Where Did Nike’s Pride Go? A Look Back at the Be True Program

In 2012, Nike became the first major footwear brand to release a Pride Month collection in support of the LGBTQIA+ community. The Be True campaign grew stronger every year, until it vanished in 2024. Several years later, the annual releases are still absent from June release calendars, but Nike’s commitment to supporting social justice lives […] The post Where Did Nike’s Pride Go? A Look Back at the Be True Program appeared first on JustFreshKicks.

In 2012, Nike became the first major footwear brand to release a Pride Month collection in support of the LGBTQIA+ community. The Be True campaign grew stronger every year, until it vanished in 2024. Several years later, the annual releases are still absent from June release calendars, but Nike’s commitment to supporting social justice lives on in the background.

“If you have a body, you are an athlete” has formed the core of Nike’s mission statement for decades, spoken by their founder, Bill Bowerman. The statement is presented as a pillar of the brand’s ethos, appearing as a footnote on nearly every page of their About website’s Mission section. The original intent of Bowerman’s words were an acknowledgement that everyone is capable of sport in some capacity, and Nike has stuck by them vehemently. Over the years, the meaning has been adapted to fit various campaigns, often used to make statements on social justice and equality. In 2012, the Swoosh became the first major brand to release a Pride Month collection, called Be True, affirming their longstanding commitment to supporting inclusivity, equality, and social justice.

The Be True series was a major milestone for the LGBTQIA+ community when Nike first announced the initiative fourteen years ago. At the time, corporations were still largely keeping their distance from Pride, and a major American company openly standing with a marginalized community was a real risk, one that the Swoosh had calculated and was completely willing to accept. Their competitors would take a few years to catch up; adidas released their first Pride collection in 2015, with Vans, Reebok, and New Balance all following suit in the years after. In addition to offering sneakers and apparel, Nike’s approach also came with community outreach. The Swoosh committed to financial grants for LGBTQIA+ organizations that continue to this day, despite the lack of any public campaigns or releases in recent years.

The initial collection from Nike was simple, bringing rainbow colors to some of their flagship models at the time, and hosting special releases in New York, San Francisco, and Portland to celebrate the local communities. Be True would reach its peak in the late 2010s, with collections from 2017-2019 expanding to include models popular among sneaker collectors like the Vapormax and Flyknit Racer. The 2019 project was particularly significant, marking fifty years since the Stonewall Riots and and celebrating Gilbert Baker’s Pride flag with an eight-color Swoosh embroidered onto the Air Max 90. 2021 delivered a customizable slide, which came with interchangeable Pride flags for a more personal touch. In 2022, the Nike SB team joined in, releasing their iconic SB Dunk with white wear-away uppers that exposed a spectrum of color underneath.

The 2023 collection would be the last in the Swoosh’s widely available products for the Be True collection. In 2024, a Nike spokesperson told CBS News “While there is no global Be True product collection for 2024, Nike remains deeply committed to this work,”. That year saw a noticeable change in the way brands approached their LGBTQIA+ advocacy, with many companies scaling back public outreach. The risk calculation that Nike made so many years ago was no longer viable for many corporate entities, largely due to consumer backlash and political pressure. To it’s credit, Nike has continued their initiatives behind the scenes, teaming up with gender-friendly run clubs and on-the-ground activist organizations, and to this day has committed millions of dollars in grants and other aid in support of the global community.

As of this week, Nike has not announced any grand return of the Be True product series for Pride Month in 2026. While they could be waiting until June starts next week to make their move, the project’s absence since 2024, and a lack of any leaked sneakers, does not bode well for a potential return this year. However, Nike has struggled with their public appearance recently, with a string of viral stories largely painting the brand in a negative light. In April, a sign in Boston was removed after backlash to the “Walkers Tolerated” slogan above a Nike Running logo ahead of the Boston Marathon, and in early May the sneaker internet went crazy over the rumored end of the SNKRS app after mass layoffs, a story expertly reported by Lois Sakany in the Snobette newsletter.

There is one remaining sliver of hope for those looking to get their hands on a new Be True release from Nike, and that is the By You program. Formerly NikeID, By You is their online customization platform allowing you to choose every color that goes onto a pair of shoes. Two silhouettes are available with Be True customization options, the Metcon 7 gym shoe, and the Air Max DN8, a model that is seemingly everywhere and nowhere at the same time. With no exciting new styles currently in the pipeline, at least we can take a look back at some of our favorite releases from the Be True program over the years.

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The Be True Sock Dart from 2015 is a personal favorite, largely because it released during the period when I finally had money to blow on sneakers. Originally released in 2004, the Sock Dart’s computerized knitting tech paved the way for the famous Flyknit technology.

The Air Max Zero from 2016 brought Be True to a short-lived model, but an interesting one nonetheless. Bringing Tinker Hatfield’s original concept for an Air Max shoe to life, this pair hid its signature rainbow coloring in the heel Air bag.

The 2017 Air Vapormax Be True put the Pride flag on full display with the brand new sole unit. The Vapormax was Nike’s first entirely Air cushioned shoe, and the gradient color across its molded sections felt otherworldly.

The Flyknit Racer made its debut the same year as the Be True program, a match made in heaven for this 2017 release of the retro runner. PS – Nike, if you’re reading this, we need another run of the Racer. Or Trainer. Or both!

The aforementioned Air Max 90 from 2019 – those stacked Swooshes are just so good.

The Air Max 720 was another exploration of huge Air-filled soles from Nike. The 2019 Be True edition paid homage directly to Gilbert Baker’s Pride flag, complete with his signature on the soles.

The wear-away SB Dunks from 2022 are arguably the crown jewel in the Be True collection.

The Air Max 97 from the 2023 collection was a more refined approach to the Pride flag. Frilly, pastel-y, and layered, an excellent piece of the program’s history.