Quotes About Nike Just Do It

“Blaming the running injury epidemic on big, bad Nike seems too easy - but that's okay, because it's largely their fault.”

— Christopher McDougall

“Cutting through the roar of the wind, the goddess Nike screamed from the stables: YOU CAN DO BETTER, STORM! GIVE ME A HUNDRED AND TEN PERCENT!”

— Rick Riordan

“Somewhere behind them, Nike yelled, Try harder! That popcorn was not fatal!”

— Rick Riordan

“They seemed to believe that the right mixture of Nike, granola and hard work would turn anyone, anywhere in the world, into a millionaire.”

— Nick Harkaway

“Successful heretics create their own religions ... You can recognize the need for faith in your idea, you can find the tribe you need to support you, and yes, you can create a new religion around your faith. Steve Jobs did it on purpose at Apple and Phil Knight is famous for doing it at Nike.”

— Seth Godin

“Good ideas are like Nike sports shoes. They may facilitate success for an athlete who possesses them, but on their own they are nothing but an overpriced pair of sneakers. Sports shoes don't win races. Athletes do.”

— Felix Dennis

“A friend told me about a Nike competition, where they give you one minute to do tricks with a basketball. I wasn't going to go, but they were giving away free sneakers. I ended up coming in second place.”

— Ramon Rodriguez

“I always wear a pair of colored jeans and fun boots. I have a really cute pair of stars-and-stripes Converse, and I love wearing all my bright Nike shoes.”

— Gracie Gold

“Perhaps the most powerful lesson other brands can learn from Nike is the need to act in accordance with the reality of the world we live in. In a mutually dependant, intimately connected global community facing several major crises, brands need to operate with an expanded definition of self-interest that includes the greater good.”

— Simon Mainwaring

“When I read the 'Ugly Betty' pilot, I thought, 'Oh, this part's funny.' I said to my husband, 'I'm going to get it!' But based on what? All my exquisite comedic work in a Nike commercial?”

— Becki Newton

“Marathon running, like golf, is a game for players, not winners. That is why Callaway sells golf clubs and Nike sells running shoes. But running is unique in that the world's best racers are on the same course, at the same time, as amateurs, who have as much chance of winning as your average weekend warrior would scoring a touchdown in the NFL.”

— Hunter S. Thompson

“Beyonce was just always full-out. She's like a beast. So you learn that no matter how you feel, just do it. Just like Nike: 'Just Do It.'”

— Heather Morris

“I need to have proper equipment when I work out, and the Nike Frees are light, comfortable, and great for training. I also usually bring a short-sleeve or long-sleeve compression shirt and a pair of shorts.”

— Sam Bradford

“Nike is the uniform for kids all over the world, and African design has been killed by Nike. Africans no longer want to wear their own designs.”

— M.I.A.

“I'm merely a fan of fashion from high end to streetwear, from Nike to Comme des Garcons.”

— Tinie Tempah

“Cole Haan is like high fashion Nike, so you feel like you're wearing Nike shoes, but you're wearing heels. Every time I'm on a red carpet, I always either wear Cole Haan or Stuart Weitzman. You end up having to walk around all night in these heels and you want to be comfortable and not look like you're in pain. It definitely shows in pictures.”

— Nina Dobrev

“It was a lot of fun doing the Nike commercials, too.”

— Jason Mewes

“It was the Michael Jordan/Nike phenomenon that really let people see that athletes were OK, and black athletes were OK. Defying a previous wisdom - not only that black athletes wouldn't sell in white America, but that the NBA as a predominantly black sport could not sell in white America.”

— David Stern

“We're all Running People, as the Tarahumara have always known. But the American approach
ugh. Rotten at its core. It was too artificial and grabby, Vigil believed, too much about getting stuff and getting it now: medals, Nike deals, a cute butt. It wasn't art; it was business, a hard-nosed quid pro quo. No wonder so many people hated running; if you thought it was only a means to an end
an investment in becoming faster, skinnier, richer
then why stick with it if you weren't getting enough quo for your quid?”

