Last week, I had an experience that ranks in the top five highlight of my 2014 and though I usually don’t get personal on here, there’s always an exception to the rule and Nike is that.
My relationship with the swoosh began years ago with my first sports bra as well as my first track spikes and subsequent ones into college. Running shoes? Any iteration of the Pegasus has taken me from hill workouts, sprint repeats to 8 mile long runs without fail.
When I received an email asking if I would like to attend their global media summit, I would have been dumb to turn it down, seriously how could I say no. I didn’t know much about what the trip entailed just that I would be flying to NYC for about 2 days.
With my travel itinerary confirmed, I began to get nervous and excited; like the feeling you get before a race staring down the 100-yards in your starting blocks. When I arrived in NYC I was picked up by the car service and whisked away to Trump Soho-pinch me because #blessed.
The staff at Trump Soho were nothing short of excellent.
The room was beyond and of course had to take some pictures. Once I got settled in we were told that our day would begin early the next day at Spring Studios.
On the rainy Wednesday morning, we walked over to Spring Studios where members of the media and influencers from Eastern Europe, other parts of the States and North America and their emerging markets all gathered to take in what was to come.
The earlier part of the day we heard from Nike executives, saw world class athletes like Skylar Diggins, Allyson Felix, Li Na walk a runway and supermodels Karlie Kloss, Joan Small and Damaris Lewis come down from a ceiling modeling Nike gear.
Then we had our rotations, where each market had the opportunity to speak with an assigned Master Trainer(mine was Eva Redpath @EvaRedpath) and view the different collections up close.
Then we had the chance to hear from and see the collections from Pedro Lourenço and Johanna Schneider, though most of the pieces from Johanna’s collection won’t be availableuntil next year. They were both so kind. Totally lusting over the croc embossed jacket and leggings from Pedro’s collection and the wrap vest from Johanna’s collection, must have!
We finally headed back to the hotel room after about 6 hours at Spring Studios and it was time to workout. Our gear bags were delivered filled with Nike apparel that we wore to the workout session. We boarded the buses and mind you, they haven’t told us where we were headed or what the workout would actually entail.
Short time later we arrive at Cipriani Wall Street and the inside was all aglow in black light.
Standing next to me during the workout with Tulsa Shock basketball player Skylar Diggins and across from me was track and field superstar Allyson Felix, you know just another intense workout day.
Between the high intensity workout and dim lighting, I attempted to get a picture of the moment, lighting failed me. But was able to fangirl over Damaris Lewis who has danced for Prince(yasss!) and sneak a shot of the athletes, albeit blurry, after the workout
With that the day ended with dinner with our crew.
The next day, Kelli and I were up bright and early to partake in the 8am workout. Our instructor meant business putting us through short movement, barre type exercises.
Early morning face coupled with the early workout and we managed to get this pic documenting our great workout form.
After the workout and collections viewings, we sat in on the athlete panel moderated by Allyson Felix where the women spoke about how sport had changed their life, What advice they would give to girls that look up to them? And what about the future of sports excites them.
Joan Benoit during the panel, related a nugget worth remembering daily “Prevention is to health what conservation is to the environment.”
Li Na, Tennis player from China spoke about her experience growing up in the country where academics superseded sports, would love for more kids to get involved in sports and not just learn.
Sarah Reinertsen is a big advocate the Challenged Athletes Foundation and for opportunities for athletes with physical disabilities.
Some of us went to the Nike Lab store-Why don’t they have this in Chicago? It was sneaker, gear happy place. They had the new Riccardo Tisci AF1, some of the PedroxNike collection which were literally flying off the shelves and so much more.
Many have asked me since then, how did you get the chance to go and honestly I couldn’t tell you but I will say that a quote from one of the rotations that we viewed rang true. Serena Williams said:
Nike has certainly stepped their game up majorly and they are looking to tap into that woman who wants it and goes after it. Whether you’re an athlete, someone who works out occasionally, die hard fitness fanatic or just love to look good in chill clothes, there’s something for you in all they have to offer.
From someone who’s been active for most of her life, this summit reinvigorated me in my commitment to leading a healthier lifestyle but also know that I don’t have to look like a basic while working out.
It was such an honor to have been a part of this, met some cool creatives from other parts of the world and I look forward to the future. Thank you to the whole Nike team for a great week and most especially LB and major props to all in charge of logistics for the whole thing.
~Bolaji
