Audio by www.npr.com
Image by Getty Images
In 2022, the Nike Cortez is ubiquitous. To date, Nike has produced more than 700 versions of the shoe, collaborating with the likes of Bella Hadid, Kendrick Lamar, and the Netflix show Stranger Things. The shoe’s prominent swoosh and herringbone pattern outsole have made it popular across generations.
1. Before it is Nike
When Nike was founded, it was a startup that didn’t manufacture its own shoes. It wasn’t even named Nike: It was Blue Ribbon Sports, co-founded by Bill Bowerman, legendary University of Oregon track coach, and Phil Knight, a businessman who Bowerman had once coached.
2. How the Cortez got its name
In his 2016 memoir Shoe Dog, Phil Knight writes that Onitsuka sent Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight a shoe prototype they were collaborating on in 1967—the company wanted suggestions on a name. With the 1968 Olympic games held in Mexico right around the corner, Bowerman came up with “The Aztec,” a homage to the Mesoamericans who inhabited what eventually became Mexico.
There was, however, one problem: Adidas had already released a track shoe called the Azteca Gold—and they were threatening to sue if the name wasn’t changed. The name Aztec was out.
In the book, Knight documents how the shoe eventually got its name:
“Aggravated, I drove up the mountain to Bowerman’s house to talk it all over. We sat on the wide porch, looking down at the river. It sparkled that day like a silver shoelace. He took off his ball cap, put it on again, rubbed his face. “Who was that guy who kicked the sh*t out of the Aztecs?” he asked. “Cortez,” I said. He grunted. “Okay. Let’s call it the Cortez.”
The name Aztec wasn’t available. So they named it after the man who conquered the Aztecs and took their capital city of Tenochtitlan: Hernán Cortés—a clear sign to Adidas that the up-start Blue Ribbon was looking to make waves in the world of footwear.
3. The Cortez as a cultural symbol: Los Angeles, Chicanos, and resilience
In the 1980s, the Cortez began to take on a new association: the city of Los Angeles.
The Cortez became a feature of the city. By Nike’s account, “over time, the silhouette became a staple of the city’s swap meets, car clubs and schoolyards.”
The shoe made its deepest inroads within Southern California’s Black and Hispanic communities. The most popular ambassador of the shoe was perhaps Eazy-E, whose Cortezes were integral to his gangster rap image.
Image by Getty Images
It was also in this era that the Cortez began to be adopted by gangs. The shoe’s basic design and wide availability made it easy to incorporate into any number of gang uniforms — and all of this was happening as Los Angeles was entering a period of rising crime associated with the crack epidemic.
In the 80s and 90s, the Cortez became an essential part of Chicano streetwear.
The shoe was a fashion statement, but it was also a symbol of resilience — proof that somebody could come from dire circumstances and demand respect.
4. What’s in a name?
The shoe named after a conquistador has become a powerful cultural symbol for the descendants of the people he conquered.
In the years since the Cortez was created, cultural values and considerations have drastically changed. Issues related to race, gender, and sexual orientation are treated with more care than ever before.
On paper, the Nike Cortez could be a perfect candidate for outrage, think pieces, or even renaming – but it isn’t. That’s in part because the story of the shoe’s origin isn’t widely known, but perhaps more importantly, most who are aware don’t view the shoe’s namesake as particularly important.
