Genre: Biography/Sports
Director: Bennett Miller
Writer: Wyatt Allen
Based on the book by Phil Knight
Cast: Andrew Garfield, JK Simmons, Harry Styles, Paul Dano, Finn Wittrock, Ken Yamamura, Erin Moriarty, Hiro Kanagawa, Nick Searcy
Plot: 1962 in Kobe, Japan
Phil Knight (Andrew Garfield) is nervously sitting in a conference room surrounded by japanese officials from the shoe brand Onitsuka Tiger. They are willing to work with him and ask him about the name of his company and the address so they know where to send the shoes at. Phil hesitates and randomly thinks of his parent's basement where alot of his medals from track running that have blue ribbons are kept. "...Blue Ribbon.....Blue Ribbon Sports is the name of my company," he answers while writing the address of his parent's house in Beaverton, Oregon to a sheet of paper in front of him and gives it to one of the business men.
Back in his hotel room, he writes a letter to his father, asking him to send $50 to Onitsuka, before continuing his world travel.
February 1963
Phil returns to his parent's house and is greeted by his parents and two sisters. They are very happy to see him and tease him for his scruffy beard that he grew while travelling the world. Of course Phil asks his father (Nick Searcy) if the shoes from Onitsuka Tiger had arrived, but his father tells him that they didn't. After being welcomed back home by his family, Phil sits down and starts to write a letter to the Onitsuka headquarters in Kobe. His father tells him that he thinks this whole "shoe thing" is nonsense and Phil should rather do something that is more reasonable.
Phil pretty quickly gets a letter back from Onitsuka where they tell him that they have some shipping problems but that his shoes will arrive soon. To please his father he finally shaves off his beard and starts a job as an accountant while waiting for the shoes.
In January 1964 the shoes finally arrive and Phil is in awe with the quality of the shoes. He sends a pair to his old track coach from college Bill Bowerman (J.K. Simmons) to see what he thinks about them. They meet up for dinner where Bowerman tells Phil that he wants to work with him. They plan on making a $1000 order. Phil has to ask his father again.
But his father, without any suprise, still isn't a fan of Phil's idea and doesn't want to spent another $500 on it. He tells Phil that nobody cares about some shoes from Japan. Phil's mother overhears the whole conversation and starts to look for her wallet, she pulls out just enough money to purchase herself a new pair of Onitsuka Tigers' Limber Up model. She gives Phil the money and puts on the shoes while giving her husband a reproachful look, who seems to get the message. He sighs but finally agrees to give Phil the needed $500.
This time the shipping doesn't take as long and Phil starts to market his shoe in sporting goods stores but the salesmen tell him that the market is overblown. He starts to go on track meets to try to get his shoe recognized. And it works! Coaches and athletes love the shoe and Phil is either selling them a pair out of his trunk or taking on orders. The business starts booming and people are calling Phil or start to show up at his parents house just to buy a pair of Onitsuka Tigers. But of course his supply is limited and he quickly runs out of pairs to sell. Having to make another order to Onitsuka, without asking his dad for money again, Phil decides to ask a bank for a loan.
At a track meet he meets his old college buddy Jeff Johnson (Paul Dano). Johnson has already heard from Phil's business and congratulates him on the recent success he had. Phil asks him if he would be interested in selling Onitsuka Tigers around the California area and Johnson agrees as he is about have a kid and could need some extra money.
In April 1965 Johnson writes that he quit his job and now wants to work full-time for Blue Ribbon but Phil tells him it's not possible as their cash flow is negative and he owes the bank $11.000. After many exchanged letters and a lot of begging, Phil gives in and makes Johnson Blue Ribbon's first full-time employee.
The bank calls Phil and tells him that they think that Blue Ribbon is growing too quick in relation to their equity. Phil reports them that they have to grow quick to convince Onitsuka Tiger that he is the right guy. Phil is able to persuade them for another loan again and again.
Olympics 1964 Tokyo, Japan
Bill Bowerman is coaching the US-American track and field teams from the sidelines. Most of his runners are wearing Adidas. Mr. Onitsuka (Hiro Kanagawa) founder of Onitsuka Tiger is also in attendence and invites Bowerman to the Onitsuka Tiger offices. Bowerman and his wife are welcomed by the officials of Onitsuka and he and Mr. Onitsuka have a great discussion about running and what a great shoe should provide to help the runner get his best performance. Mr. Onitsuka only speaks very broken english but understands really well and he gets along pretty well with Bowerman. They also joke that at the next olympics they hope to see more runners in Tigers than this time.
