Dear Nike,
I started Sukoon Active in 2016 mostly because as a Muslim, hijabi everyday athlete, I felt that there wasn’t a lot of thoughtfulness behind the designs around sports hijabs and modest activewear. I used to wear bandanas, hoodies, and running hoods during workout classes and races, and while each of these ad hoc solutions offered some benefits, they didn’t feel good. They’d slip off, they’d get wet and sweaty, and more often than that, they usually made me look like an unkempt teenage boy. I didn’t like that feeling, so I started to design a modest activewear brand that I wanted to see in the world.
To say I was nervous when I saw your 2017 press release about the Nike Pro Hijab is an understatement. In fact, I wrote a “public” statement about it (i.e. a long post on my personal Facebook page 😂). My teeny tiny recently Kickstarter funded startup was suddenly up against the innovation team behind a $30 billion dollar company. Did I have a fighting chance? Self-proclaimed CEO of Sukoon Active, a 5’0” tall Indian American, 20-something, vs. you, NIKE Inc., brain child of Phil Knight?
Close to 100 prototypes over 4 years, a sustainable and ethical supply chain, and four sports hijabs over two collections. The awards and celebrity endorsements rolled in — not for me but for you, the Goliath to my David (so people say).
The most obvious question I get from customers, investors, friends and family: “why don’t you get Ibtihaj Muhammad to rep Sukoon?” OH I TRIED. Four years ago, when Sukoon was just an idea, then again three years ago when we were featured together in an ABC News video about her Olympic win. In a way, our journeys were hand in hand…until I saw what I thought might be coming: Ibtihaj repping that swoosh on her temple on a Times Square Billboard.
I’m not naive…I know that these kinds of endorsements come with a steep price tag; but it made me wonder how I can keep strapping my boots and still attract the rising Muslim faces in my generation.
I worked even harder. I knew it wasn’t as easy as your product made it seem. I knew you had more money, more (wo)man power, more marketing spend…and yet, every Sukoon prototype has been drenched in my actual sweat, and embedded with my tears, my dollars, my dreams, my livelihood. I have more to lose — and more to win. Your “2017 Innovation of the Year” came to market and to those on the inside…it fell flat.
I wondered: is it possible that you’re too big to get this right?
As an everyday runner who has loyally rep’d the Nike swoosh on almost every team uniform since I was 5 years old, I wanted to love this product. As the CEO of Sukoon Active, your predecessor in the sports hijab world, my feelings were…complicated.
In my very honest opinion, the Nike Pro Hijab has been disappointing, at best. Muslim women deserve better. Because better is already out there.
So, Nike, where does that leave us? Well, we’re both still in the game. Adidas will be joining us soon, too, I hear. My message to you both: there might be room for all of us. There might not be. May the best sports hijab win.
Sincerely,
Arshiya Kherani
CEO & Founder, Sukoon Active
Est. 2016
(Follow more of my writing and day-to-day).
