Nike Sponsorship for Average Runner

I doubt his story. The bowerman track club is split in to 4 groups. Professional, elite, masters, youth. The elite group is a bunch of 14:30-15:30 runners and are non sponsored and they dont get anything. If those guys dont get free shoes, i would bet a fair amount that your friend doesnt get enough free shoes to give some away

If he's an influencer, then yes, it's possible. My colleague has made a career out of this, but she is female.

It's possible - especially in NYC. They sponsor a bunch of social-media friendly run "crews" (Lost Boys (Boyz?), Black Roses etc).

They're also running a "Project Moonshot" group in NYC right now focused on the NYC marathon. 5 celebs (apparently, I'm only aware of Kevin Hart), 75 paying participants who get coaching and a discount on a bunch of gear and services and 20 "sub-elite" locals who are getting some stuff and services comped.

Another term for it is Ambassador. Skechers has a similar program in SoCal where runners from local clubs can apply to be Ambassadors. They are given free gear and runners in their club get a 20% discount code. The Ambassadors don't have to be fast. The guy in my club who was selected is a 3:30-40 marathoner on a good day. The Ambassadors have to make appearances at Sketcher sponsored events. They recently had a training run series on Saturdays as a build up to the Santa Monica 10k. This Nike guy is likely in a similar program through the Nike Run Club.

I wondered the same thing but I couldn't find one thing on the internet or on Instagram about Nike having an ambassador program. I actually got curious and called Nike and they said they don't have any program like that currently and there is no running club in our state. Plus his social media accounts are private which would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?

He might just work for Nike as a marketing guy or HR guy or something

Those lostboys are a bunch of wild animals. So hot right now.

Those guys are a bunch of f****n losers

Lostboys wrote:

Those lostboys are a bunch of wild animals. So hot right now.

Not the lostboys wrote:

Those guys are a bunch of f****n losers

Lostboys wrote:

Those lostboys are a bunch of wild animals. So hot right now.

The some dude in lost boys rocks a mighty wispy stache or something. Load of wanna-be Pre's but they aint fast.

Of course NIKE has an Ambassador program, used to manage it. Globally you'd be amazed at how many ambassadors we have.

Very alarming that he is specifically seeking single moms. I'd keep an eye on him.

My father-n-law is 'Brooks sponsored." He buys all his gear online through Brooks. They noticed this and thus sent him a card saying thanks for being a Brooks sponsored athlete and sent him a gift card/coupon code for like 5-10 bucks. This could be a similar situation though have never heard of Nike doing this.

I'm still working on breaking 1:30 in the half and I got a local running shop to sponsor me. A couple free pieces of clothing and a 20% on all their other gear. Just have to wear the stuff in some local races and post photos to their private group with results of the race so they can use it in marketing if they chose.

So I guess it is possible he even just got some minor Nike store/branch to do something with him and it is a little bit higher end because he does more/is physically attractive.

It is also entirely possible he could be lying, but it seems like a really dumb thing to invent. On the other hand I guess with all the low-key 5ks out there it is easy to see how a talented hobby-jogger could get a big-ego about their abilities.

The wispy stache wearer also wears a little bit of a tummy

TXrun123 wrote:

My father-n-law is 'Brooks sponsored." He buys all his gear online through Brooks. They noticed this and thus sent him a card saying thanks for being a Brooks sponsored athlete and sent him a gift card/coupon code for like 5-10 bucks. This could be a similar situation though have never heard of Nike doing this.

Close...it's $1

Whats the name of this runner? Wonder if I know him

Nike sponsors run clubs all over the U.S. and Canada. Haven't you come across those clubs? They are mildly annoying at best.https://superbalist.com/thewayofus/2017/03/02/hipster-running-clubs/9912https://www.nike.com/ca/en_gb/e/cities/toronto/nrcMany of these athletes receive shoes and clothes and are "coaches" for the people who show up.

I know some very average runners "sponsored" by Adidas, Puma and a bunch of other smaller companies. It looks like they just get some free gear and some travel expenses paid for them. In the cases I know of, these companies just chose runners who are very active in local running groups and on social media. In exchange for this "sponsorship" the runners have to make social media posts thanking the company sponsoring them / admiring the gear / whatever and of course promote the group amongst the group of which they are a part.

It's not the runner's ability but the runner's exposure that matters.

There are many options. There are a few locals near me who get free stuff from Nike, but it's through a friend of a friend who works for Nike and got them some shoes, or Nike sponsored a corporate event and everyone got shirts and something out of it. Or a local shoe store employee and the Nike rep gave the employee some shoes to try out, who in turn gave them to his buddy.. any number of scenarios. And then of course, the guy posts up like he's sponsored. I've won shoes from Skechers through Instagram contests, then went back online and thanked them for the free shoes. Same deal.