Nike
8:36introduced the waffle [music] trainer.
8:38Runners embraced it almost immediately.
8:40It wasn't just another running shoe. It
8:42proved something much bigger. Nike
8:45wasn't simply copying the competition.
8:46[music]
8:47It was creating new technology for
8:49athletes. At the very same time, another
8:52opportunity was unfolding. The running
8:55movement was growing rapidly [music]
8:56around the world. Across America,
8:59thousands of people were taking up
9:00running for health and fitness. Nike
9:03recognized that shift. The [music]
9:05company no longer designed shoes only
9:07for professional athletes. It began
9:09creating products for everyday [music]
9:10runners as well. Now, the customer
9:13wasn't just an Olympic competitor. It
9:15could be anyone. Anyone who stepped into
9:18a park for a morning run. That strategy
9:20[music] proved to be remarkably
9:22successful. Sales accelerated. More
9:25dealers [music] joined the network. New
9:26products continued to arrive step by
9:29step. Nike was transforming from a small
9:31company into one of the most influential
9:34forces in the American sports [music]
9:35market. But success brought something
9:37else. competition. The established
9:39[music] German brands were still
9:41powerful. New rivals were entering the
9:43market. Simply [music] making great
9:45shoes was no longer enough. Nike had to
9:48convince the world [music] that its
9:49shoes weren't just something people
9:51bought. They were something people
9:52achieved their dreams in. And to do
9:55that, the company was about to take a
9:57path that would redefine [music] sports
9:58marketing forever. By the end of the
10:001970s, Nike was moving faster than ever.
10:04The waffle soul [music] had given the
10:06company a technological identity and the
10:08growing popularity of running had pushed
10:10sales to new heights. Then in 1980, Nike
10:14took another major step. The company
10:17went public by offering its shares to
10:19the public. Nike gained the capital it
10:21needed to expand on a much larger scale.
10:24But success rarely follows a straight
10:26line. In the early 1980s, [music]
10:28another brand began rising rapidly.
10:31Reebok. Driven by the aerobics and
10:34fitness boom, [music] Reebok's sales
10:36exploded. For a time, it even surpassed
10:39Nike in the American market. For Nike,
10:42it was a wake-up call. The company
10:44realized that making great shoes alone
10:45was no longer enough. It had to earn a
10:48place in people's hearts. It needed a
10:50face, someone who could inspire
10:52millions. Then came 1984. A young
10:55American basketball player [music] was
10:56preparing to enter the professional
10:58league. His name was Michael Jordan. At
11:00the time, [music] many believed he would
11:02sign with another brand. But Nike saw
11:04more than just a talented [music]
11:06athlete. It saw someone who could define
11:08an entire generation. In 1984, [music]
11:11Nike and Michael Jordan reached an
11:13agreement. Together, they launched an
11:15entirely new signature shoe line, Air
11:17Jordan. When the first Air Jordan 1
11:20[music] arrived in 1985, it looked
11:22unlike the traditional basketball shoes
11:24of its era. Its bold colors [music]
11:26demanded attention. Debate soon followed
11:29over NBA uniform policies and the Air
11:31Jordan shoes. Nike turned that
11:33controversy into part of its marketing,
11:35and public curiosity [music] only grew
11:37stronger. The result was extraordinary.
11:41What many expected to be just another
11:43athletes signature shoe became a
11:45cultural icon. People weren't buying Air
11:48Jordans only to play basketball. [music]
11:50They were buying them to express who
11:51they were. That was the moment when Nike
11:55stopped being just a [music] sports
11:56equipment company. It became a brand
11:58people connected with emotionally. At
12:01the same time, the company continued
12:03investing heavily in research and
12:05development. Its Nike [music] Air
12:07cushioning technology, first introduced
12:09in 1979, continued to evolve. Over time,
12:13it became one of the most important
12:15innovations in Nike's product lineup.
12:17Then, in 1988,
12:20Nike made another historic move. It
12:22launched an advertising campaign with
12:24three simple words, just do it. [music]
12:28It wasn't just a slogan. It was a
12:30mindset. The message wasn't only for
12:32Olympic champions. It was for anyone
12:34[music] battling fear, laziness, or the
12:38possibility of failure. Whether someone
12:40was taking their very first run, or
12:42preparing to break a world record, the
12:45campaign became one of the most
12:46influential advertising campaigns in
12:48history. Now, Nike wasn't just selling
12:51shoes. It was selling confidence. It was
12:54selling courage. It was selling the
12:56belief that if you were willing to try,
12:58you too were capable of achieving
13:01something extraordinary. But as Nike
13:04grew into the world's largest [music]
13:05sports company, success wasn't the only
13:07thing that followed. Serious
13:09controversies also emerged. Challenges
13:12that [music] tested the company's
13:13reputation and ultimately forced Nike to
13:16change its policies. By the 1990s,
13:18[music]
13:19Nike had become one of the most
13:20influential sports companies in the
13:22world. Its shoes, its apparel, and its
13:25athletic equipment were no longer
13:27limited to [music] the United States.
13:29The brand had established a powerful
13:30presence across Asia, Europe, Latin
13:33America, and many other global markets.
13:36One of the key reasons behind that rapid
13:38growth was the way Nike operated. The
13:41company didn't manufacture most of its
13:42products in factories that it owned.
