Announcement by the end of the week. Congrat to both Ritz and Skechers. He can now officially continue to embarass Nike like Meb has done for the last decade.
Announcement by the end of the week. Congrat to both Ritz and Skechers. He can now officially continue to embarass Nike like Meb has done for the last decade.
Awesome if true.
Told that there will be a Press Conference in Manhattan Beach California on Thursday June 1st. Not sure why it is not in Rockford Michigan.
They likely wanted Ritz to come to their corporate office in MB.
Thanks Manchester wrote:
Told that there will be a Press Conference in Manhattan Beach California on Thursday June 1st. Not sure why it is not in Rockford Michigan.
Really? Typically the athlete goes to the headquarters, not the other way around.
sdmiler wrote:
They likely wanted Ritz to come to their corporate office in MB.
Makes sense. Sorry.
So awesome to see Ritz getting a fresh start. Manchester was amazing.
I thought he was joining NAZ Elite so that he could continue to wear his Hokas and be coached by Ben Rosario? Just saying, word on the street.
Thanks Manchester wrote:
Announcement by the end of the week. Congrat to both Ritz and Skechers. He can now officially continue to embarass Nike like Meb has done for the last decade.
Hear, hear!
It's amazing how bad Capriotti can be at marketing. Nike has invested a lot of money in helping to make Ritz one of a handful of stars in our sport, and he's totally identified with the brand. All of that goes up in smoke when they unceremoniously dump him and he goes to a rival. Heck, every athlete that Nike drops is a potential PR time bomb.
Of course, athletes are not entitled to contracts when they can't perform, but Nike has consciously made itself an outlier in terms of how aggressively it will cut athletes or cut back on their compensation. That's not the kind of industry leadership you want to exhibit if your goal is to generate good will towards your brand. The Berian debacle is a great example. Nike wastes more money litigating their (legally dubious) case than the the dispute was worth, just to send struggling athletes the message that Nike owns them. The dispute makes front page news outside of the running world, and Nike looks terrible. Can't see how this is good for the company.
Meanwhile, Jesse Williams pays athletes perhaps a tiny bit more than they're "worth" on the market, and in return, his company gets a reputation for being fundamentally decent and for caring about runners and the sport. Seems much better business.
Ritz should go to Hansons!
Old Thaddeus would be rock hard tungsten steel if that happened.
So he can run 63/2:12?
Banana Stand Investor wrote:
Ritz should go to Hansons!
Too bad UGGS already has someone representing it. It would have been awesome to have people running in UGGS (and actually, Michigan is an appropriate place to do it).
Thanks Manchester wrote:
Announcement by the end of the week. Congrat to both Ritz and Skechers. He can now officially continue to embarass Nike like Meb has done for the last decade.
I wonder if he'll get a signature shoe since Meb will not be competing in the Go Meb after NYC.
Gorilla Boy wrote:
Thanks Manchester wrote:Announcement by the end of the week. Congrat to both Ritz and Skechers. He can now officially continue to embarass Nike like Meb has done for the last decade.
I wonder if he'll get a signature shoe since Meb will not be competing in the Go Meb after NYC.
No. The cracker company would file a lawsuit if their name is used.
Worried for him if this is true, Skechers is a knock off company and most of their shoes belong in Kohls. Very surprised that Meb made the shoes work but Ritz is so fragile that this is a big risk if true.
As if Ritz isn't injured enough.
GoMebSpeed shoes are so anti-Skechers it's unreal. Good riddance to those piles of steaming garbage.
Here's to Skechers making awesome shoes like the GoRun1 and GoRunRide1 again. Sorry, but everything since has been awful.
Far Out West wrote:
Worried for him if this is true, Skechers is a knock off company and most of their shoes belong in Kohls. Very surprised that Meb made the shoes work but Ritz is so fragile that this is a big risk if true.
Not my experience at all. A long time runner who has run in most ALL shoes out there (never been in an Adidas Boost product, Pearl Izumi, or Newtons) and lately the GORUN Strada and especially the GOMEB Speed 3 are my favorites.
I'm guessing that he'll have them design something especially for him and that given the extent of his foot injuries over the years he will know exactly what he wants. Also, there is no question that he spoke to Meb about the company and their willingness to accommodate themselves to very specific needs.
And I should note that it is weird that Nike dropped him the year after he ran 60:12. One has to wonder how much the revelation of his testimony concerning Salazar had anything to do with it.