As a young cross-country runner, L. Nelson Farris ‘69 grew up within jogging distance of Cal State Long Beach and spent much of his adolescence pounding the pavement along the streets surrounding campus.

L. Nelson Farris ’69 merited company-wide kudos when he retired. (All archival images courtesy of Nike.)

Perhaps it was only natural that Farris enrolled at The Beach when it was time for college. He adjusted his pace to spend time on classes, fraternity membership, serving in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and even family life, getting married and welcoming his firstborn on the way to his diploma. Farris also retained his enthusiasm for running and had some thoughts about what kind of shoes were best for hammering around Long Beach.

And so, after earning his degree in speech communication, Farris and Beach track coach Ted Banks opened a retail store dealing exclusively in Nike shoes. They made enough to make rent, and Farris’ bet on Nike paid off when the company recruited him to oversee its Southern California stores. He stayed for more than half a century, longer than any other Nike employee, while frequently encountering inspiring people who themselves were competing in the top ranks of sport.

“When you meet people like that, it’s just lessons for life,” the newly retired Farris said. “Just do your sets.”

Nike credits Farris with leading marketing efforts during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and setting up the firm’s main European offices. From his time as a sales manager to his role as ambassador of culture and heritage, Farris’ career followed the well-rounded college experiences he had at The Beach.

At the starting line  

Farris was a first-generation student who found his way to classes that nurtured his knack for verbosity. He enjoyed a business law class and found his niche in the liberal arts. Practicing skills like public speaking and debate, he strengthened talents that would serve him well at work.

“For me, it was a massive training and learning experience,” Farris said. “Everything that had to do with people, I liked. Speech was fun, because I’m a verbal guy.”

Outside class, favorite memories include times spent with Sigma Pi brothers building Homecoming Parade floats. Experiences like these instilled the importance of teamwork and collaborating with people whose different skills enabled a group to accomplish a goal. And any time Farris got to interact with an administrator, he learned a little bit about how he could carry himself after college.

“I had this multi-tiered education,” he said. “I didn’t just go to school and sit in a classroom.”

In 1972, Farris and Long Beach State track coach Ted Banks opened The Jock Shop, later The Athletic Department, with about $1,000 worth of Nike inventory. Farris, who was “all about track,” met Banks at Long Beach State competitions. Their store’s early ads in The Daily 49er promoted Nike tennis shoes at $14.95 a pair, promising “righteous prices for CSULB students.”

Banks stuck with coaching, leading University of Texas at El Paso runners to multiple national titles. As for Farris, Nike hired him in 1973 to oversee stores in Orange County and West Los Angeles. The company called him up to Portland five years later, establishing the kid who grew up running around Long Beach as an athletics industry professional.

“Every shoe we made, we could tell you why we made it and what we made it out of,” Farris said. “Running was the root, but we learned really quickly how to make a better basketball shoe.”

Going the distance

The communications skills that Farris practiced at The Beach proved invaluable over his career. He represented Nike at multiple Olympiads, including the 1984 games in Los Angeles. He hobnobbed with high-level athletes, finding out what they wanted and needed from their footwear. He also ran EKIN, a company program encouraging Nike employees to “look back” and immerse themselves in the firm’s history and culture.

Farris has kept close ties with The Beach. The College of Liberal Arts honored him as its 2014 Distinguished Alumnus and he is a member of the Carillon Society, signifying his exceptional philanthropic support for The Beach. He also serves on the Beach Athletics Board of Directors and the Long Beach State Foundation Board of Directors.  

Just starting retirement, Farris is hopeful to have more time to give to the campus during his retirement years. In line with his lifelong focus on communication, he wants the world to know that today’s CSULB educates some 42,000 students of diverse backgrounds.

“This is something that can be amplified,” Farris said.