A Letter from Robin Kok, Nike's NA Brand Manager for Men's Running, on Not Having It All Figured Out (and why that's okay).

Robin Kok, North America Brand Manager for Men's Running at Nike

Dear New Grad,

As a new grad, there’s this unspoken pressure about having to know what to do right after you graduate. And most of us new grads head straight to our respective fields, one of them was Robin Kok, who is now the North America Brand Manager for Men's Running at Nike.

Robin Kok graduated with an associates degree in Multimedia Design & Marketing from Royale Melbourne Institute of Technology University and was overly excited about the world and dove straight into the design world, eager to prove himself. But like many new grads, he found that the reality of work didn’t quite match the dream.

The job made sense on paper. The title looked good. But within a year, he felt drained. The spark that led him to design had disappeared in the repetition. So Robin did something a lot of people are too scared to do: he quit.

“The main reason is that I lost interest due to the grind; a vicious cycle of repetition and lack of inspiration. I took a short break to reconsider where my true passion lied and leaned heavily into it. My answer was fashion. My deep interest in the fashion world gave me plenty of ideas of how to express myself. Now, my only next step was to figure out an entry point into the industry. As I scoped around, I landed at a job in a Malaysian retail company that franchised various big international brands. There, as a visual merchandiser, I found myself again through my authentic passion for fashion.”

Fast forward to now, Robin is now the North America Brand Manager for Men's Running at Nike, helping others chase their goals in shoes designed to move. But titles don’t tell the full story. Robin is a Malaysian born Chinese gay man who lives with authenticity, loves wholeheartedly, and longs for a better world earnestly. Although his current position is impressive and a dream come true for him, his career was not always linear. Even within Nike, his roles changed and helped him grow to the brand manager he is today.

He reminds us that your degree doesn’t define your future. That quitting isn’t failure if it brings you closer to your truth. That experience teaches more than theory ever could. And that sometimes, finding your path means getting a little lost first.

So if you’re a new grad reading this, feeling burnt out or behind, take a breath. You’re not broken. You’re just figuring it out, just like how Robin did– and maybe is continuing doing.

And he’s proof that the career isn’t really like a ladder that you climb but rather a jungle that you explore.

I hope the main takeaway that you get from this blog is that it’s okay to not have anything figured out! Just keep trying and keep moving forward. Maybe, like Robin, finding your passion starts from understanding what you don’t fully enjoy. So what are you waiting for?

Just Do It!

(This post is not sponsored by Nike, but literally though. Just take the first step!)

WORDS FOR THE JOURNEY FROM ROBIN KOK

What advice would you give your younger self?

Don’t change anything about yourself. Every hardship, experience and celebration that you go through is what makes you unique. There is never growth in comfort zones, so push hard and test your limits.

What advice would you give someone who feels lost or behind?

Always go back to the start. Remember what your drive was at the beginning, remember where you started and how far you’ve gone since.

What would you say to someone comparing their path to others?

There is no formula in life. Likewise, there is no formula to success or benchmark of comparison amongst each individual. We are all unique in our own journeys and we should

always embrace what we have and is to come.

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