Running For Joy

Nike's William Morowski explains the Joyride technology in an exclusive one-on-one interview with RUN Singapore

- Lionel Kong

Nike’s Product Line Manager William Moroski is a man with seemingly unending reserves of energy. After delivering a full presentation to a packed auditorium and speaking to other press for practically the whole evening, he was still lively and enthusiastic when we got the chance to sit down with him.

We are in Seoul, South Korea, for the regional launch of Nike’s newest innovation, the Joyride midsole. It’s a completely new area of innovation for the brand, doing away with synthetic foam and air-filled pods which the brand is known for, and replacing the shoe’s midsole with packed TPE beads.

Nike is arguably not the first brand to do this as Puma has something similar with its NRGY beads released in 2017, but the Nike Joyride does feel and appear to be a much more thought-out concept.

The Nike Joyride Run Flyknit is the first product to come equipped with the new midsole, and William Morowski reveals the detail that went into engineering the Joyride.

Run Singapore: How did the idea for the Joyride come about?

William Morowski: The inspiration is old, but the way we approached it is new. I’m sure we’ve all sat in beanbag chairs at some point and know how conforming that can be. Our team actually thought about using beads in shoes for a really long time, but we weren’t able to manufacture it with the right material or shape and fit them into a shoe.

Some of our early prototypes were uncomfortable and didn’t always work the way you think they would. One design we attempted involved making a big hollow midsole that we filled completely with beads. That felt really good for a short distance, but the beads would then gradually migrate to the low impact areas under the foot.