Ask a former NIKE Basketball employee...

[nikedealer]

As much crap as I give Hubie/AKA.. he's a welcome site to the site for at least another perspective.

And no....it aint all hunky dory on Campus.. but thats been well documented. Im not sure how CWK never experienced ANY horror stories even via other folks who lived it....but he got thru unscathed I suppose.

I heard about the Lance thing but never thought to ask around about it...because I knew about the Agassi story first hand from the Sports Marketing Director at the time for Tennis...

Its not sour grapes to say and realize...its gotta be VERY beneficial to Nike for them to jump into something. I know for a fact that every Nike/Jordan athlete has to basically jump thru hoops to get Tee's or Unis for their Charity Camps or Celeb games UNLESS they are top tier athletes and even then that comes out of their contract money.

Some have to promise to attend Fred's Youth Clinic that MJ supports every year in North Carolina coming up soon. All the Celebs play golf at the end of it. T.O. One year needed Tees for a camp for kids and they gave him hell for it.

Dale is one of the coolest Sports Marketing guys and I believe he's salty at the moment because they are making most of the regional Sports Marketing guys relocate back to Oregon. Its stupid stuff like that which you dont hear about that alienates good people. However its just the Nike way...

I have enough good friends that stories I tell cant be tied back to any particular person as some of them are even gone from there now....and guys who held some positions and weren't fit were moved around to get someone else in.

I will also say and its a strong statement... what happens to some of "our" folks doesn't happen to "their" folks lol.....

For instance... Drew Greer.. a brotha.. GOOD brotha... who as I mentioned before was the mind behind the retro's and worked with Gentry who took that concept to Jordan was let go merely for voicing his displeasure with some things going on at the brand.. both process wise and shady. Another Gentleman... who goes by the initials B.F. was literally producing Lebron Product OFF THE BOOKS and selling them to dudes from Cali to New York who in turn were selling them to NT'ers and the like for unreal amounts of money.

Stuff like that is still going on but nothing like it was when you were seeing Lebron 2 - 5's on the "Underground" market. This had alot to do with what got me hemmed up because I knew all about it and when asked about it by Nike Corporate had it flipped on me... MInd you I just wanted to go about my business not wanting to make any waves... but you had a guy from SC aiding and backstabbing so HE could try and make a way for himself... but again it was a learning experience.

Moral to that story however is Greer who also wanted to get the shady stuff done and finished was let go and B.F. the person responsible for doing it all was retained and only moved to another place in Nike long after all of that was revealed. There are many other instances where things like that happened not calling Nike a racist place by ANY means but there were some things done that make brotha's on Campus leary often.

What MSNBC showed was nothing.... lol

 

[thegatorviking]

Originally Posted by NikeDealer

Originally Posted by thegatorviking

How could I ever go about designing for Nike? I feel I have the raw skill and passion to design with the best of them.

I wrote before that its not all about raw skill and passion to be a designer anywhere.  Its about staying on your grind and doing what it takes.  You may want to start as a PLM or keep putting a portfolio together of different brands.. not just Nike..
What some folks dont realize is the Swoosh can make alot of plain shoes look great.  Take a design and see if it holds true without ANY logo.. then try different logo's.. even if you are incorporating it into the design. 

Designing isn't about just putting something OK together and putting a swoosh to make it stand out.... thats like some Rappers with terrible lyrics but great production.   Half the crap thats out now.

See where I pride myself is on my fashion knowledge and artistic capability. Tons of people draw, and draw shoes. But I pride myself on being ahead of the curve fashion wise and always trying to innovate new features and textures. I've been designing shoes since 6th grade, kids used to LAUGH at me because they thought it was a girly thing to do. Not so much these days.

I agree 100% about the logo, that's why I designed my own shoe with my own logo. Every shoe needs one, some where, or it just isn't a 'done' shoe IMO. I actually add my Nike check to my shoes last, I leave multiple spaces where I might want to put it. I'm always looking for a new way to throw it on a shoe.

I'm not just your average shoe fan who designs sneakers here and there. This is my life's work and passion. Please PM sometime, I would love to speak further in detail with you. Thanks.

 

[nikedealer]

Hit me anytime.. I'll shoot you my email...

You are def. on the right track doing what youre doing.

