You may not know his name, but you've almost certainly worn his clothes, and you've seen his logo everywhere your whole life. Bowerman was a track and field coach, and the man who introduced the concept of jogging to America, but what really made him money - and continues to make money for his estate - was the brand he launched. Wanting to create a more comfortable running shoe for athletes, he founded Blue Ribbon Sports. The company would eventually be rebranded as Nike.
The first Nike trainers were hand made by Bowerman using his wife's waffle iron, which he ruined in the process. His experimental approach involved heating plastics and materials in an enclosed space, and the resulting fumes gave him nerve damage, eventually leaving him unable to walk. His biographer later noted that Bowerman had sacrificed his ability to walk in order to give the world better shoes to run in.