Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE
With fifty dollars borrowed from his father and a trunk full of Japanese running shoes, a 24-year-old Phil Knight launched what would become one of the most iconic brands in history. Shoe Dog chronicles the remarkable journey of Nike, from its humble beginnings as Blue Ribbon Sports to a global powerhouse with annual sales exceeding $30 billion.
Knight takes readers behind the swoosh, revealing the crushing setbacks, ruthless competitors, and hostile bankers that nearly destroyed his dream. He shares how he assembled a ragtag team of misfits and savants who became fiercely loyal partners in building something extraordinary. At the heart of the story is his relationship with legendary track coach Bill Bowerman, whose innovative spirit helped revolutionize athletic footwear.
Warren Buffett called it "the best book I read last year," praising Knight as "a very wise, intelligent and competitive fellow who is also a gifted storyteller." Bill Gates named it one of his five favorite books of 2016, describing it as "a refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like."
Part adventure story, part business masterclass, Shoe Dog captures the spirit of entrepreneurship in its rawest form. Knight's candid storytelling reveals the emotional highs and devastating lows of building a company that changed sports forever. This is the definitive account of how one man's crazy idea became a symbol recognized in every corner of the world.
Interesting Facts
Fifty Dollar Startup: Phil Knight borrowed just fifty dollars from his father to launch Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964. This tiny seed investment became Nike, now worth over thirty billion dollars annually. The memoir shows how massive empires can spring from the humblest beginnings.
Knight Sold Shoes From His Car: In the early days, Knight sold shoes from the trunk of his green Plymouth Valiant at track meets. He grossed eight thousand dollars in his first year, 1963. This scrappy start taught him everything about connecting directly with customers.
Born From A College Paper: The entire Nike concept began as a term paper Knight wrote at Stanford Business School. His professor gave it a decent grade but showed zero enthusiasm.
The $35 Logo Story: Student designer Carolyn Davidson created the iconic swoosh for only thirty five dollars in 1971. Phil Knight's initial reaction was lukewarm, saying "I don't love it, but it will grow on me."
Handshake Partnership: Knight and his former track coach Bill Bowerman formed Blue Ribbon Sports with just a handshake on January 25, 1964. No lawyers, no contracts. Their trust in each other became the foundation of a global empire.
Waffle Iron Innovation: The famous Nike waffle sole was born when Bowerman poured rubber into his wife's waffle iron. He destroyed the appliance but eventually perfected the design. The Waffle Trainer became one of Nike's most popular products.
Near Bankruptcy Battles: Nike faced constant cash flow crises and nearly went bankrupt multiple times. Banks kicked them out twice. The memoir reveals years of desperate financial scrambling behind the polished brand we know today.
Warren Buffett's Favorite: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett called Shoe Dog "the best book I read last year" and praised Knight as "a very wise, intelligent and competitive fellow who is also a gifted storyteller."
Bill Gates Top Five: Microsoft founder Bill Gates selected Shoe Dog as one of his top five books of 2016. He called it "an amazing tale" and praised Knight for opening up in ways few CEOs are willing to do.
Netflix Bought The Rights: In 2018, Netflix purchased the film rights to adapt Shoe Dog into a movie. Phil Knight himself served as creative guide and producer alongside Academy Award nominee Frank Marshall.
Team of Misfits: Knight describes his early employees as a ragtag group of misfits and savants. They called themselves the Buttfaces. This oddball crew became a band of swoosh obsessed brothers who changed sports culture forever.
A Pulitzer Winner Ghostwrote The Memoir: J.R. Moehringer, who also wrote Andre Agassi's Open and Prince Harry's Spare, crafted Shoe Dog's compelling prose. Knight thanked him modestly in the acknowledgments, but readers often marvel at how beautifully written the book is.
Quotes
"The cowards never started and the weak died along the way. That leaves us, ladies and gentlemen. Us." - Phil Knight
"The single easiest way to find out how you feel about someone. Say goodbye." - Phil Knight
"So that morning in 1962 I told myself: Let everyone else call your idea crazy . . . just keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t even think about stopping until you get there, and don’t give much thought to where “there” is." - Phil Knight
"Life is growth. You grow or you die." - Phil Knight
"I’d have found it difficult to say what or who exactly I was, or might become. Like all my friends I wanted to be successful. Unlike my friends I didn’t know what that meant." - Phil Knight
"The art of competing, I’d learned from track, was the art of forgetting, and I now reminded myself of that fact. You must forget your limits. You must forget your doubts, your pain, your past." - Phil Knight
"When you see only problems, you’re not seeing clearly." - Phil Knight
"I did decide that the world is made up of crazy ideas. History is one long processional of crazy ideas." - Phil Knight
"It’s never just business. It never will be. If it ever does become just business, that will mean that business is very bad." - Phil Knight
"Fear of failure, I thought, will never be our downfall as a company. Not that any of us thought we wouldn't fail; in fact we had every expectation that we would. But when we did fail, we had faith that we'd do it fast, learn from it, and be better for it." - Phil Knight
"There were many ways down Mount Fuji, according to my guidebook, but only one way up. Life lesson in that, I thought. Signs" - Phil Knight
"But that's the nature of money. Whether you have it or not, whether you want it or not, whether you like it or not, it will try to define your days. Our task as human beings is not to let it." - Phil Knight
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