One of the most memorable Christmas presents I ever received was a single company share (stock) of Nike. From age 12-18 and had become a fanboy of the athletic brand. Michael Jordan was in his prime, Bo Knows Bo was a thing, and all I wanted to do was Just Do It. I felt a part of the company. I had ownership. And it didn't hurt that the stock split twice. Of course with four shares, I wasn't inspired by the money; I wanted to be part of the story.

Bo Knows Bo – brilliant

The brand took a big hit when it was revealed that it was making products in sweatshops. To be honest, that tarnish of the company lasted a long time for me. Big brands soon became less of a big deal to me (poor college student) and I never regained my passion for the company.

Nike has been making quite the comeback. Their recent partnership with Apple on the Apple Watch specifically caught my attention. I was reminded how groundbreaking the company was with athletic gear and how it has evolved (as all companies must) to provide software apps and a relevant message in the 21st century. Nike established the Nike+ Run Club and almost overnight I found a script where I wanted to play a leading role.

that "Etch-a-sketch" in the middle is my running route

I love the idea of a running club. I've never been in one but the week we moved to Oregon, we were at the Firefly and learned that there is a running club that meets every Saturday morning. Life with three young kids does not make that time work the greatest for us right now, but this spring might be a different story. In my line of work I'm always looking for ways for people to take their health to the next level. I work at a fitness club, I believe there is a lot of value (equipment, community and experts) at a fitness club. But the idea of a "grassroots" running club at the local coffee shop is pretty cool also! Anyway, there's the local running club and there's the digital running club – and you know me, digital is always pretty cool to me.

I'm not sure we need another social network. I know that face-to-face interaction is both essential and at the same time taking a hit in our digital society. Still we need to leverage technology and find ways to connect with more people with said technology especially if it benefits our health. And that is my motivation: a healthy and disciplined lifestyle. Sure, a guy like me often gets competitive but it doesn't always have to be like that. Running is about being in community. Each runner is as different as the next. One of the main features of the Nike+ Running Club is the prompt to run on Sunday. I love this! And each week I've had Apple Watch Nike+ I've participated in the Sunday run.

Nike was the original athletic company. They had a significant fall from grace and they've rebuilt their brand. Nike is continuing to tell the story of health and fitness and is finding new ways to get you and me involved in the story. I'll end with one of my favorite fitness stories. Nike asked Casey Neistat to help launch their Nike Fuel band. Well the Fuel Band ended up being a flop but hey, this video is still pretty awesome. (Sorry for the thumbnail – it’s not all about girls in bikinis).