 

[akalongstroke]

Hey, the truth is the truth. As many company heads I know, and there are quite a few, the ones who do well and leave a lasting impression are people with integrity. While Nike may be a fun place to work for some, I think that it would be wise that while working for them, to keep your ideas to yourself, until you can be properly compensated for your efforts. If I were a seventeen year old kid looking for a hook up, working under those conditions might be cool. But once you are looking to establish yourself outside of that realm, being a valued team member is overrated.
B-O-O-G-I-E M-A-N
You know the one who make y'all suckas wanna run
The one that make you wanna spend _ with your son
Nobody that I know no longer do this *@$+ for fun I am the
B-O-O-G-I-E M-A-N

Andre 3000- Boogie Man

 

[nikedealer]

Originally Posted by AKALONGSTROKE

Hey, the truth is the truth. As many company heads I know, and there are quite a few, the ones who do well and leave a lasting impression are people with integrity. While Nike may be a fun place to work for some, I think that it would be wise that while working for them, to keep your ideas to yourself, until you can be properly compensated for your efforts. If I were a seventeen year old kid looking for a hook up, working under those conditions might be cool. But once you are looking to establish yourself outside of that realm, being a valued team member is overrated.

As I've shown this in a few other threads... I'll say Hyperfuse when released was no NEW advanced well thought out scientific concept.  This was thought of far before it hit retail.. years before actually... 

This concept was done by me and assisted on by BP as many know..aka Cody....  Did they make the concept their own... ?  Yeah... Could "Hyperfuse be MUCH better?  Heck yes..  But I still submit what was shown and submitted is far better...

Especially the Foamposite Breathable Mesh Concept.

We did the same and used UA branding as well.... 

 

[akalongstroke]

Yup, take a look...


..not only did Adidas do the chip thing first, when I saw the elite, I cracked up!

 

[nikedealer]

sssss.. I guess the last 7 or so pages are gone now?

 

[secretzofwar]

sssss.. I guess the last 7 or so pages are gone now?

I'm more than willing to banter with AKA for another few pages.

Funny how this was more successful than your previous thread, Rock. Though they are virtually the same thing.

 

[vood99]

I'm more than willing to banter with AKA for another few pages.
Funny how this was more successful than your previous thread, Rock. Though they are virtually the same thing.

A lot of good knowledge lost in the move. Guess it's really time for some of use to hang up our 'sneakers' eh?

 

[thorrocksjs]

we need to get more of that knowledge back this thread is the best in years

 

[dgoins1]

Thanks for the info

 

[marcushatten]

Why Hasn't Someone "Researched" Or "Developed" A Better System For Releasing These Damn Shoes?

hahahaha, thats great

 

[secretzofwar]

AKA, nice work with the cliffnotes.

I do feel like we lost some great banter though.

Best point you can take from AKA: Don't necessarily be a Nike stan. I think they make some great products, but so does adidas, New Balance and Asics. Under Armour still sucks.

 

[vood99]

Repeat

AKA, thanks for the recap.

Before the big switch, a cat named BigEscobar dropped some knowledge about the Pou Chen group manufacturing damn near every athletic sneaker in China/Indonesia/Vietnam. I wonder if he could shed some more light on the manufacturing and distribution process.

 

[secretzofwar]

Just basic info from the company

http://www.pouchen.com/English/1.aspx

FWIW, according to Google Finance, its market cap is about $76 billion...or worth about $33 billion more than Nike.

Apparently they manufacture 250 million pairs of athletic shoes a year

 

[mrfreshest]

Im sure there is a new system underway for these online releases cuz its a lil ridiculous that the average consumer can no longer buy a shoe on the release day for retail

 

[vood99]

Im sure there is a new system underway for these online releases cuz its a lil ridiculous that the average consumer can no longer buy a shoe on the release day for retail

Bro this is basic supply and demand. The demand for Nike/JB subpar product is ridiculously high and there will be all kinds of fraud. I agree that paying reseller prices is frustrating, but you just need to ride out the storm and wait for the Nike/JB fad to pass.

 

[vood99]

I'll tell you what, with this new setup, you can get a more honest assessment as to how many people actually visit and then post here. With the other format, it seemed that many more people were visiting and then posting.
But back on topic, in the Retro Forum under the Olympic Basketball release, I talked about how Nike did the BB4 incredibly wrong, terribly wrong, yet still charging one hundred fifty dollars for the shoe. The took out the Monkey Paw, replacing it with a plastic heel cup. There was a large volume zoom air bag in the forefoot of the OG, which is gone as well. Also, the tongue of the OG was stretchable, with you being able pull the tongue upward, which is not gone as well. The feel of upper in the OG was on par with a high grade leather, but now feels like polyurethane, this along with the side panels that now feel like the tip of a felt pen, instead of brushed suede. So with all of the complaints about Jordan Brand, it seems to me that this a company wide issue, then even with the new Nike Basketball product.
Being a huge fan of the BB4, I was totally disappointed. However, it seems that they made the shoe more wearable for those who did not plan on playing in them, as opposed to those of us who planned on doing so.

