Nike co-founder to visit Sisters

Nearly every American can identify the Nike swoosh, the icon of one of the most successful sporting goods companies in the world.

But they may have trouble imagining the company's humble beginnings by a small group of folks with ties to the University of Oregon track and field program.

Geoff Hollister, one of the three original Nike employees, is coming to Sisters Athletic Club Thursday, October 22, to read from his autobiographical book "Out of Nowhere," which chronicles his days as a runner under Bill Bowerman, the start of the company, and his personal journey through it all.

The event is open to the public and begins with a wine reception from 5:30 to 6 p.m., followed by Hollister's presentation and readings from the book. All ages are welcome to the talk.

Hollister says he believes that people who come to the talk and who read the book will enjoy getting a sense of the entrepreneurial spirit of Nike's founders as well as taking a trip back to a time when the sports world was vastly different than today's sports industry.

"We had no business being successful in business, but we had a good idea and worked through a lot of barriers to make it work," he said. "Bowerman always said your likelihood of success was much greater if you stuck together as a team, which we did."

Bill Bowerman was not a businessman, but he knew how to get things done and was an incredibly creative and curious individual," he said. "I was an art major and had a teaching credential, but no business background. The only guy who knew anything about business was Phil Knight. I don't know why Bill chose me, but I am sure glad he did."

Hollister, now 63 and living in Sequim, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula, spent his high school years at South Eugene High School and ran under legendary coach Harry Johnson, who developed a dynasty of Axeman runners during the early '60s and '70s.

Johnson, who lives in Tumalo and went on to work for Nike as well, will be on hand for the evening. Bowerman, the track coach at the University of Oregon when Geoff arrived as a college freshman in 1964, became like a second father to Hollister.

"I was astonished when I came home to tell my parents, both Oregon State graduates, that I had made my choice to run for the University of Oregon and had my dad say, 'I've raised you in a way that I could hand you off to Bill Bowerman,' so looking back it's like this whole story was meant to be."

Bowerman lead the Ducks to four NCAA team championships and produced a stable of world-class middle- and long-distance runners that shaped the sport into what it is today.

The book illustrates also how Nike not only wanted to develop the best running shoes for athletes, the company wanted to support athletes in every way possible to help them be successful. For example, Nike started a program for post-collegiate athletes, coached by Harry Johnson, called Athletics West, that eventually included a number of American Olympians.

Hollister says that people need to keep in mind that the sporting apparel industry in America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, was largely non-existent in the early '70s.

"We literally did sort of appear out of nowhere," he said.