What a Few Months with Nike Taught Me About Trust

Author: Matt Thomas, Founder at Stake The Reputation Company

A few years ago, I had the chance to work closely over several months with some of the executives at Nike Pacific.
I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to work for an organisation so much.
The people were commercial, intelligent, passionate and human. The culture had real momentum, and it felt like a company that meant what it said — not just about sport, but about something deeper.

There was only one problem:
I’ve never really been into sport.

I’m not really a runner. I’m not really a gym guy. I don’t own a pair of Jordans (though I am a sucker for a pair of Air Force 1s…) .
But that didn’t matter.
Because what Nike is really about isn’t just athletic achievement.
It’s about the athlete in all of us — the part of every person that knows what it feels like to doubt yourself, to struggle with your limits, and still choose to move forward.

Where many brands focus on polishing the perfect image of their customers, Nike has always done something much braver: It acknowledges the doubt, the fear, the unfinishedness — and offers the belief in people to rise through it.

"Just Do It" isn’t an order.
It’s a promise of acceptance.
It’s Nike saying: You’re enough to start. Even with all your fear, even with all your flaws — you are already standing on the starting line.

A changing world

In the broader culture, we see a new kind of response emerging — one that surfaced through moments like Brexit and Trump.

As more institutions, brands, and movements challenge people to be better — to care more, to strive harder, to live up to higher ideals — a countercurrent grows alongside it. A response that pushes back against constant moral aspiration, against the feeling of never being enough.

It taps into the same emotional realities — fear, frustration, the longing to be seen and valued — but moves in a different direction: not toward striving, but toward settling into grievance, resentment, and resistance to change.

Both currents acknowledge something real: people live with fear, contradiction, and longing. The difference lies in what you offer people after you see that truth.

Some voices invite people to move — to rise through their contradictions. Others invite them to stay — to find belonging in shared hurt.

Both movements recognise the same emotional truth:
People are full of contradictions, longing, and fear.
The difference lies in what they offer people after that acknowledgment.

Nike doesn’t erase the fear or the struggle.
It respects it — and still calls people to move.

That’s the future of trust.
Not perfection.
Not performance.
An honest, human invitation to keep going — even when it’s hard.

What This Means for Brands Today

In a world that no longer trusts easy promises or polished images, brands that want to build lasting value need to work differently. Some principles that matter:

• Respect the full self.
  Acknowledge that your audiences are complicated — full of hope, fear, anger, longing — and build relationships that honour that complexity, not deny it.

• Frame aspiration as an invitation, not a judgment.
  Don’t shame people for not being perfect. Offer them a vision they can reach for, starting from where they are.

• Anchor trust in emotional truth, not surface polish.
  People no longer believe brands that only show their best face. They trust brands that acknowledge the messy reality of striving and still offer meaning.

• Be clear about the path you offer.
  After you meet people where they are, show them what you believe they can still become. Trust is not just about recognition — it’s about leading with care and courage.

Brands that can live with contradiction — and still inspire people to rise — will be the ones that earn trust, loyalty, and lasting relevance in the years ahead.

Because Nike didn’t win trust by selling perfection.
It won trust by believing there’s an athlete in all of us — and that we are already enough to begin. That belief still matters.
Maybe now more than ever.