It’s a story that can’t be told without first introducing renowned designer Tinker Hatfield. In 1981, long before becoming sneaker industry royalty, Nike hired Hatfield as a corporate architect to design buildings on the brand’s Oregon campus. It wasn’t until four years later, in 1985, that he would begin designing footwear upon request. He applied his architectural background to sneaker design and it didn’t take long for him to impart a rebellious spirit into the recently struggling brand. “I began working on a renegade set of shoes that were not part of a design brief or marketing drive,” he explains, referencing what would become the very first Air Max sneaker.
Nike’s Air technology wasn’t new; it was developed by former NASA engineer Frank Rudy and introduced in the Air Tailwind in 1978. Air replaced traditional molded EVA soles with gas filled urethane pouches. However, it was the consensus that as performance technology the pouches ought to be felt and not seen. That was until Hatfield came along.
Nike's first sneaker to reveal the Air-cushioned sole, the Air Max 1, finally released March 26, 1987 and featured in Nike’s first television ad the same year. It was part of the Air Pack which also featured the Air Trainer 1, Air Sock, Air Revolution and Air Safari.
