Nike's SNKRS head Ron Faris to lead new Virtual Studios

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Jan 26, 2022

U.S. sportswear giant Nike has appointed its SNKRS vice president, Ron Faris, to lead its Virtual Studios, a new division for the company that supports its latest push into the metaverse.  

Faris joined Nike in 2016 following Nike’s acquisition of Virgin Mega, a startup founded by Faris that focused on fan communities and shopping, backed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.

In 2020, he was named VP of SNKRS, NBHD and ​S23NYC, and will now also be in charge of Nike's Virtual Studios vertical, which will act a an "independent studio" for virtual product building.

“We have created Nike Virtual Studios, a new division that will operate as an independent studio to build our business around virtual products while also partnering with our core business to deliver best-in-class Web3, Metaverse and blockchain-based experiences,” Nike CEO, John Donahoe wrote in an internal email attained to by Complex.

“Nike Virtual Studios will have creative hubs in both Los Angeles and New York to serve and grow the creative community in these key cities.”

Faris will serve as VP/GM of Nike Virtual Studios while continuing to lead the SNKRS team until his old role is filled, per the email announcing his appointment.

The news comes after the Portland, Oregon-based company acquired RTFKT, a virtual sneaker design company and a studio for (NFTs, in December last year.

A month prior, Nike also teamed up with online gaming platform Roblox, to create a virtual world, 'NikeLand', allowing users to dress virtual characters in digital Nike gear.