If you have a body, you are an athlete.
When Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman made this observation many years ago, he was defining how he viewed the endless possibilities for human potential in sports. He set the tone and direction for a young company called Nike, and today those same words inspire a new generation of people.
Nike’s goal is to carry on his legacy of innovative thinking, to develop products that help athletes of every level of ability reach their potential.
It started with a handshake between two visionary Oregonians - Bowerman and his University of Oregon runner Phil Knight. They and the people they hired evolved and grew the company that became Nike from a US-based footwear distributor to a global marketer of athletic footwear, apparel and equipment that is unrivaled in the world.
Nike’s world headquarters is located near Beaverton, Oregon, a suburb of Portland. So while the Pacific Northwest is the birthplace to Nike, today Nike operates in more than 160 countries around the globe. Through our suppliers, shippers, retailers and other service providers, we directly or indirectly employ nearly one million people.
