Just Another Nike Blog

When the first Blue Ribbon Sports retail door opened in 1967, it became a welcomed home for the Los Angeles running community. That team bond shared between runners is captured in this summer’s BRS collection. Evolving the debut capsule from 2019, the collection includes more apparel pieces and a special BRS colorway of the Nike React Infinity Run Flyknit. A retro-styled California sunset graphic appears on select pieces, as does “Coast to Coast” mirrored subscript and a tri-blocked color palette on the sweats, shorts and performance jackets, evoking the door’s earliest days. The Nike BRS Pack will be available beginning June 3 on nike.com.

On January 25, 1964, Nike co-founders Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman created Blue Ribbon Sports, which landed its first specialty store location three years later under the direction of Jeff Johnson in Santa Monica, California. Commemorating the anniversary of Blue Ribbon Sports is a limited-edition Nike ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT%, with quirky scribbles printed on the white upper that relate to the storefront's past — its Pico Boulevard address, old shoe boxes, race bibs and more. The colorway releases January 25 on nike.com and at the below specialty retailers: 3107 Pico (Santa Monica, California) Heartbreak Hill Running Company (Boston; Chicago) Runologie (Raleigh, North Carolina) Mill City Running (Minneapolis) The Loop Running Supply Co. (Austin, Texas) BlackToe Running Inc. (Toronto, Ontario) A Runner's Mind (San Francisco)

Last January, Nike reopened its original Blue Ribbon Sports door in Santa Monica. Now, Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS) will appear in pop-ups across three cities this October — Santa Monica, Chicago and New York City — in the form of the Volkswagen ID. BUZZ Cargo, an all-electric modern version of the bus that Jeff Johnson drove to deliver product throughout Los Angeles in the 1960s. At the pop-ups, visitors will be able to purchase exclusive BRS footwear, learn more about the history of Nike’s beginnings and donate used athletic shoes to Reuse-A-Shoe. Blue Ribbon Sports: Coast to Coast begins October 5 in Santa Monica, with stops in Chicago on October 12 and New York City on October 15. To learn more and receive updates in each city, visit SNKRS.