I have a very long standing connection to Nike, literally starting with the fact that my earliest childhood family home (Side note: In true Oregon hippie fashion, I was born at home with a single doctor, the assistance of my father and a midwife.. oddly the same midwife for many of Taj Mahal’s children) neighbored that of another small hippy family. The father had been working for Nike for a few years, and around that time (I was born in ‘84, to add context) would begin to create some of the most innovative designs the company, and the world would come to know.

Naturally, throughout the years we would have many more neighbors hailing from the same company. In high school I was coached by Alberto Salazar, long time Nike sponsored athlete and now consultant, alongside a small group of other local talents. Ultimately I chose to go to the University of Oregon, to run. The company was started on the track at UO, by famed track coach Bill Bowerman, and one of his pupils Phil Knight.

To bring this long thought to a close, all of these things came to mind when I found this waffle iron in the basement at my parent’s house.

“FROM WAFFLE IRON TO WORLD HEADQUARTERS — Grand Opening October 1990”