Designer Jason Mayden Breaks Down The Jordan 2009

SOLE/HEEL DESIGN AND INSPIRATION

Jason Mayden: One of the key features is definitely the ATP technology, inspired by April Holmes. April Holmes is a brand Jordan track and field athlete who competes with prosthetic legs. The reason that we looked at the technology in her legs in particular is because MJ always talked about turning a weakness into a strength. When you see someone who doesn't have all their limbs and they're still dominating in track and field that's definitely an amazing story, an amazing inspirational story as well as an innovation story.

Complex: Yes, sounds like it.

Jason Mayden: So the way that this heel piece functions is it's an energy return system (loosely based on April’s carbon-fiber leg) that propels you forward a little bit during each transition. The heel is split, and we have it constructed in a way that there is a camber to the shape to give extra grip when the athlete cuts back and forth. The camber across the heel allows the footwear to stay in contact with the ground, and helps for fast reaction time. Kind of like how on a skateboard you get up on the edge of your shoe in order to control it? It's the same thing with basketball, you have to be on the edge of the shoe and you have to be able to have proper control to bring the foot back to its correct position when you cut back and forth on court. The camber allows you to do less work to bring the shoe back to its proper position when you're making lateral movements.

Complex: Is this like Shocks?

Jason Mayden: It's totally different from Shocks 'cause the way that this works is these two heel pieces move individually, where as Shocks is a complete system that moves in unison. The energy return system works only in the section that's being activated at any given time. When an athlete cuts on the interior of the heel, that's the part that's being activated, no other part of the shoe. We don't want you to waste energy in other areas of the shoe, which can happen with other types of energy return systems.

Jason Mayden: The heel piece works in conjunction with the carbon fiber plates here in the arch, which helps with torsional rigidity. The carbon plate is something that MJ is really big about. During this process all he talked about was, “Make sure we have carbon fiber in the arch.” He feels that that really saved him in his career from a lot of injuries to his feet.

Complex: What exactly does the carbon plate do? Is it for ankle roll prevention, or to keep the shoe solid?

Jason Mayden: The plate keeps the shoe solid and it locks your midfoot in. To cut down on ankle roll we have these Achilles pads. Achilles fit in the heel is a big part of making the shoe fit and promoting the proper fit of the shoe. Ninety percent of ankle injuries in basketball come from landing on top of another person's foot. If you can lock down the heel, that will cut down on a lot of ankle injuries.

Complex: How much of the traction on the bottom of this shoe is aesthetic, and how much is it scientific?

Jason Mayden: Form always follows function. You know, working with MJ, he's performance first. The aesthetic is the last thing we really talk about. I mean, it's a given that the shoe has to look nice but he's a real stickler for making sure that it works and that it's designed for basketball players for the game of basketball.

Complex: How does cushioning fit into the heel piece here?

Jason Mayden: So we have a Zoom Air bag in the sockliner and a Zoom Air bag in the heel. We've figured out that double-stack zoom is really the best, helping with the overall ride and transition of the shoe. The forefoot has a Zoom Air Bag in there as well, but double stack in the heel. From the heel, we get to the midsole chassis.

Click NEXT to hear Jason break down the midsole/chassis and the upper of the sneaker