When Nike calls...

I recently posted a YouTube video documenting the first time we had the opportunity to work with Nike in an official capacity. While I believe the video does a decent job explaining the experience, I felt a written account would allow me to go into greater detail.

It was February 7th, 2023, and Shawn and I were sitting at our computers after having just finished the second run (hill repeats) of a double-threshold day. Shawn called out to me, asking if I had seen the email that had just come through. Not thinking much about it, I panned over to my other monitor, expecting either a negative review, a problem with a product, or a manufacturing delay. Fortunately for us, this was not the case.

After reading the email and realizing we had 30 days to get the fabric and trims sourced, jackets made, shipped, and in the hands of Nike in time for the event, I knew we had to get right to work. Under normal circumstances, 30 days is pretty tight but doable. However, in the middle of Chinese New Year, when there is nobody working at the factories, I thought we were toast.

Thirty minutes after digesting the original email, I sent off an email to the CEO, citing the request and hoping he would be as excited about the opportunity as we were.

Eight minutes later, the CEO responded, and we got the ball rolling. The only way these jackets were going to get made was with this manufacturer. I had weighed trying to make them in NYC, as we would have the option of physically checking in everyday, but the capacity and the fact that they had never been made by my manufacturer in the city made this impossible. All our eggs were in one basket—not ideal, but sometimes you have to grit your teeth and pray it works out. There was no plan B for us, and not delivering wasn't an option. I would have flown to China myself with suitcases to bring them back if I had to.

On February 9th, two days after my initial email, I received a message with a clearer view of timing: "If everything runs smoothly, we can exit on the 3rd or 4th of March." Baking in three days for air freight and customs clearance, we should be good to go with one day to spare.

“If everything runs smoothly… we can exit on the 3rd or 4th of March”, bake in 3 days for air freight and customs clearance we should be good to go… 1 day to spare.

When you're branding an item with a logo as recognizable as the Nike Swoosh, you definitely need to have legal signoff from Nike that this is allowed to happen. After a host of compliance checks, we received written approval to use the Swoosh.

On February 29th, 2023, at 4:55 pm, the jackets were handed off to DHL and on their way directly to Nike NYC. On March 6th, the jackets cleared US customs and arrived one day before they were needed.

There is something exhilarating about working under a tight timeline like this. It's like game day, with the final seconds ticking off the clock, the score tied, and it's up to the team to draw something up and go for the win.