I love Nike, anyone who knows me knows that. Anyone who meets me can see that.
I’ve been inspired by the Just Do It spirit, ingenuity and fire since I was young.
I interned there three summers and at their ad firm Wieden&Kennedy, trying to understand and absorb the ethos of competition and sport.
And I’ve worn Nike nearly every step of my way for well over a decade. You just can’t beat their technology, style and flair.
And yet, somewhere over the past year I began to stray.
It started with trail shoes. I purchased New Balance 100s because they’re great and Nike doesn’t make trail shoes. Neglecting the thousands of miles of unpaved wilderness seems unexplainable, but oh well.
And recently, at the suggestion of a friend I tried on the New Balance Minimus Road. They took a bit of adjusting to because they ask a lot of your lower calf and ankle muscles. But, true to the minimal running philosophy and biology, my body adjusted and I’ve felt better on runs recently than in a long time. Now I can just cruse, which is all you want as a runner.
So now I find myself a Nike lover who runs in New Balance every day.
How did New Balance get here? From what I understand they did it by listening to runners, carefully. They brought the best shoes on the market to distance runners and experimented together till they had something ideal for the basic motion of running.
Little technology to speak of, not much left to brag about actually.
They made something that works for people, by working with people.
“But what about the Nike Free?!” you’re asking. I own a pair, and run in them, but they’re not as good. Plain and simple, there’s too much going on with them technologically. They get in the way. I’m sure Nike doesn’t agree, they’ve sold millions and made millions. But ask runners, real runners, fast or slow who hit the roads and trails frequently and you won’t hear a lot about the Free. Mostly you’ll just hear, “no thank you.”
So Nike, I haven’t given up hope on us running together again, but right now we’re not in synch and I’ve found someone who’s listening to me better.
You taught the world to live by three words, “Just Do It.”
Well, I’ll offer you three in return, “Keep it simple.”
2 comments:
Interesting man. Funny, growing up in Massachusetts, a short drive away from where New Balances were traditionally made, I always associated them with old fogeys doing a sport I was uninterested in. And man, that classic gray-and-white model was almost a style icon because it was so resolutely NON-stylish.
And of course I always wore Nikes for the same reasons--most recently the Nike Free, which I've been pretty happy with. What's interesting is that Nike started out exactly how you portray New Balance (having interned there you probably know all this, the selling from the trunk of Phil Knight's car, etc. etc.) But I gotta say, you made me curious about the Minimus, although my next pair is going to be a new pair of Five Fingers, after my first ones fell apart after two years of use. See you out there. . . .
loved this post, nice work Peter. I'm a good walker these days and swear by the 993. When I get back to running, will stick to NB and check these out!
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