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It's hard to believe that Nike was once a small company, dwarfed by their German rivals and reliant on some ground-level guerilla tactics when it came to marketing that sound crude by today's standards, where strategy after strategy sits in place to keep Nike Inc on top. Geoff Hollister, who passed away yesterday, saw the brand develop from distribution and consultancy at grass roots level to something significantly bigger, with a crucial role that saw him operating as Nike employee #3 (after Jeff Johnson) and offering an extra perspective beyond Phil Knight's enviable business aptitude and Bill Bowerman's unnerving dedication to performance. Working with the brand from his introduction to Knight around 1967 to his exit in 2001 and remaining close to Nike to the end, he witnessed it all, but the innovations he implemented are hugely significant too.

Given Nike's obsession with insight, Hollister's athletic education via Coach Bowerman at the University of Oregon was as good a grounding as any future Nike exec could get. As BRS began, pushing Onitsuka products Stateside, Hollister was given his break by Knight to earn some extra cash, leading to 1968's opening of the BRS West store — the first Blue Ribbon Sports retailer, and the forefather of the Athletic Department space, which Hollister — on a return from the navy — would ultimately be given free reign to rework as part of his management and promotional duties. As well as participating in trips to Asia to source product, Hollister's passion for the newly-named Nike was invaluable, pitching it as a brand for athletes by athletes and leading a slowly expanding team in product placement at track meets and training grounds alike. That was before the Tweets and viral videos, and long before Weiden+Kennedy broke out the Futura font.

That wasn't the end of it though — if you were involved in a nascent Nike brand, then you were getting your hands dirty in all sorts of ways, whether it was assisting with handmade Waffle soled shoes — bringing some soul to the sole — during the BRS/Onitsuka court case years, custom making warm up suits with the emphasis on visible branding to up the brand awareness of BRS, who were losing money at the time, and sell the notion of a rebel running solution to the reign of the rival brands. Working at local and Olympic level, Hollister's marketing skills aided with the explosion of Waffle Trainer sales that jump started Nike sales in subsequent years, almost catching up with adidas by the end of the 1970's. Hollister was also involved in the creation of SMUs for Sir Elton John — a risky gesture that led to a musician program that acted as the forefather to contemporary colourways for artists, creating a non athletic lineage that leads all the way to this year's Air Yeezy madness. Building a working relationship with Brendan Foster, who'd ultimately become Vice President of Nike Europe, was instrumental in building the Nike brand on these shores.

On the design side, Hollister's pinwheel swoosh creation was an appealing attempt to represent the brand visually on apparel. He was the man behind the Windrunner jacket and AW77 track top that used the chevron detailing. Between Bruin deliveries to NBA players, he got creative, and several patents bear his surname. As part of the team behind 1977's Athletics West initiative, he saw what was missing in terms of apparel, and what was previously a promo afterthought became almost as integral to the run as the footwear. Hollister was the first to hire Tinker Hatfield, using him to illustrate his 'Nike International Promotions Handbook' — a veritable Bible of mantras, rules and tips for anyone looking to spread the word. He also designed the first Nike Flight Suit for Michael Jordan and was the man behind the bestselling Aqua Sock and its sequel, which was set to lead to full ACG-style Aqua Gear subdivision that never made manufacture. With his substantial experience, Geoff worked on the elite APE (Advanced Product Engineering) team alongside a former Patagonia developer.

Geoff Hollister's contribution to shaping sportswear as we know it, from physical product to the array of strategies implemented to build a buzz and secure sponsorships are immeasurable. Salutes from all at Crooked Tongues for a legend of the industry. We recommend Hollister's 'Out of Nowhere' book (where the images here are borrowed from) for a superior account of Nike's ascent and many more of Hollister's achievements, whether they were track or boardroom based. To quote the man himself, "The future will remember that wild ride of life where you believed in others and left a gift behind for someone else to dream the impossible. That gift was your own life. It does not matter whether it was long or short. What did you leave behind?"

The answer, in Hollister's case, were plenty of things that we tend to take for granted.