Book of the Week: Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

What happens when a dreamer with nothing but grit and an idea decides to run full speed into the unknown?

That is the story of Shoe Dog. Phil Knight’s raw and unforgettable memoir about building Nike from scratch. And let me tell you, this one is special.

I read a book every single week. Some are good. Some are forgettable. Every now and then one comes along that feels like hitting the jackpot. That was Shoe Dog. From the first chapter I felt like I had struck gold. I was hooked all week long. I could not put it down. And when I did, I could not wait to pick it back up again.

This book had me talking about it nonstop. I was bringing it up with my wife. I was connecting stories to my own battles in business. I was thinking about the lessons while driving, while working, while sitting with my team. It got into my head and stayed there.

That is how I know a book is great. It doesn’t just entertain you, it pulls you in and forces you to relive your own journey. The highs, the lows, the payroll panic, the sleepless nights, the wins that almost did not happen. Shoe Dog is more than the history of Nike. It is a mirror for every entrepreneur who has ever risked it all to chase something bigger.

The Fifty Dollar Start

Phil Knight walked out of college with nothing but a wild idea and fifty bucks he borrowed from his dad. Fifty dollars. That was his launch fund. Not an investment round, not a bank loan. Just his old man sliding him enough cash to take a shot.

With that, Phil started importing running shoes from Japan. At the time, running wasn’t even cool in America. If people saw you jogging down the street, they thought you were either late for a bus or running from the cops. But Phil believed in it. He believed these shoes were different. He believed in the vision.

And then came the first spark of magic. He pitched his idea to his old track coach at Oregon, Bill Bowerman. Knight thought maybe Bowerman would buy a few pairs for his runners. Instead, Bowerman said, “Let’s be partners.”

That changed everything. Suddenly this wasn’t just Phil hustling shoes out of his trunk. He had a legendary coach in his corner, a guy obsessed with making his athletes faster. Bowerman didn’t just want to sell shoes, he wanted to build them better. He was tinkering, experimenting, even pouring rubber into waffle irons trying to create a lighter, faster sole.

That was the birth of Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964. That was the beginning of Nike.

But here’s where it gets even better. They brought in a guy named Jeff Johnson. Jeff was the first true believer outside of Phil and Bowerman. And this guy was a maniac in the best possible way. He lived and breathed the mission. He opened their very first retail store in Santa Monica in 1966. He hustled like crazy to get shoes on feet and build a customer base.

And get this, Jeff wrote thousands of letters to Phil. Thousands. Long, detailed, passionate letters about ideas, marketing, sales strategies, shoe design, everything under the sun. The guy was basically inventing direct-to-consumer marketing before anyone called it that. And the kicker? Phil almost never wrote him back. He admits it. Jeff was pouring his heart out, and Phil was too busy trying to keep the whole thing alive to respond.

That’s the stuff I love. Because that is how real companies are built. Not with perfect systems or polished communication, but with a few obsessed people who care so much they’ll write letters no one answers, they’ll open stores no one thought could survive, they’ll bet their whole lives on a vision nobody else can see yet.

That’s the fifty dollar start. A crazy idea, a coach who said yes, a maniac who believed so much he couldn’t stop writing letters, and a team that turned a trunk hustle into Nike.

The Year by Year Grind

The part of Shoe Dog that grabbed me by the throat was how Phil told the story one year at a time. No skipping to the big wins. No “here’s how I built Nike in three easy steps.” He made you live it. 1962, 1963, 1964… each year another chapter, another war, another near-death experience for the company.

And it was never smooth. Every single year was the same pattern. Sales doubled. That should have been cause for celebration. But doubling sales just doubled the pressure. Suppliers wanted money yesterday. Banks tightened the leash. Cash flow never caught up. He was always running on fumes, juggling bills, and begging for one more loan, one more extension, one more shot.

That’s what makes this book so real. Because if you’ve ever built anything from scratch, you know exactly what that feels like. I’ve lived it. Staring at the numbers at 2 AM, wondering how the hell you’re going to make payroll, shuffling money from one account to another just to keep the lights on. That’s not theory. That’s survival.

Phil painted that picture with brutal honesty. He wasn’t trying to inspire, he was trying to survive. And that’s why it inspired me more than any “rah-rah” business book ever could.

He showed how the company lived on the edge for nearly two decades. And yet he never stopped. Every year he found a way. Every year he went back into the fight. And every year the vision grew a little stronger, a little more undeniable.

That’s the grind. The messy, ugly, relentless climb that turns a trunk full of shoes into a dynasty. And if you’ve been in business long enough, you know it isn’t glamorous. But it’s real.

