My Gripe With Nike

There was a time, not very long ago, when Nike was untouchable. The brand was consistently dropping heat — the collabs hit, the releases felt special, and sneaker culture felt exciting. But somewhere along the way, things went left. Now we’re drowning in uninspired releases and lazy colorways that feel like they were designed by committee in a conference room with fluorescent lighting.

I’m not here with spreadsheets and quarterly earnings reports — I’m speaking as a collector. I haven’t set an alarm for a Nike drop all year (okay, except the Morehouse Air Max 95s — those were non-negotiable). And that’s the point: the urgency is gone.

Why? Because Nike made the product too accessible. For years, Nike mastered the illusion of exclusivity — limited runs, select retailers, scarcity that made the chase exciting. Even if you missed out, resale existed, so the shoe still felt special. Then Nike got greedy. Production ballooned. Dunks and Jordans that used to be impossible to get suddenly sat on shelves. And once anyone can walk in and grab something, the desirability drops. Same reason Birkins are still Birkins — exclusivity is the brand.

Meanwhile, other brands caught up — and in some cases, surpassed them. New Balance, Adidas, ASICS — they started doing thoughtful, limited, culturally relevant collaborations that actually felt special. Nike lost the plot.

I still love a good Dunk, but I’m far more selective now. The mystique isn’t there like it used to be — and the resale value definitely isn’t either. But with new leadership and a supposedly revamped strategy on the horizon, maybe Nike will remember what made them great in the first place.

We’ll see. Stay tuned.

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