Back in America Bowerman works on optimizing the Tigers. He disassembles the shoes into individual parts and brings them back together with slight changes. A freshman from the Oregon run and track team must serve as a test dummy. Bowerman uses his wife's waffle iron to try and make his own sole. He experiments with different materials to see what works best for his so-called "waffle sole". Suddenly the waffle iron starts to produce a lof of smoke and Bowerman knows he destroyed it.
1966
Phil Knight moved out of his parent's house in to a small apartment, where he again reads those endless letters from Johnson. Johnson reports on the new store they just opened in Santa Monica with him at the helm. Phil also learns that Johnson is getting a divorce and he is also informed that the Onitsuka Tiger distributor for the east coast is also doing business with running shoes in their area. Phil decides to visit Johnson in California
Johnson's apartment is filled with sneakers but the highlight of his apartment is a big octopus with the name Stretch, that he is keeping as a pet. Johnson tells Phil that he is really passionate about this job and it keeps him sane, especially in those rough times he is going through right now. Together they discuss what they are doing with their problem with the east coast distributor. Phil decides that he once again has to fly to Japan.
Things have changed in Japan. A guy named Kitami (Ken Yamamura) is now the spokesperson and Phil suggests that Blue Ribbon Sports should be the lone distributor of running shoes in the USA. Kitami tells him that it wouldn't work because Blue Ribbon only is located at the west coast. Phil lies to him and tells them they recently expanded to the east coast. Kitami believes him and gives him a 3 year contract for exclusive distribution rights in the US.
Phil thinks that Johnson is the only one who is crazy and energetic enough to go to the east coast, but is afraid to tell him. He decides to do the easier part first, which is finding someone to replace Johnson in California. Soon after finding someone, Phil gets a call from Johnson who is devastated. The replacement was already scouting his new workplace, while Johnson was still in store and that way Johnson learned about his transfer to the east coast. Phil tells him he didn't want him to find it out like this, but he feels like Johnson is the only one capable of this task. Phil even lets him decide between a couple options he has as locations. Johnson still isn't happy about it but chooses to go to Boston.
In the meantime Phil brings in new employees. Among others Bob Woodell (Finn Whitrock), who Bowerman recommended to him. Woodell is a former top athlete who is paralyzed from the waist down after an accident and now sits in a wheelchair. Woodell comes across very reserved and maybe even depressed but Phil likes him, he feels like Woodell has a chip on his shoulder and wants to prove himself.
Bowerman is still experimenting with shoes and submits suggestions to Onitsuka. They send back the finished model and ask Bowerman how they should name him. Bowerman's first suggestion is "Aztec" as a wink to the upcoming '68 olympics in Mexico City but it gets declined because of a similar named model from Adidas. Bowerman asks Phil who the guy who defeated the Aztecs was named - Cortez. The Onitsuka Tiger Cortez was born.
To concentrate more on Blue Ribbon, Phil gives up his job as an account and starts to teach part time at the Portland State University. On the first day he notices a girl in the front row with the name of Penny (Erin Moriarty). In spite of her shyness she can shine with extraordinary school work. Phil gives her a job as an accountant at Blue Ribbon and also asks her on a date.
They get together and their relationship gets pretty intense pretty quick. When Phil has to go on a longer trip to Japan, they decide to get married.
Kitami and Mr. Onitsuka announce that they will come to the US and would like to visit the office of Blue Ribbon Sports in Portland. Phil panics at the thought of them seeing their tiny old office. He makes it his mission to find a new one before they arrive.
Phil and Woodell are visiting a couple potential new offices. Most offices turn out to be even worse than their current one, but the two of them don't let it drag their mood down and most nights they end up in a bar, drinking and having fun. The conversation starts to turn serious when Woodell talks about the accident that has put him in a wheel chair. Woodell confesses that it put him in a deep depression and he still hasn't give up the thought that one day he will be able to walk again and live a normal life. He thanks Phil for giving him a chance to proof himself in working for Blue Ribbon. Even though Woodell mentions that it's pretty ironic that a man who isn't able to walk, is selling running shoes. To end the evening they go to Phil's place where his pregnant wife Penny has already cooked for them.
Not soon after that they find a decent and affordable office in Tigard in the south of downtown Portland.
They are $20.000 short on the next shipment and Phil knows that there is no way that the bank is giving them more. They plan on selling 30% of the company to end their financial struggle for now. Their plan is to run a couple ads and they want $2 per share. But almost nobody shows interest and they don't get alot of calls.
To their luck Woodell's parents decide to step in and help the boys out. Phil visits them on his self because Woodell is on a business trip. They don't only give them the needed $5.000 but also $3.000 more. They don't seem like they are really wealthy, so Phil is sure that this must be their life savings. Phil asks them a couple times if they are sure they really want to give it to them and can't believe they don't even want shares or anything in exchange. They tell him they believe in their son's company, Phil thanks them and takes the money.
