NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In this candid and riveting memoir for the first time ever Nike
founder and board chairman Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company's early days as
an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world's most iconic game-changing and
profitable brands. Young searching fresh out of business school Phil Knight borrowed fifty
dollars from his father and launched a company with one simple mission: import high-quality
low-cost running shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his Plymouth Valiant
Knight grossed eight thousand dollars that first year 1963. Today Nike's annual sales top $30
billion. In this age of start-ups Knight's Nike is the gold standard and its swoosh is more
than a logo. A symbol of grace and greatness it's one of the few icons instantly recognized in
every corner of the world. But Knight the man behind the swoosh has always been a mystery.
Now in a memoir that's surprising humble unfiltered funny and beautifully crafted he
tells his story at last. It all begins with a classic crossroads moment. Twenty-four years old
backpacking through Asia and Europe and Africa wrestling with life's Great Questions Knight
decides the unconventional path is the only one for him. Rather than work for a big corporation
he will create something all his own something new dynamic different. Knight details the
many terrifying risks he encountered along the way the crushing setbacks the ruthless
competitors the countless doubters and haters and hostile bankers-as well as his many
thrilling triumphs and narrow escapes. Above all he recalls the foundational relationships
that formed the heart and soul of Nike with his former track coach the irascible and
charismatic Bill Bowerman and with his first employees a ragtag group of misfits and savants
who quickly became a band of swoosh-crazed brothers. Together harnessing the electrifying
power of a bold vision and a shared belief in the redemptive transformative power of sports
they created a brand and a culture that changed everything.
