Nike: One of the oldest leading brands in the world. Who doesn’t recognize its name and its logo?But was Nike always the same? I’m afraid not. Grab your cup and check out these 10 surprising facts about the brand. We’re spilling the tea here today!

1. When the company’s co-founder Bill Bowerman started off with creating suitable footwear prototypes with his partner Phil Knight, he used materials such as kangaroo leather, velvet and fish skin.
   
2. The company was actually a result of an assignment given to Knight while he attended the University of Oregon. The assignment was to come up with a business plan, which he later brought to life.
   
3.  The extremely well known symbol of Nike (the tick mark) was initially not loved by Phil. He simply decided to “go with it” at the time. The logo was designed by a student of his and cost him 35$.
   
4. Before Nike, the company’s name was Blue Ribbon, which had to be changed. Among the many suggestions by his employees, Phil agreed with Nike, even though this, as well, he was not very fond of.
   
5. One of the first hits of the company was the Waffle Trainer. The idea of this trainer occurred to Bowerman as he was having waffles one day. The grid made perfect sense to him and that’s how the famous trainer design came into being.
   
6. The famous slogan “just do it” was inspired by the last words of a convicted murderer Gary Gilmore before he was shot dead by a firing squad nearly a decade ago.
   
7. The initial advertisement campaigns were not taken well by the female audience. The gender found the ads offensive and felt themselves excluded and ignored by the brand. This changed as the company took notice and changed their strategy.
   
8. The company recycles its shoes. The raw material is extracted and re-used to make playground surfaces and gym floor tiles. This program is called Reuse-a-shoe.
   
9. In the first Batman movie, the Bat Boot was designed by Nike’s own shoe designer, Tinker Hatfield.
   
10. Nike, to this day, supports the University of Oregon and its sports team by providing them with exclusive apparel and funding.

Weren’t these facts interesting and inspiring? It teaches you that not everything big, starts big. What makes an idea succeed is the mind and body that you put into it. Are you a Nike fan? Which of these facts did you already know?