In the meantime a once-in-a-lifetime run and track talent emerges from the University of Oregon under coach Bowerman. It’s Steve Prefontaine (Harry Styles) but most just call him Pre. Phil is a frequent visitor of his races and the crowd loves him. Phil describes him as as a rockstar. It’s not only his winning rate that makes him great but also his unmatched confidence and swagger that make the whole crowd chant „Pre Pre Pre!“. In June 1970 he appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated by the age of only 19. Phil feels like Pre embodies exactly what their company should be like and it inspires him to be more than just a distributor of someone elses shoes. The only thing Phil doesn’t like about him are his Adidas running shoes he is wearing.
Phil wants to work with Nissho Iwai a japanese trading company to end the financial struggle. Kitami fears that Onitsuka is slowly being erased from the partnership and doesn't want them to work together. He visits Blue Ribbon in their new office in Tigard and reports them that Onitsuka wants to buy 51% of Blue Ribbon Sports and that if they don't accept they will probably have to look for a bigger and better distributor. Kitami tells Phil that he personally thinks it would be the best for everybody if Phil just accepts the deal. Phil declines the offer, he now knows they can’t be dependent on Onitsuka any longer. They need to do their own thing.
Once again Phil visits the bank, but they tell him that they decided to stop doing business with him. He is still in contact with Nissho Iwai, who desperately want to work with Blue Ribbon Sports. They let him know about a fabric that seem to produce shoes in a high quality
In search of a new identity Phil gives graphic design student Carolyn Davidson a call. He wants her to design a logo that represents motion. A couple days later she brings some sketches to the office. Phil and Woodell go through it together and both like the one with a check in it. They give Davidson $35 for her work.
They still don't have a name for their new company. Dimension Six, Bengal, Condor and Falcon are all ideas that don't seem to impress. Shortly before the deadline of giving in the order for the new shoes, they have to make a decision. Johnson called in the morning to suggest a name that came to him in a dream. Phil and the other guys are already rolling their eyes at Johnson. The name he suggest is "Nike". Phil doesn't love it, but the other guys seem to like it. They decide to use it for now, until they find something better.
The fabric sends Phil their prototype of the new shoes and he is in awe. It's a Cortez just like the one that Bowerman designed for Onitsuka Tiger but instead of the trademark Onitsuka stripes on the side it has the swoosh on it. Phil is happy with the shoe but makes small notes for possible improvements.
1972
At the National Sporting Goods Association Show in Chicago Blue Ribbon Sports presents their Nike shoes to the public for the first time. The orange boxes that the shoes are packed in are an eye-catcher. The shoes aren't like the one prototype Phil put his hands on, because he quality is worse and they just look a bit off, but the people don't care. They trust Blue Ribbon and make sure to make pre-orders. Onitsuka and Kitami are also present at the show and Kitami is furious. He threatens that if they decide to sell the shoes Onitsuka will sue them.
Phil discusses with Bowerman and his lawyer how they will handle the situation. The lawyer tells them if Onitsuka sues them first they will go to court in Japan and there is no way they will win the case over there. His plan is to sue them first so they go to court in the US.
Phil also informs the other Nike guys about their plan. The mood is pretty bad, everyone knows it will be an ugly exhausting battle with Onitsuka with great chances that they will lose. Phil tries to motivate them in a halftime speech manner. Telling them that this is the moment they have been waiting for, finally selling their own shoes, their own product. No longer dependent on Onitsuka.
More and more athletes are wearing Nike shoes. Phil is keen on getting Steve Prefontaine to wear Nike, but he is still wearing Adidas, because he doesn’t want to change shoes shortly before the Olympics
Bowerman is coaching the US run and track team at the Olympics 1972 in Munich. Steve Prefontaine is also part of the team. Phil is following it from his television but the events are overshadowed by a terrorist attack in which 17 people had lost their lifes. Phil gets the message that Bowerman and the US team are physically ok but of course these events took a toll on many people. Bowerman himself was the one who called the U.S. Marines to come and protect the athletes. He retired shortly after the events and the run and track star Steve Prefontaine would never be the same.
Phil tries to do his best with helping Bowerman back up. He tells him how important his work on the waffle sole is for Nike and that it will be a gamechanger. Phil also decides to hire Steve Prefontaine as a market figure for Nike. He just wants to make sure the once-in-a-century runner is getting back on track. He allows Pre to train and try to get back to his old self while also repping Nike through the country.
