Gentry Humphrey leaves Nike

:pimp:

No wonder we are starting to see better foamposite colorways.

Removed the medial side on the flightposites >:
 
Back when I cared about shoes more than I should I literally wanted to fight this man. So yeah 10 years too late. It would be nice if they righted the wrongs tho which it appears that that's the direction things are heading somewhat with the og 95 releases and more accurate og jordan models in the future amongst other things.
 
You guys expect to have the same quality sandwich made for you for 25 years

Gentry not your wife or moms
 
Wasn't it already confirmed years ago when he left Jordan Brand that he wasn't the true culprit behind the decline of the Air Jordan (Quality), but nothing more than the lighting rod for the public backlash. I could have sworn it was revealed that Michael himself was making all of the calls on using cheaper materials and Gentry was just a patsy. Who's to say he hasn't been nothing more than a patsy for his seniors in the other departments he has worked in? You guys don't honestly believe that now that he has made an exit that the quality is going to improve do you?
 
SoleByThePound said:
Wasn't it already confirmed years ago when he left Jordan Brand that he wasn't the true culprit behind the decline of the Air Jordan (Quality), but nothing more than the lighting rod for the public backlash. I could have sworn it was revealed that Michael himself was making all of the calls on using cheaper materials and Gentry was just a patsy. Who's to say he hasn't been nothing more than a patsy for his seniors in the other departments he has worked in? You guys don't honestly believe that now that he has made an exit that the quality is going to improve do you?
Click to expand...

Now explain the nonsense he did as NSW, especially the ****** Foamposite releases
 
SoleByThePound said:
Wasn't it already confirmed years ago when he left Jordan Brand that he wasn't the true culprit behind the decline of the Air Jordan (Quality), but nothing more than the lighting rod for the public backlash. I could have sworn it was revealed that Michael himself was making all of the calls on using cheaper materials and Gentry was just a patsy. Who's to say he hasn't been nothing more than a patsy for his seniors in the other departments he has worked in? You guys don't honestly believe that now that he has made an exit that the quality is going to improve do you?
Click to expand...


The decline in quality directly correlates with Phil Knights time with the company. After he stepped down as CEO in 2004 things have been all downhill. 2004/05 marks the beginning of the hike in prices, drop in quality and endless slew of taste the rainbow retro colorways. Knight started the company from the ground up and I believe he truly cared about bringing quality products to the market. Of course profit and the companies bottom line was always a concern, but as soon as Knight was gone it became the only concern. Knight was dedicated to innovation and creating products that were truly a notch above the competition. William Perez only lasted a year as CEO due to conflicts with Phil Knight about his direction for the company. Mark Parker got the job in 2006 and since then, things have never been the same. When you compare the product lineup from Knights days as CEO compared to post-Knight Nike the difference is night and day. Innovative lines like the Alpha Project were discontinued and ever since the company has been thriving on old designs, cheaper materials and manufacturing processes and limited marketing gimmicks for nearly 10 years now. The prices have gone up and the quality has gone down. While this is great for stockholders, it's apparent that Nike is no longer a labor of love and just another company being run strictly by the numbers.

Think of the countless designs Nike brought us from 1971-2004 that became classics... Hell, just think of how many classics we got from 1994-2004. Now think of how many classics we've seen since 2005 after Knight stepped down. Knight cared about innovation, encouraged designers to let their creativity flow and took risks on controversial designs, materials and technology. Since his departure we've seen almost none of that innovative attitude that made Nike designs so great for so many years. Knight's stay brought us technology such as Vis-Air, Zoom-Air, Shox, Huarache, Foamposite. He approved designs that with things like Exposed Heel Counters, Monkey Paw, Carbon and Polymer Shanks and Exposed Ghille Laces, that took structural elements of a shoe that would normally be hidden and incorporated them into the aesthetic of the shoe. Post-Knight Nike is doing better than ever financially, but what are they releasing? Old designs. These 10-30 year old designs still flood the shelves at any shoe store and with a few exceptions, there isn't much true innovation going on behind the doors at Nike anymore. We've seen some cool stuff like Fly-Knit and Free and the Roshes are destined to be a future classic but when it comes to creativity, innovation and risky new designs, Nike is a shell of its former self. Even things touted as innovations, such as Fly-Wire/Heat-Welded seamless uppers are merely a way to reduce production costs by eliminating the use of more costly natural materials and reducing the need for human construction (ie: sewing/stitching).

I'm not mad at Nike for doing things the way they are. Like I said, they're numbers tell the story and they're doing better than ever... but damn if I don't miss what their new products used to represent.
 
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He ruined Nike Sportswear and it was something I feared when he took it over. Not even from a shoe standpoint, but the clothes. NSW was one of my favorite brands and had dope pieces before he killed the line. The jackets and crew necks were always on point.
 
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