You’ve seen the Swoosh. It’s everywhere. From the feet of elite marathoners in Nairobi to the local grocery store in suburban Ohio, that little curved checkmark is basically the most recognizable logo on the planet. But it didn't start in a glass-walled boardroom or a high-tech lab. Honestly, it started in a way that would make most modern venture capitalists laugh their heads off.
If you want to know where was Nike started, you have to look toward the Pacific Northwest. Specifically, Eugene, Oregon. But even that's a bit simplified.
Nike wasn't even called Nike at first. It was Blue Ribbon Sports. The whole thing was basically a side hustle run by a track coach with a drive for innovation and a middle-distance runner who had a weirdly specific obsession with Japanese footwear. It wasn't a "startup" in the way we think of them now with seed rounds and pitch decks. It was two guys, $1,200 in a bank account, and a lot of driving around to track meets.
The Blue Ribbon Era in Eugene
Phil Knight was a runner at the University of Oregon. His coach was Bill Bowerman. That’s the duo. Most people think companies start with a grand vision of world domination, but Knight’s initial idea was actually a college paper. While at Stanford for his MBA, he wrote a thesis proposing that high-quality, low-cost running shoes from Japan could compete with the German brands that dominated the market at the time (mostly Adidas and Puma).
In 1964, Blue Ribbon Sports was born.
Where exactly? The official "headquarters" was Phil Knight’s father’s basement in Portland, but the soul of the company lived at Hayward Field in Eugene. Knight didn't have a storefront. He had a green Plymouth Valiant. He would drive to track meets across the Pacific Northwest, open up his trunk, and sell Tiger shoes (made by Onitsuka Co. in Japan) to athletes and coaches.
It was grassroots in the most literal sense.
Bowerman wasn't just a silent partner, either. He was the tinkerer. He was obsessed with making shoes lighter. He believed that if you could shave an ounce off a shoe, you’d save a runner from lifting hundreds of pounds over the course of a mile. He would literally rip apart the Onitsuka shoes Knight imported and try to improve them. He was a mad scientist in a track suit.
The Pivot from Importing to Inventing
By 1971, the relationship between Blue Ribbon Sports and Onitsuka was falling apart. The Japanese supplier wanted more control, and Knight wanted independence. This is the moment where the question of where was Nike started gets interesting, because the brand Nike as we know it was born out of a looming crisis.
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They needed a name. They needed a logo.
Knight originally wanted to call the company "Dimension Six." Thankfully, Jeff Johnson, the company’s first full-time employee, had a dream about the Greek goddess of victory. He suggested "Nike." Knight wasn't even that crazy about it at first, but they were on a deadline. The first shoes were being produced, and the boxes needed a name.
As for the logo? That was designed by Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student at Portland State University. Knight paid her $35 for it. Think about that next time you see a Nike billboard in Times Square. Thirty-five bucks for the most valuable brand asset in sports history.
The Waffle Iron Moment
While the business side was being figured out in Portland, the innovation was still happening in Bowerman’s kitchen. This is one of those pieces of corporate lore that is actually 100% true. In 1971, Bowerman was looking at his wife’s waffle iron and had a "what if" moment. He wondered if the pattern could provide better traction on the newly installed artificial tracks at the University of Oregon.
He literally poured liquid urethane into the waffle iron. He ruined the appliance, but he created the Waffle Sole.
This changed everything. It provided grip without the need for heavy metal spikes. It was the "Moon Shoe" given to athletes at the 1972 Olympic Trials in Eugene. This wasn't just a shoe; it was proof that Nike could out-innovate the giants.
Portland and the Move to Beaverton
As the 70s rolled on, the trunk of the Plymouth was no longer sufficient. The company moved its operations around the Portland area. They had a small office on SW Morrison Street. They were growing fast, fueled by the jogging craze that Bowerman himself had helped popularize in the U.S. after a trip to New Zealand.
People think Nike was always this massive juggernaut, but for a long time, they were constantly on the verge of bankruptcy. Banks hated their high-growth, low-cash model. Knight has often spoken about how they lived and died by their "float"—the time between paying the factory and getting paid by the retailers.
