Phil Knight

Phil Knight

Nike. One of the biggest companies in the world with a net income of US$ 1.907 billion. A lot of people like Nike. People like their shoes and apparel. But does anyone know who created it? If you go out into the street, and ask someone wearing anything Nike, or go into a Nike shop and ask the people that work there, who created Nike, maybe one or two people will know, if you get lucky. There are only a handful of people who know who founded it. People will know the founders of major electronic companies, but not the founders of other things, even though the ‘other things’ is what you see every day and beg your parents to buy them. Phil Knight co-founded Nike along with his coach, Bill Bowerman. Phil Knight is one of my heroes, because is not like he did not do anything to make what Nike is today, he would have had to work extremely hard.

Philip Hampson or "Phil" Knight was born February 24, 1938 in Portland, Oregon. He is the son of a lawyer and future newspaper publisher. He attended Cleveland High School in Portland, and then the University of Oregon in Eugene, where he earned a journalism degree in 1959. After he graduated from University of Oregon, he went into the army, where he served one year on active duty, and seven years in the Army Reserve. He then enrolled in Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he graduated with a Masters of Business Administration in 1962. After that, he went to Japan, where he saw the Tiger brand running shoes, manufactured by Onitsuka Co. He then called Mr. Onitsuka for a meeting, and Knight had secured distribution rights for the western United States. Once the shoes arrived, which took a little over a year, he mailed two pairs to Bill Bowerman in Eugene, so that he could get some sales. Bill Bowerman agreed, and offered to be partners with Knight. On January 25, 1964, they both shook hands and agreed to start a company known as Blue Ribbon Sports, later to be known as Nike.

Phil Knight co-founded Nike along with his coach, Bill Bowerman. They must have had to work a lot to accomplish this. Phil Knight did not do anything like, get a Noble Peace prize, but he did have a huge impact on the world. Not as much as people like, Mother Teresa but he has had a huge impact on the athletic side. Today, when you step outside, you will probably see at least one person wearing something that is Nike. In 2000, Knight contributed $230 million to the University of Oregon; most of it was for athletics. On August 18, 2007, Knight and his wife, Penny, said they would be donating an additional $100 million to the University of Oregon Athletics Legacy Fund. This donation is the largest in the University's history. That is not the only thing he did for charity. He contributed $100 million to the OHSU Cancer Institute, which was later renamed OHSU Knight Cancer Institute This is why Phil Knight is one of my heroes. Whenever people think Nike, they think, shoes, or clothes. But you also have to look at one of the men who made those things. So when I think of Nike I think Phil Knight, and that persuades me to work harder. I know to do better in life, you have to work hard. When I grow up and start working, I want to be a decent man. Have a good hose, good job…To get those things, you have to work hard. Phil Knight once said “Sports is like rock 'n' roll. Both are dominant cultural forces, both speak an international language, and both are all about emotions” he also once said “Ultimately, we wanted Nike to be the world's best sports and fitness company. Once you say that, you have a focus. You don't end up making wing tips or sponsoring the next Rolling Stones world tour”.

As all famous people, Phil Knight was criticized. Knight was named a "Corporate Crook" in Michael Moore's 1996 book Downsize This! In the book, Michael Moore described the bad conditions of factories in Indonesia that were owned by Nike, and how women as young as fourteen were working at the factories. Moore made a movie known as The Big One, where he wanted to have an interview of 20 top CEOs. Phil Knight was the only of the twenty to agree. When Moore asked, why there are no factories for Nike in the US, Knight said that Americans would not be willing to work in a Nike factory. Moore said if he could find at least five hundred people willing to work in a Nike factory, Nike would have to build a factory in the US. Phil Knight agreed to this, but when Moore proved to Knight that Americans are will to work in the factories, Knight said he had never seriously consider the idea. Despite this, Knight still worked hard to make Nike what it is today.

Phil Knight is one of my heroes. Maybe not to others because half the people do not even know who Phil Knight is. Of course, people know the name Nike, but they do not know who created it. Today, Nike is a huge company, and to make it a huge company, one has to work very hard, which is what Phil Night probably did. Nike started as a small company, where Knight would sell the shoes in his car, now looks where Nike is today. People like this inspire me to work harder, because with hard work, you can do anything. He also faced criticism, like all people, but despite that, people still love Nike. Although Phil Knight has resigned from CEO on November 18, 2004, he still remains chairman. So next time you see someone wearing Nike shoes or Nike apparel, and you say to yourself, wow those are really cool, think of Phil Night, the force behind Nike.