In 1974 the case against Onitsuka finally goes to court in the federal courthouse in Portland. Phil is seemingly nervous. The head lawyer for Onitsuka's side starts with his opening statement. And he does his job very well. We can see the fire in his eyes when he explains to the court room what Phil Knight and Blue Ribbon Sports have done to those poor Japanese business man. He rightly reports that Phil Knight pretended to have a company by the name of Blue Ribbon to persuade Onitsuka to do Business with them. He claims that Knight did everyhing necessary to perpetuate his fraud.
Phil is bummed. He realizes that the lawyer isn't even lying, he really did those things. But now Blue Ribbon's lawyer is on. He doesn't have the fire that his predecessor brought to the court. At the end of his statement he calls the founder of Blue Ribbon as his first witness - Phil Knight. Phil is doing a bad job, stumbling over his own words. His nerves definitely got to him and he sweats a lot.
It even worsens when the Onitsuka lawyer is able to ask Phil questions. Phil tries to bend the truth in a way that fits him best but his plot soon stops making sense after more and more questions. Even the judge points out that Phil should answer the questions more concisely in "twenty words or less". Phil ensures him that this is not possible.
The judge has called a halt to the trial and admonished both sides.
In the meantime Jeff Johnson who was there to support Phil, reports the guys that he just checked their sales and that Nikes are selling crazy thanks to the Bowerman-designed Waffle Trainer. The shoes is such a hit that Phil envisions for the first time, that they could outperform Adidas one day.
The trial continues and Kitami's assistent Iwano suprisingly is very honest about everything that has happened so far, which of course contradicts a lot of what has been said from Onitsuka's side.
Finally Kitami is now called as a witness. He insists on having a translator even though Phil knows he speaks perfect english. Kitami is lying and overexaggerating through his translator. He is saying that they only started looking for new distributors after Blue Ribbon and Phil Knight created Nike. After both lawyers have given their closing arguments, the judge announces that he will make a decision soon.
Weeks later it is announced that the judge is about to rule. Only Phil, his lawyer and the Onitsuka lawyer could make it in this short time. The judge summarizes the case and notes that they have two conflicting stories. He is convinced that Blue Ribbon's seems to be more true than Onitsuka's. He acknowledges Kitami's assistent Iwano who bravely seems to have called out Kitami's lies. The judge declares that Blue Ribbon will retain all rights to the name Cortez. He also explains that there clearly were damages made but he does not feel qualified to assign a dollar figure to it. So they will assign a special master to determine what the damages are.
Phil is in disbelief - They won. He shakes hands with his lawyer, claps his shoulder and than hugs him. They both go to a bar where Phil orders them shots before he phones Penny from the pay phone. He yells at her that they have won after she asked what they have won, he tells her it's still not decided but atleast they know they got the victory.
A week later Onitsuka makes a settlement offer - $400.000. Phil thinks it is a bit too low but Onitsuka's lawyer wouldn't get any higher and Phil's side thinks the offer is fair.
The formal signing takes place in San Francisco. This time Kitami is there too as he has to sign the settlement. He reaches out his hand in Phil's direction and Phil shooks it. Phil and Kitami sign the contracts, the case is over - Blue Ribbon and Nike won.
Phil, Johnson, Woodell, Bowerman and many other Nike affiliates celebrate their victory at a grill bar.
...
Nike went on to become the biggest sportswear company in the world. In 1976 aeronautical engineer Frank Rudy brought them the "Air" sole which later would be instrumental to a lot of famous Nikes. They went public in 1980 with the price of 22$ per share just like Apple and this time people actually wanted to buy shares. In 2020 they had a revenue of $37,403 billion beating Adidas once again
Jeff Johnson was Nike's first full-time employee and a big reason why Nike is as big as it is today. He retired in his 40s and enjoyed a quiet life after that.
Steve Prefontaine would never be the runner he was before the Olympics in Munich. He died 1975 in a car accident in his Butterscotch MG that he brought from his first Nike check
Bob Woodell would never walk again but he flew his own private airline, giving a middle finger to everyone who said he would be helpless. When Nike went public he sat his parents down and told them their initial $8.000 loan to Phil was now worth $1.6 million.
Bill Bowerman's Waffle Sole and his other inventions helped Nike to establish themselves in the running shoe market. He went on to design many other now classic Nikes but his experimentation with glue and solvents with toxic components caused a nerve damage in his legs which made him lose a lot of mobility. He was soon unable to run in the shoes he gave the world. He began to reduce his role at Nike in the late 70's to enjoy a quiet life with his wife in his hometown Fossil, Oregon.
Phil Knight never stopped believing in his idea and went from selling the shoes of another company out of his trunk to being the founder of the biggest sportswear company in the world. In June 2016 Phil retired from his chairman position.
