Zion Armstrong

Strap in this week - as Zion Armstrong's story is an epic. It's the story of a troubled West Auckland teen, who became the President of adidas North America - a job where he oversaw 12,500 staff and recorded billion-dollar profits.

Zion tells stories about dealings with Lionel Messi, Patrick Mahomes, Kanye West and Pharrell and why he decided to walk away from it all. It’s one heck of a ride. His inspirational story shows what’s possible with the right mindset and work ethic – and his decision to return to NZ shows what's really important in life.

Biggest Surprise: As a 14-year-old, one night Zion Armstrong stole a motorbike in West Auckland. When police finally cornered him, he managed to outrun them on foot, brashly giving them the fingers, then bounding over fences and scurrying under houses, before police dogs eventually chewed him down.

In the wake of his arrest, the late police chief Ross Dallow, who was also as a track and field coach with the Waitemata Amateur Athletic Club, was so impressed with Armstrong’s ability to out-leg some pretty quick constables that he visited him at home, took him under his wing almost as a second father, and over several years gradually transformed him into an elite athlete.

Best Insight: His return to New Zealand was triggered by a several factors, including experiences during the COVID pandemic, when in isolation he read “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying” by Bronnie Ware, a book which outlined the most common regrets that the people the author worked for in palliative care had expressed.

At the same time, he endured a sobering conversation with his son on a road trip.

“My son was very quiet and I said ‘what’s wrong’? he said, ‘You’re just a stranger now’.

So despite having just signed a 3-year extension as president, it convinced Armstrong he needed to put his kids first, with a return to New Zealand a core part of that.

Best Laugh: At Zion's first big meeting as Adidas boss he badly messed up the way to say a US state. The people of Arkansas may never forgive him.

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