Shows
The DesignastyEpisode VIII: Highs and Lows of Nike Basketball ShoesKen Black and Keith Houlemard welcome their former Nike teammate David “Boot” Bond, who was on the first Organized Team Sports trip with Ken and Keith and later worked on some of the most iconic Nike shoes of that era with the Air Jordan XI, Air More Uptempo, Flightposite and much more as a footwear product director. David shares his favorite memories from his time at Nike as well as some of the less glamorous moments that shaped his career.During this episode, Ken and Keith mention many other Nike team members as well as people they met...
2026-01-291h 08
The DesignastyEpisode VII: Respect the Past, Represent the FutureThe full story of the Denver Broncos 1997 rebrand is here. Keith Houlemard returns to the conversation, this time to ask the questions and get all the details from Ken Black about designing the new Broncos identity - from the secret meetings with owner Pat Bowlen to the back-to-back Super Bowl victories immediately following the rebrand.During this episode, Ken and Keith mention many other Nike team members as well as people they met and designed for during those adventurous early years. Here is a complete list of those mentioned.* Devon Burt - Nike Apparel Creative...
2025-12-0458 min
The DesignastyEpisode VI: No Story, No SaleKen sits with former Nike teammate Nate Retzlaff, who worked on projects like the 1996 Air More Uptempo, Syracuse Basketball, Duke Basketball, Oregon Ducks Football, the Nike Triax watch, and much more. The two share some of the stories behind the designs for a few projects they worked on together and dive into the rest of Nate’s career after he left Organized Team Sports and hopped around through a few other divisions at Nike.During this episode, Ken and Nate mention many other Nike team members as well as people they met and designed for during those ad...
2025-11-191h 00
The DesignastyEpisode V: New Brand Looks at UConn & VillanovaHighlighting the Nike rebrands of UConn and Villanova that have stood the test of time, Episode V features first time guest and former Nike OTS designer Michael Scheible. Host Ken Black and Keith Houlemard lead the discussion with Michael to dive deep into design choices and stories about creating the iconic looks for those two schools and talk about a few other projects Michael helped design.During this episode, Ken, Keith and Michael mention many other Nike team members as well as people they met and designed for during those adventurous early years. Here is a complete...
2025-11-0652 min
The DesignastyEpisode IV: From Beaverton to Europe and BackDrake Ramberg returns to The Designasty, this time to give his full story arc from drawing caricatures of his hometown heroes as a kid to designing kits for some of the most iconic soccer teams around the world. Along with host Ken Black, Drake takes us through his 33-year career at Nike which includes setting up the Nike Design Studio in Europe and designing kits for teams like Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, PSG, and even the Olympic-gold-winning Nigerian national team. Follow Drake’s story from Beaverton to Europe and back, where he created iconic designs along the way.Du...
2025-10-2251 min
The DesignastyEpisode III: Jordan JumpmanKeith Houlemard re-joins the conversation with Ken, this time talking about their experiences creating for the Air Jordan line - it had not yet transitioned to become Brand Jordan. They chat about specific design choices and insights for the Air Jordan XI and XII product lines, personal stories about working with MJ directly, and the start of Brand Jordan after Michael’s official retirement, including Keith’s tenure as president of the brand.During this episode, Ken and Keith mention many other Nike team members as well as people they met and designed for along the way. Here...
2025-10-0755 min
The DesignastyAir Jordan XI Meeting with Michael Jordan - FabricsKen Black and Keith Houlemard along with other members of Nike Team Sports (including Nike legend Tinker Hatfield) took a trip to MJ’s house in Arizona, where he was participating in spring training before his year playing baseball. In this video, Ken and Keith get MJ’s opinion on different fabric styles and materials.Episode 3, all about Brand Jordan, releases this Tuesday. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thedesignasty.substack.com
2025-10-0302 min
The DesignastyEpisode II: Bold Moves in College HoopsKen Black talks with Keith Houlemard, who is an original member of Nike Organized Team Sports and longtime friend to Ken. In a conversation centered around Nike’s early collaboration in the world of college basketball, they tell stories from their meetings with legendary coaches like Coach K of Duke, Big John Thompson of Georgetown, and Dean Smith of North Carolina. In addition, they break down specific uniform design choices from each of those schools and more.During this episode, Ken and Keith mention many other Nike team members as well as the people they met and de...
2025-09-231h 03
The DesignastyEpisode I: The Dynasty BeginsHost Ken Black talks with Drake Ramberg, a 33-year Nike veteran and design OG. Together, they talk about the early days of Nike Team Sports and how they both worked to bring sport design into a new era of innovation and performance. They give brief stories about some of their favorite uniform and team designs they got to work on, including the Denver Broncos and Arsenal, setting up stories they will dive deeper into in future episodes.In this episode, Ken and Drake mention a handful of other Nike team members as well as some...
2025-09-1044 min
Fantasy Football AstronautsDESIGNASTY (How to design your Dynasty team)Brooks and Rish break down the 3 key components to creating a successful Dynasty roster to dominate your league for years! Fantasy Football is Rocket Science but that's why we're here.
2019-07-2957 min