Studs Up

A big part of the Nike event I went to a couple weeks ago was the launch of the new Nike Mercurial Superfly 2. As a bit of a boot-head (is that a thing?) who has 3-4 new pairs every season, I was geeking the f*** out at the prospect of getting my hands on it.

We were brought in small groups to talk directly with Nike’s head boot designer Andy Caine and along with a lead product manager and really able to ask whatever we liked. In reality, I had been looking forward to this part of the event more than meeting any of the players.

After a brief and slightly awkward “Anyone have any questions?” silence, I asked whether they felt they had hit the cap with how light a boot could be with modern technology. They seemed almost caught between making sure the marketability of the “lightness” of the boot was maintained while giving me the proper answer - this boot is about being faster, not lighter. They focused on the stud system and the all-important contact points where the boot meets the pitch to reduce slippage, improve traction and, ultimately, speed.

The science of it was impressive, from the laboratory testing to even the logical elements that make other boots seem clumsily put together by comparison - putting an emphasis on the edges of the foot where the human body pushes off while sprinting (the “Duck Walk” as they called it) and inserting extra grip material on the toe, the final point of contact between strides.

Ultimately, measuring the difference the boot may make to a player will require intricate statistical analysis rather than expecting a burst of flames to trail them every time they set off after a through-ball. But while the rest of the boot industry may be playing catch-up on the Superfly’s weight breakthrough alone, it was really encouraging to see Nike pushing the envelope further rather than resting on their lead.

I’m an unabashed Nike fanboy, but being fully aware that was largely due to brilliant marketing I was curious to see whether they lived up to the hype. Were they innovators and forward-thinkers or merely business strategists only concerned with staying at #1? Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive, but they certainly can be. Like Apple, Google or anyone else who’s leading innovation on their industry the most you can ask from them is not to get complacent.

But from the moment I got to London, it was hard to see that happening at Nike. Every employee I spoke to, whether a low level rep or head of a department, displayed such genuine passion for their work, the company and the culture of what Nike “is” and seemed almost flustered in trying to live up to it. I’ve been in or around companies where the corporate culture was terrible and jobs were, well, just jobs. It’s awful, and those companies usually suck ass. But it’s clear that everyone who works at Nike is acutely aware of how high the bar has been set and the responsibility that they and the company has to maintain and even raise it. I thought it may have been a well-trained act but throughout the event, lunches, dinners, drinks and across dozens of different Nike denizens the passion and story never wavered.

Fancy boots aside, that’s impressive.