Nike’s co-founder, Bill Bowerman, started out as a track and field coach. Dissatisfied with the available leather and metal running spikes, Bowerman did all he could to design running shoes that would help athletes reduce their times.
But, more than this, it is Bowerman who helped defined Nike’s ultimate mission statement. By adding an asterisk to the original idea of bringing “inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world,” Bowerman forwarded the idea that, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.”
It is this sentiment that has opened Nike up to just about everyone. Its inclusive values add warmth and help humanise a brand that would otherwise exclude an entire chunk of the population.
Today, their products, reiterates their core notion by implementing inclusive promotional designs such as plus-sized mannequins and accommodating practical designs such as soles that support prosthetic legs whilst running.