Under Armour's Attack on Nike | Signature Sneakers | 3

Under Armour's Attack on Nike | Signature Sneakers | 3

From Business Wars by Audible

March 26, 2026 · 42 min · Season 130 · Episode 3

About this episode

The episode explores the evolution of signature sneakers and the competition between Under Armour and Nike.

When Michael Jordan signed with an upstart running shoe company called Nike in the 1980s, it revolutionized the signature sneaker landscape and made Nike the brand to beat. Under Armour made a similar play signing Steph Curry in 2013. But it didn’t pan out quite the way they hoped. Still, nowadays it seems like every star athlete needs a signature line. Tim Newcomb is a sneaker and sports tech reporter whose work has appeared in Forbes, Sports Illustrated, Esquire and more. He's breaking down the rise of the signature shoe from Chuck Taylors in the 1920s to Kobe Bryant’s and Roger Federer’s signature kicks. We’ll also look at some of the new players in the sneaker game, and where Under Armour goes from here.  Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of Business Wars ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

People in this episode

Guest: Tim Newcomb

Topics covered

  • signature sneakers
  • sports marketing
  • athlete endorsements
  • sneaker history
  • Under Armour
  • Nike

Keywords

  • signature sneakers
  • Michael Jordan
  • Steph Curry
  • Under Armour
  • Nike
  • sneaker history
  • athlete endorsements

Sponsors

Audible

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Nike, Under Armour

Books & works: Forbes, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, Chuck Taylors

More episodes of Business Wars

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Business Wars podcast page.