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Eventually, the company outgrew its various scattered offices and settled into what is now the Nike World Headquarters (WHQ) in Beaverton, Oregon. This is a massive campus today, but it represents the culmination of that original Oregon spirit.
Why the "Where" Matters
When you ask where was Nike started, you aren't just looking for a GPS coordinate. You're looking for the reason why the brand feels different than a luxury fashion house or a generic athletic company.
- It was started in the rain. Oregon’s climate meant runners needed gear that worked in the mud and the cold.
- It was started by outsiders. Knight and Bowerman weren't part of the "shoe industry" establishment. They were track guys.
- It was started through friction. The split from Onitsuka forced them to become creators rather than just middlemen.
The Global Expansion
By the time Nike went public in 1980, they had already overtaken Adidas in the U.S. market. But the 80s were a rollercoaster. They actually missed the aerobics trend (which Reebok caught), and for a minute, it looked like they might lose their edge.
Then came 1984. Michael Jordan.
While the company was started in Oregon, the cultural Nike—the one that lives in the zeitgeist—was forged in Chicago and in the labs where Air technology was developed. Air wasn't even a Nike invention originally; it was pitched by Frank Rudy, a former NASA engineer. He took the idea to other companies first, and they all turned him down. Knight took the gamble.
Common Misconceptions About Nike's Origins
A lot of people think Nike started in a high-tech factory. Nope. The first shoes were made in Japan by Onitsuka. The first "Nike" branded shoes were made in factories in Mexico and Canada, and let’s be honest, those early versions were kind of terrible. The soles cracked in the cold. The quality was inconsistent.
Another myth is that Phil Knight was a rich guy who just bought a company. He was a CPA who worked at Price Waterhouse and taught accounting at Portland State just to keep the lights on while Blue Ribbon Sports was struggling. He was an entrepreneur in the grittiest sense of the word.
Actionable Takeaways from the Nike Story
If you're looking at the history of where Nike started to find inspiration for your own projects, there are a few "non-corporate" lessons to pull from the mud of Eugene:
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1. Start with a specific problem, not a logo.
Bowerman didn't care about "branding." He cared about his runners' feet. The innovation came from the track, not the marketing department. Solve the problem first.
2. Distribution is just as important as the product.
Knight didn't wait for a retail contract. He went to where the customers were (track meets) and talked to them. He built a community before he built a store.
3. Use what you have.
A waffle iron. A basement. A green Plymouth. You don't need a "workspace" or an "incubator" to start. You need a bias toward action.
4. Lean into your geography.
Nike's "Oregonness" is a huge part of its identity. It’s rugged, it’s a bit rebellious, and it’s obsessed with the outdoors. Whatever your "where" is, use it.
Final Thoughts on the Nike Origin
So, where was Nike started? It was started in the minds of two men who were tired of second-rate equipment. It was started on the cinder tracks of Eugene and the rainy streets of Portland. It was started in a waffle iron and a shoebox.
Today, the Beaverton campus is a city unto itself, with buildings named after Serena Williams and LeBron James. But if you look closely, you can still see the DNA of that original 1964 side hustle. It’s a company that was born from running—not just the sport, but the act of running toward an idea before you're even sure it's going to work.
If you want to see the roots for yourself, a visit to the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field is as close to a pilgrimage as you can get. You won't find a plaque for a "startup," but you'll find the place where the dirt met the rubber, and a global empire took its first shaky steps.
To really understand the brand, read Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. It’s one of the few business memoirs that actually feels honest about how close to failure they were at every single turn. It reminds you that every giant started as a small, slightly desperate idea in the back of a car.
Key Milestones to Remember
- 1964: Blue Ribbon Sports founded in Eugene/Portland.
- 1971: The Swoosh is created and the name "Nike" is adopted.
- 1972: The Waffle Racer debuts at the Olympic Trials.
- 1980: Nike goes public, cementing its place as a global leader.
- Current: Headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, on a 400-acre campus.
Next time you lace up, remember that the billion-dollar technology under your feet began with a ruined kitchen appliance and a guy selling shoes out of his trunk because he didn't have anywhere else to go.