AKA, I caught your post in the 'Olympic Pack' retro thread and I even asked one kid there why he thought an 8.5/10 overall quality score (in his opinion) for a brand new product was acceptable. I know you're disappointed with the BB4 but have you seen the Huarache 2K4 in that pack? The variants that dropped in 2004 were of a higher quality than the junk 2K4s being reproduced by NSW today.

I asked Rock before who was responsible for the blatantly obvious decreases in quality between samples and GRs. Whether it's Nike looking at the samples and gutting them or whether the Pou Chen group shows Nike one product (the sample) and produces another (the low quality GR). Either way, Nike/JB need to step in and do something as the consumer is paying top dollar for a brand that is supposedly 'premium'.

 

[nikedealer]

Great point about old and new BB4s... but as I mentioned earlier in this thread (Im sooo salty all that was lost will it be recaptured?)

But anyhoo... Nike Basketball is NOT to blame... All Retro Products are reborn in NSW. As I've said the fat is cut out of everything reborn becaues NSW is not performance its a Lifestyle Category.. which is what that category used to be called. Lifestyle.

I think one of the things NSW should label their products as is NON Performance save for the new Penny V. Its damn unfortunate but I do know thats how NSW operates and that was well before Gentry came along.

Dont blame Pou Chen.. they send samples of what they are going to produce.. So Nike knows what the quality is going to be before production.. Also Fabric Designers, The Designers themselves along with the PLM know exactly what type of materials are used. They are all involved in the pricing process.

Its how an original design is changed so much... to fit pricing. .30 cents here and there add up on a sneaker that may cost $25 bucks to make.

 

[nikedealer]

Still Scary AKA... I agreed when the 2k4 came out. Loved the casual comfort but I NEVER played in that shell of a shoe. Was too scared my entire ankle would snap in two.

Indeed it was supposed to be Kobes first shoe and due to some discussions they decided to make it a big Campaign of the Evolution of Nike Basketball and its greatest shoes.

Later the Hyperdunk was presented to Kobe and he was initially concerned about pushing a shoe that could distract from his own. Well he was talked into it and eventually pushed the Hyperdunk to new heights with the Aston Martin Jump and Snake Pool jump.

it was just what the Hyper Line needed to survive on its own and now we have Bron wearing them as we know the line was dying quick the last few seasons. I always thought the Hyper Line could have been treated like the Original Elite Kicks of years ago that had different tech offerings.

THAT was ahead of its time.. but with the advent of Ballers being more serious about their game AND believing anything you tell them about whats the next best thing having a Hyper on a Lunar Zoom and Max (of any kind) tooling would be great options to some.

But pricing that Lunar Hyper at 180 for the non + is just crazy.... Nike is conditioning everyone on new pricing like Gas companies are doing on Gas Prices.. we get used to 3:90 a gallon so when it hits 2.87 to 3.00 bucks we are thinking we are back to glory days when gas was at 1.90 something before Bush got ahold of Iraq. But I digress

 

[miamin2]

AKA I read that about the BB4s back on the old NT. I was on the fence about copping but after I read them I knew I would be disappointed as well. Its a shame they did that to the 2k4s too smh.

I know if they go through NSW it's more about just recreating a replica of the shoe, more or less. And it worked well enough for more older shoes but now that they're starting to retro what were good basketball shoes like the 2k4s and bb4s I can't stand how they're stripping them down of what made them the performance beasts they were.

 

[secretzofwar]

at the fact that they pretty much just dropped the Total Package again. Classic knock-off shoe.

 

[sourorbetter]

Since we're speaking of retros... Let me ask you guys... What do you think of the Safari Pack that just dropped? I got to see them in person and they look much better in person then they did online in pics. The leather seemed to be of a good quality and the ostrich print was on point. Did NIKE give these the proper treatment (that I feel ALL retros deserve) just because of the "NRG"?

 

[vood99]

When initially released, the hype on Nike Talk for the 2K4 was absolutely ridiculous. So now, they've given you the Total Package, now calling them the 2K4.

AKA, I almost forgot about the Total Package and yes, you're 100% correct. It's the Total Package masquerading as the Zoom Huarache 2K4. Shame on Nike!

 

[vood99]

Admittedly, the Shox BB4 wasn't for everyone. For the casual wearer, you can't rock the og's unlaced, popping the tongue, exhibiting a bit of swag like with its running counterpart the Shox R4. That shoe, the BB4, was meant for the court. To be quite honest, the hoops follow up to the line, the Shox Limitless, was much more forgiving to the foot in regard to break in and fit, also being an even more COMPLETE Basketball shoe. But for me, the BB4 was the better looking of the two. I was pissed off when I saw what they did to the thing, but unlike some who get weak at the knees for the look of a shoe, I didn't even think of copping.

AKA, just curious - did you pay full retail for your 'Olympic' BB4s and are you keeping them?