And reading those chapters felt like I was back in my own battles. Because I’ve lived that fight. I know the fear. I know the rush. And I know the payoff when you refuse to quit.

The Fight With the Trade Office

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. And back then, that elephant was a German beast named Adidas.

Adidas was the giant. They owned the running world. They had the market share, the money, the power, the politicians in their pocket. And then along comes Phil Knight. A kid with fifty borrowed bucks, a trunk full of shoes, and a stubborn streak that refused to bend.

Adidas didn’t like it. They wanted him gone. So what did they do? They leaned on the U.S. trade office. Suddenly Phil wasn’t just fighting suppliers and banks anymore. He was up against the government of his own country, greased by the bribes and influence of the biggest sports company on earth.

Think about that. You’re out there selling shoes hand to hand, fighting to keep the lights on, and now you’ve got Washington D.C. breathing down your neck because a German powerhouse wants you dead.

This is why Shoe Dog is so great. Phil lays it all out. The fight wasn’t just about money or product, it was about survival. And I could relate to that more than anything. I’ve had my own “Adidas moments.” Times when competitors tried to crush me, when banks and regulators stood in the way, when it felt like the deck was stacked against me.

That’s what made the book so powerful for me. Because Phil didn’t fold. He found a way to fight back. He kept moving forward when every card on the table said it was time to quit. And that’s why Nike exists today.

What It Took to Win

Through all the chaos, the sleepless nights, and the constant near-death experiences for the company, there came moments that changed everything.

The swoosh. The name Nike. The running boom of the 70s. The explosion of basketball in the 80s. These weren’t just business moves. They were cultural shifts. Nike didn’t just sell shoes, it reshaped how people saw sport, fitness, and style.

And here’s the thing. Phil Knight wasn’t out to destroy Adidas. He wasn’t fueled by spite. He stayed locked on his mission—building something great for the world. That clarity of vision is what made the breakthrough possible. He never let hate or jealousy cloud the work. He just kept creating, kept pushing, kept believing.

And out of those breakthroughs came lessons every entrepreneur needs tattooed on their brain.

• Accounting matters: 

You can have the dream, the grit, and the passion, but if you don’t respect the numbers, you’ll die. Cash flow was Knight’s constant enemy, and it forced him to learn. Ignore the numbers and you run out of oxygen. Master them and you scale.

• Friendship and commitment matter: 

Knight didn’t build Nike alone. He had teammates who were just as crazy as he was. People who stuck by him when it looked impossible. Partners who believed in the vision so deeply they’d bleed for it. Without them, the story stops early.

• Teamwork matters: 

Visionaries like Knight and I’d put myself in this same category can see the future. We can see where it’s all heading before the world catches on. But visions don’t become reality without a team willing to get in the trenches and grind it out. One man can light the fire, but it takes an army to keep it burning.

That’s what it took to win. Not luck. Not shortcuts. Vision, discipline, loyalty, and a team that refused to quit.

Why This Book Stuck With Me

Reading Shoe Dog felt like looking into a mirror.

I’ve lived through the payroll nightmares. I’ve fought through the doubts. I’ve heard the voices saying “you can’t do it” and I’ve answered back by doing it anyway. At 50 years old, I feel like I’m 30. My business is thriving. My marriage is strong. My sons are succeeding. My dog Dante still gets his daily walk. And it’s because, like Phil, I refused to quit.

That’s what makes this book so powerful. It isn’t a motivational pep talk. It isn’t a collection of quotes to stick on your wall. It’s a survival story. It’s the bruises, the scars, the payroll panic, the close calls that almost killed the dream.

And that’s the truth about entrepreneurship. Greatness doesn’t come without struggle. The scars aren’t signs of failure, they’re proof that you’re still in the fight. Entrepreneurs are blessed with a vision most people can’t see until they meet someone like Phil Knight or someone like me. We go all in. We burn the ships. We never surrender.

Golden Squeegee Rating

I don’t hand this out lightly. Most books get four or five Golden Squeegees. This one deserves more. If I could give it ten, I would.

If you read one book this year, make it Shoe Dog.

Final Word

From fifty borrowed dollars, to selling shoes out of a trunk, to fighting off giants, to creating one of the most powerful brands the world has ever seen, this story proves what’s possible when you refuse to quit.

If you haven’t read Shoe Dog yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up. Don’t skim it. Don’t just highlight a few quotes. Read it cover to cover and let it remind you what it really takes to build something great.

If Phil could turn fifty bucks into Nike, you can take your dream and make it real too.

Keep Shining.

—Gabe Salinas