Nike Air Raid

One day while sitting at his desk, Tinker Hatfield was passed a yellow sticky. Delivered from the top, the note requested that he make a shoe for outdoor basketball. Understanding that it was more of an instruction than it was a request, Tinker sprung into action. He went to work on his sketch pad while fellow designer Mark Smith boarded a plane for New York in attempt to get a feel for the city’s playground hoop atmosphere. Hit the jump to read more and the sneaker that was a game changer!….

One day while sitting at his desk, Tinker Hatfield was passed a yellow sticky. Delivered from the top, the note requested that he make a shoe for outdoor basketball. Understanding that it was more of an instruction than it was a request, Tinker sprung into action. He went to work on his sketch pad while fellow designer Mark Smith boarded a plane for New York in attempt to get a feel for the city’s playground hoop atmosphere.

The two decided that while they wanted a model that would accommodate the usual wear and tear of the outdoor game, adding extra bulk wasn’t necessary. They went with a flat sole to maintain total contact with the ground and a heavy -duty lateral bumper for increased support and durability. The desire to create a resilient shoe that was also lightweight resulted in an expressive and interactive design that worked with an outdoor environment.

Of course, the Air Raid’s standout feature was the lockdown cross-straps, which Tinker designed after watching athletes tape their ankles. The ‘X’ design of the straps coincidentally arrived at a time when knowledge of self and roughneck aesthetics united.

“That X was about strapping up to go into battle, because you’re going to get knocked around the frickin’ cage and you need to strap yourself in.” – Tinker Hatfield

Twenty years later, the Air Raid is still one of Tinker’s favorite projects. “We felt that in a short space of time, we’d caught the essence of the shoe itself — a rougher game without officials and referees.”