Look, I don’t know about you, but I grew up wanting to be and thinking I’d become the next Michael Jordan. I bought the shoes, read every book about him, watched nearly every movie about him and even tried duplicating his moves on the hardwood—which I failed miserably at. So to say that I’ve always been a fan of Nike is a bit of an understatement.
When I got offered the chance to fly to Portland to take part in an exclusive, all-access tour with the Swoosh, I jumped on the opportunity as if it were the front seat of an airplane. Seriously, I was giddy as hell about this trip.
BroBible
When sent my itinerary, I had no idea what to expect or what the whole experience was about—other than a release of Nike’s new Vapor Untouchable II football gear, which is the lightest jersey and cleat ever created by the brand and will be debuted by the Oregon Ducks in the Alamo Bowl against TCU, while also worn by NFL players at the 2016 Pro Bowl.
So, here I was, like a kid in a candy store among the legends that have walked the hallowed halls of Nike HQ, trying my best to keep it together as NFL players Michael Bennett and LaMike James were chatting me up, along with a surprise appearance from legendary Hall of Fame running back, Marshall Faulk.
Guys, this doesn’t happen everyday, so you better believe I was soaking it all in.
Getting an in-depth, sneak peek at the new gear, I was able to get an idea of the conceptual ideas that Nike has when it comes to their equipment, always forward thinking and evolving in a landscape that’s as competitive as any—yet, they always seem to come out on top.
I got the opportunity to not only see the designs and hear the story behind the Vapor Untouchable II, but also got to speak with senior designer of Nike Football, Jeff Rasmussen, and design director of NFL/NCAA apparel, Nate Retzlaff, who both gave me a crash course in how the new products came to fruition.
BroBible
Here are a few things that the two had to tell me about the concept of the Vapor Untouchable II and the inspiration behind the cleats and jersey:
BroBible: The athletes (Bennett, James, Faulk) talked about how cool it was to give their feedback on the Vapor Untouchable II line and feel part of the Nike family, can you talk about how important that is?
Jeff Rasmussen: “It’s really important and means a lot. Those guys aren’t footwear designers everyday, but they will tell us that they need arch support, or a certain lacing system, so you get some of the craziest feedback and suggestions by just observing guys who are the best at what they do.
It’s not always a path from A to Z, but you hear all of these little comments and you filter them down and they become these amazing innovations.”
Nate Retzlaff: “Obviously, the University of Oregon has been a great partner for us, as have the Seattle Seahawks. A lot of that is just geographical access, but we’ve got partners all over the country.
I’ll never forget Dior Mathis, who played for Oregon football, when he tried on the new Vapor Untouchable II outfit and asked, ‘When can I get this?’ The pant seemed to be the biggest aha moment for him because of the minimal design and minimal seeming, leading to increase mobility and players want less is more.
Richard Sherman was another really strong partner who’s a less is more guy—to my understanding he doesn’t wear anything under his game pants—so those key guys at the top of their game and provided that feedback to tell us we really killed it feels amazing.”
BroBible: For someone who doesn’t know, can you talk about how much a four-ounce difference can make on the football field for players during a game?
Nate Retzlaff: “I can’t quantify the numbers, but when you carry a jersey over the course of four quarters that’s lighter and absorbs less, that’s going to add up to a significant difference for the players. If it’s 29 percent lighter, that’s 29 percent less weight that they have to carry. Games are won in the fourth quarter, so if you can feel fresh and have a little bit of an edge, you’re going to feel better and it can, potentially, lead to victory.”
BroBible: I’ve always thought it would be so cool to do what you do—I mean, you draw shoes every single day. So, as a shoe designer, where do you get some of your inspiration for your concepts? Are you just a mad scientist who pulls things from walking on the street?
Jeff Rasmussen (laughs): “I don’t really know, man. I mean, sometimes, it just plops into your head because you had a good day, when, other times, you just have to work really, really hard and hustle for it. Sometimes you just need to be inspired and have to go do this or go do that, but it’s a blessing when it all comes together for me.”
BroBible
The day continued with some incredible surprises, with a freakin’ Lamborghini pulling up in front of the building we were at to showcase how Nike would deliver the news to football teams around the country—which they did the next day at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with a similar whip.
I mean, of course Nike pulls out all the stops like a Lambo to show-off its new gear, what else would they do, right?
After heading to the Nike Employee Store to scoop some gear—which, if you haven’t been to before, I highly suggest doing—I was able to cop my family their Christmas gifts this year with a killer discount.
The day ended with a trip from Beaverton to Eugene where, the next day, we would get an in-depth tour of the University of Oregon’s athletic complex and a chance to try out the Vapor Untouchable II on the Ducks’ practice field, so stay tuned for my recap and video from our training session tomorrow.
Here’s a video on Nike’s Vapor Untouchable II performance system, which you can read more about here.
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