— Christopher McDougall

“Nike used to be known as Blue Ribbon Sports. What's now Sara Lee used to be Consolidated Foods. And Exxon was once Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. These were name changes that worked. But for all the ones that do, there are 10 or 20 that don't.”

— James Surowiecki

“Storytelling is the game. It's what we all do. It's why Nike is Nike, it's why Apple is Apple, it's why Walt Disney built Disney World and it's why Vince McMahon makes a billion dollars.”

— Gary Vaynerchuk

“I've always been a Nike person.”

— Wale

“The day after I turn pro, Philly gets a call from Nike. They want to meet with me about an endorsement deal. Philly and I meet the Nike man in Newport beach, at a restaurant called the Rusty Pelican. His name is Ian Hamilton.
I call him Mr. Hamilton, but he says I should call him Ian. He smiles in a way that makes me trust him instantly. Philly, however, remains wary.
Boys, Ian says, I think Andre has a very bright future.
Thank you.
I'd like Nike to be a part of that future, to be a partner in that future.
Thank you.
I'd like to offer you a two-year contract.
Thank you.
During which time Nike will provide all your gear, and pay you $20,ooo.
For both years?
For eacvh year.
Ah.
Philly jumps in. What would Andre have to do in exchange for this money?
Ian looks confused. Well, he says, Andre would have to do what Andre has been doing, son. Keep being Andre. And wear Nike stuff.”

— Andre Agassi

“The tops of pages are river-and-rain-warped, the whole book buckled a bit from travel, age and pockets, but it's a book that feels companionable somehow, if you know what I mean. In it there are many pages with lines underscored, or in some cases with just ascending wing-like Nike tick-marks next to a paragraph.”

— Niall Williams

“The giant raised his fist, and a voice cut through the dream.
"Leo!" Jason was shaking his shoulder. "Hey, man, why are you hugging Nike?"
Leo's eyes fluttered open. His arms were wrapped around the human-sized statue in Athena's hand. He must have been thrashing in his sleep. He clung to the victory goddess like he used to cling to his pillow when he had nightmares as a kid. (Man, that had been so embarrassing in the foster homes.)
He disentangled himself and sat up, rubbing his face.
"Nothing," he muttered. "we were just cuddling. Um, what's going on?”

— Rick Riordan

“NIKE is focused on elevating and accelerating innovation in our products, services and our digital ecosystem. This requires progressive and agile technology solutions that keep pace with our growth, which is what Juniper's solutions offer.”

— Anthony Watson

“We used a racquetball and threw it off the wall as hard as we could, then tracked it down with our eyes and feet. Nike has new balls that bounce all sorts of different directions and really help you learn to track the ball and move your feet to react quickly.”

— Antonio Cromartie

“After the NBA and ABA merged, players could come out after high school. Still, there were only a few cases prior to Kevin Garnett coming out in 1995, so Nike and the other companies were only involved in the college game.”

— Sonny Vaccaro

“But by shining these lights in different places, they really have uncovered things that companies in their own interest are trying to clean up. We're not going to get rid of the realities of global competition. But these companies, like Nike or Gap, have global brands that they want to protect.”

— Pietra Rivoli

“Did you hear about this genius that got on a plane and set fire to his feet? Turns out he had bombs in his shoes and the problem all started when the flight attendants asked him nicely to extinguish his feet. He was wearing exploding sneakers. The new Nike Air-Jihads!”

— David Letterman

“Nike has always been a business about excellence and achievement.”

— Andrew Young

“Nike told me, 'We can't give you royalties because you're not a professional athlete.' I told them 'I'll go to the Garden and play one-on-no-one.' I'm a performance athlete!”

— Kanye West

“Sure, they are the future of our world. Nike and Reebok need more factory workers every day.”

— Zach Braff