07/08/2026
🎙️ Partners & Plugs — Stu Forstrom | Episode 3
Look down at your Nikes. Ever think about the engineers who made the ideas in Beaverton come to LIFE?
Meet one of the OG Nike technologists that made it possible to manufacture sneakers at the WORLDWIDE scale Nike now achieves with ease.
For more than three decades, Stu Forstrom worked behind the scenes during one of the most transformative periods in Nike's history. From Air manufacturing and Tensile Air, later known as Zoom Air, to process engineering, factory innovation and global manufacturing.
Stu’s work helped turn ambitious ideas into repeatable production.
His name wasn't printed on the shoes he worked on, but he was there for SO MANY earthquaking Nike sneakers we still daydream about.
Like so many engineers inside Nike, their success was measured by the product leaving the factory, not by public recognition.
Yet the systems Stu helped develop as well as the manufacturing equipment he designed and ALL OF THE PATENTS he earned became part of the foundation behind some of Nike's most COVETED sneakers.
In Episode 3, we explore those Beaverton years. The rapid growth. The engineering challenges. How Stu transitioned into a leadership role and what it was like to help build one of the world's most innovative manufacturing organizations from the inside.
This 3rd interview also sets the stage for our final episode where we'll explore Stu's years leading AIR manufacturing across Asia and the extraordinary collection of Nike history he's preserved throughout his career.
Full episode dropping soon….Monday to be exact.
🎙️ Partners & Plugs — Episode 3