​Nike Teams Up with an Athlete with Cerebral Palsy

By: Evan Lazarus

Recently, Nike has been a part of some major headlines with their various campaigns and advertisements including commercials with Colin Kaepernick, Serena Williams and Lebron James. However, with their recent running movement, they found a different athlete to be the face for it.

Justin Gallegos, a junior on the University of Oregon’s running club, has signed a professional 3-year contract with Nike. You may ask why it is surprising for a runner, Justin Gallegos, to receive a contract from Nike. Gallegos is the first runner with Cerebral Palsy to sign a contract with Nike. Nike presented him the contract on October 6, National Cerebral Palsy Day. In an effort to show that anyone can ‘Just Do It’, Nike has pushed boundaries by defining what it means to be an athlete. Gallegos has not won races or titles but has instead overcome obstacles and pushed himself to be the greatest he can possibly be.

Nike and Gallegos have been in contact prior to the contract arrangement. Back in May of 2018, Gallegos helped Nike design a running shoe to help people with disabilities run easier and more comfortably. The shoe, Pegasus 35 FlyEase, features a zipper that opens and closes the shoe in one motion, making it easier to run in. With the zipper, runners do not have to worry about the laces of their shoes coming undone. Nike had tested Gallegos’s feet and noticed that people with Cerebral Palsy tend to have a high force impact on one small part of the foot as well as unstable running motions. It was important for Nike to create a shoe that was comfortable for the feet and durable.

It seems like every time we as PR professionals doubt Nike, they find a way to win back out hearts. They continue to brand themselves as a company that suits all races, genders, ethnicities and now disabilities; not just an athletic apparel company. Gallegos and Nike have taken tremendous steps in the right directions in this recent running campaign. Nike’s branding initiatives represent their mission and their slogan. They want everyone to have the mindset and to aspire to be an athlete. While this is a phenomenal gesture, Nike has taken a serious approach to becoming innovative and it has surely paid off for them.