Nike "There Is No Finish Line Anyway" Book Released
Imagining a Future in 2073 Enjoying Sports in Space
What would it look like to play soccer in the zero-gravity environment of space? Ahead of last year's Qatar World Cup, famous Portuguese soccer star Luis Figo and seven amateurs played a 4-on-4 mini soccer game aboard a special aircraft flying at an altitude of 6,166 meters. The players, floating weightlessly, held onto poles attached to the ceiling to stabilize themselves as they kicked the ball, pushing their teammates toward the goal like curling stones and scoring with headers. Unlike the fast-paced soccer games on Earth, their movements were slow but had their own unique charm.
According to the U.S. economic media Business Insider on the 3rd (local time), Nike imagined in its book published last February, After all, there is No Finish Line, that 50 years from now, in 2073, an "Offworld Games" Olympic event could take place.
This book, which envisions Nike's next 50 years, was created with the participation of Nike's Chief Design Officer (CDO) John Hoke, futurist Jeff Mano, and writer Sam Grow. Alongside Mano's speculative fiction, the book includes essays written by Grow based on interviews with about ten Nike designers, scientists, engineers, researchers, and leaders.
The authors imagined the Offworld Games as new types of sports competitions held in zero-gravity conditions. Through short stories, they envisioned that 50 years from now, planetary superstars would compete in Olympic-like sports events combining gymnastics, climbing, wrestling, and martial arts without the interference of gravity. This imagined event would be hosted at Nike's "flagship orbital facility."
Along with this, Nike also foresaw the possibility of launching a line of spacesuits for traveling to Mars and other destinations. While space travel is currently limited to a very few, it is expected to become common in 50 years, allowing people to buy and wear Nike spacesuits when traveling through space. They also predicted the creation of soccer balls made from space dust scattered throughout space, or baseball bats made from metals formed in space.
On Earth, around 50 years from now, clothing made from spider silk or components derived from obsidian might emerge. There was also speculation that coral reefs could become future textile materials. Nike is currently researching fibers that can reduce carbon production. The authors predicted, "A time may come when growing clothes or shoes directly, instead of sewing them, will not seem so strange."
Nike also imagined that over the next 50 years, various new professions would join the company. Examples include cognitive explorers, insight builders, sports neuroscientists, artificial intelligence (AI) linguists, motivational psychologists, sensor designers, and nutrition coaches. Since Nike has focused on creating products centered on body movement, it can explore areas such as gamification and nudge theory from behavioral psychology and concentrate on developing related products.
In the book's foreword, CDO Hoke wrote, "The best way to predict the future is to create it," adding, "For the past 50 years, we have strived to create a better future for athletes. That has always driven us forward." He also referenced the book's title, No Finish Line, saying it "expresses our belief in the infinite potential of sports and design."
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