10 Things You Didn't Know About Nike's EKIN Program

Nike's corporate offices may be in Oregon, but EKINs are deployed all over North America. There's roughly 28 to 30 across the country in cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Denver and Toronto while some EKINs cover multiple states. EKINS are also exploding internationally, which helps our source score: "I now have connects in Asia, South America, Europe as well as in Australia. It's great because I'll hook them up with a shoe that we can get here stateside but isn't in their country and vice versa".

The Nike Ekin program is nothing new, Phil Knight - Nike's co-founder and chairman - was actually the first EKIN. It was originally used to name the first traveling Nike sales reps back in the 1970's because "they had to know the product backwards and forwards, hence EKIN. Once the sales force started getting bigger, the EKIN job was branched off and then it's been bounced around within Nike's marketing divisions".

With every new sneaker and technology leak, the blogs - including Complex Sneakers - salivate with anticipation. EKINs get to see it all, "[the] best part of the EKIN job is access [...] like the Innovation Kitchen or seeing the first Lunar Trainer shoe when it was still in development phases. I've had an opportunity to go check out how all the different Air units are created, how we can use rapid prototype machines to create models: it's like getting access to a mad scientist lab and seeing all the things that have been created and were going to be released but then pulled back for one reason or another. I've seen special shoes that were created for athletes that will NEVER make their way onto the market." No late passes ever again.

Nike's mission statement includes the tagline "if you have a body, you are an athlete" so it's only fair that the EKIN four to nine day rookie camp in Beaverton includes running at Oregon University's Hayward field, where Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman coached his track athletes (including Phil Knight) and also "...the proper way to present the merchandise, the different ways to gather insights and how to know if you're gathering the right info to feed back to our brand and product teams at the world headquarters or in the territories we work in. Otherwise you're collecting useless info that won't help anyone."

Working for a company like Nike that has ever-evolving technology to be educated on certainly has perks, like free gear. But that doesn't mean that all EKINs who are Swoosh down to their underwear don't cop their own kicks too: "There are also times that you have to hop on-line at 1AM for a Jordan retro launch because you don't have a Nike retail store in your area [...] I've camped out for shoes in the past as an EKIN, I talked to other people in line but made sure not to mention that I worked for Nike as an EKIN because then you get bombarded with all kinds of questions."

In the 1990s the New York Times posted photos of a few backwards Nike swoosh tattoos, and it's still a legitimate tradition held by EKINs today after they complete their training. "Technically anyone could get the Swoosh tattoo, however we work with a particular tattoo artist because they know how important it is to our group and yes I do have a Swoosh tattoo. You aren't held at gunpoint to get a Swoosh tattoo, but a lot of people get it."

The EKIN program is so secretive that other brands began copying Nike to get a competitive advantage. One particular brand took it a little too far, "there was another brand that was trying to create their own version of the EKINs and they didn't realize what it stood for. They ordered business cards for their tech reps that had EKIN written on them and were actually handing out to retail partners - the manager at a Foot Locker I used to go visit saved it [...] Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Ouch.

It's hard to summarize the job title of an EKIN because it includes so many different duties, but they're best described as technology representatives, focusing on brand storytelling using Nike's innovations to educate, market and connect with consumers. "There are e-mails, conference calls, visits to retail partners, events, consumer insights meetings, market travel with out-of-town folks, product seeding with key relationships, it's non-stop work. [...] A recent group of EKINs came up with a term around how they're on the grind 24/7/365 and it does explain the EKINs to the fullest extent". #MakeItCount, indeed.

Contrary to some rumors, EKINS are not responsible for brainwashing and inspiring a cult following. Although the EKIN program is akin to a secret society: "Sometimes I feel like it's like the Illuminati. You may not know someone was an EKIN until you see their email signature or meet them in person. All of sudden you're talking to someone who's a VP in the company and they're telling you about when they were an EKIN. [...] it has a fraternity/sorority feel and it's one that I'm proud to be a part of".

Nike's now infamous "LAZY BUT TALENTED" shirts may have flown off the shelves, but that type of work ethic won't earn you a backwards Swoosh tattoo. All EKINs have their own stories and our source has wise words, no matter your profession: "Whenever you're working, whether it's at a mom and pop shop or at an event where there are Nike people, always present yourself in the best light. Your work ethic will speak volumes on the kind of work that you're going to do later on. I worked in retail before I got an EKIN job and I made it my business to know what a customer wanted before they walked into the store."