13:45Instead, it partnered [music] with
13:46independent manufacturers across
13:48different countries. That model allowed
13:50Nike to scale production quickly and
13:53meet growing demand around the world.
13:55But the very system that fueled [music]
13:57its success also created its greatest
14:00challenge. During the [music] 1990s,
14:03journalists, human rights organizations,
14:06and labor rights groups raised serious
14:08concerns about working conditions
14:10[music] in some contractor operated
14:12factories. They alleged that workers
14:14were being paid very low wages, working
14:16long hours, [music] and facing poor
14:19working conditions. Those reports spread
14:21across the world. The company [music]
14:23that millions viewed as a symbol of
14:25inspiration was suddenly facing
14:27difficult questions. Protests were held
14:30against Nike [music] in several places.
14:32University students also demanded
14:34greater transparency [music] from the
14:35company. The media continued to shine a
14:38spotlight on the issue. At first,
14:40[music] Nike argued that those factories
14:42were operated by independent
14:44contractors. But over time, the company
14:47acknowledged something important.
14:48[music] If products were being sold
14:50under the Nike name, then Nike also had
14:52a responsibility to help ensure better
14:54working [music] conditions where those
14:55products were made. The company
14:57responded with a series of significant
14:59changes. It strengthened its code of
15:01conduct for suppliers, expanded factory
15:04monitoring and inspections, introduced
15:06higher standards for worker safety and
15:08workplace [music] conditions, and over
15:11time began publicly sharing more
15:13information about its global supply
15:14chain than it had before. The discussion
15:16has continued over the years, but there
15:19is no question this became one of the
15:21defining moments in Nike's history. It
15:24showed that when a company grows into a
15:26global powerhouse, people don't judge it
15:28only by the products it sells. They also
15:30judge it by its values and by the
15:32responsibilities that come with its
15:34influence. Even through those
15:36challenges, Nike never stopped
15:38innovating. The company continued
15:40developing new technologies [music] for
15:42running. Football, basketball, tennis,
15:45golf, and many other sports. Innovations
15:48such as FlightNet, React Foam, and Zoom
15:51Air led to an entirely new generation of
15:54products. Many of the world's most
15:56celebrated athletes partnered with Nike,
15:58and the brand continued expanding its
16:00influence across the world of sport.
16:03Today, Nike products are sold on nearly
16:05every continent. [music]
16:07The company's global headquarters
16:08remains in Beaverton, Oregon, [music]
16:10where its worldwide operations continue
16:12to be directed. What once began with a
16:15young man selling shoes from the trunk
16:16of his car has grown into one of the
16:18most recognizable [music]
16:19brands on the planet. But Nike's
16:22greatest strength has never been its
16:24logo, nor its factories, nor even its
16:27marketing. Its greatest [music] strength
16:29has always been the mindset that Phil
16:31Knight and Bill Bowererman embraced from
16:33the very beginning. If something can be
16:35made better, never stop trying to make
16:37it better. That simple philosophy helped
16:40transform a small startup into one of
16:42the most influential sports brands the
16:44world has ever known today. When we see
16:47the Nike swoosh, we see one of the most
16:49recognizable brands in [music] the
16:51world. But the story behind that symbol
16:53teaches something far greater. This
16:56wasn't the story of a wealthy [music]
16:57family. It wasn't the story of someone
16:59who started with a giant factory or
17:01unlimited money. It was the story of an
17:03idea. Phil Knight asked one simple
17:06question. Why couldn't athletes have
17:08highquality shoes at an affordable
17:10price? Bill Bowererman [music] asked
17:12another. Why couldn't a running shoe be
17:14lighter and faster? Those two questions
17:18became the foundation of a company that
17:20would shape the world of sports for
17:21decades to come. But Nike's journey also
17:24reminds us of something equally
17:26important. Success brings
17:27responsibility. The company celebrated
17:30remarkable achievements. But it also
17:32faced legal battles, intense
17:34competition, and controversies
17:36surrounding labor rights. There were
17:38times when Nike was heavily criticized.
17:40There were times when it was forced to
17:42change its policies. And that's what
17:44makes this story feel real. Because in
17:47real history, no company wins every
17:49[music] battle. And no company gets
17:51everything right. Yet through it all,
17:54one thing never changed. The hunger to
17:56innovate. the belief in new ideas and
17:59the conviction [music] that if today's
18:00product is good, tomorrow's can be even
18:03better. Today, Nike is [music] no longer
18:06just a brand for elite athletes. It has
18:08become part of the lives of runners,
18:11football players, basketball players,
18:13everyday [music] fitness enthusiasts,
18:15and millions of young people around the
18:17world. Every time a young athlete ties a
18:19pair of shoes for the very first [music]
18:21time, every time a runner begins that
18:23first race, and every time someone
18:26chooses to leave fear behind and take
18:28the [music] very first step, the echo of
18:31that journey can still be heard. A
18:33journey that began in the 1960s with a
18:36few boxes of shoes resting in the trunk
18:38[music] of a car. And perhaps that is
18:41Nike's greatest legacy. A company
18:43doesn't [music] just create products, it
18:45creates an idea. And when that idea
18:48finds [music] a place in people's
18:49hearts, even the smallest dream can grow
18:53into one of the world's [music] greatest
18:54brands. If you enjoyed this story, don't
18:57forget to subscribe to the channel
18:59because the next story is going to be
19:01even more interesting. Thank you.