A common sight in gyms and on the street, Nike trainers have a very strange origin story. Nike co-founder, Bill Bowerman, was a running coach from Oregon who was keen to invent a shoe sole that would be lightweight and grant grip without the need for running spikes. A solution to his predicament came to him on a morning in 1971 while he was having breakfast with his wife. Bowerman saw the grooves and patterns created by his waffle iron and thought instantly that they would be an excellent mould for a running shoes sole. Bowerman then set about making his first prototype Nike running shoe using his waffle iron. The shoe was a huge success and an updated version of the shoe, the Nike Waffle, is still available to purchase today.
Recent History graduate living in Newcastle. I like to travel and experience new things, my favourite place on earth has got to be the Great Barrier Reef. To date my greatest achievements include completing the National Pokedex and mastering how to make cheesy nachos.