Fact or Fiction: Dispelling 25 Sneaker Myths

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

As the track coach at the University of Oregon (and Nike's co-founder), Bill Bowerman was constantly looking for ways to give his runners an edge. And as he tinkered with the earliest Nike products, he sought a way to duplicate a track spike's traction in rubber. One morning he looked at his wife's waffle iron, and that was that. Made coming up with a name for the new traction pattern easy, too.

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

In 2012, the Nike Air Foamposite One went on sale at the All-Star game and set a precendent that forever changed how shoes were released. The Nike Air Foamposite One Galaxy was so popular that stores had to close their doors and stop selling the shoe. However, the biggest moment of the release weekend was a car owner willing to trade his ride for a pair. Guess public transportation ain't so bad.

Fact Or Fiction: Fiction

According to Dee Brown, he didn't intend to do the no-look dunk at all. It was a last-minute decision, and he decided to pump up his sneakers beforehand to help get the crowd involved. Well, it sure worked.

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

While Phil Knight was a sales rep at Onitsuka Tiger he helped develop the Cortez. He later took the design of the shoe with him when he left to create his company, Nike.

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

Some inmates are not allowed to wear laces in their shoes for fear that they may hang themselves, and Run-D.M.C. took it as a sense of fashion. DMC even rapped the line "My adidas only bring good news, and they are not used as felon shoes."

Fact Or Fiction: Fiction

While Tinker didn't start off on the computer when he was designing the Air Jordan III, he didn't wait until the Air Jordan XX3 to use Photoshop. In fact, it was the Air Jordan XIII that was the first to get its colors switched out via the Photoshop eyedropper tool.

Fact Or Fiction: Fiction

If you thought this was true, we don't even know what to say. The fact of the matter is the Vans Slip-Ons gained international attention and appeal when they were worn by Sean Penn in the 1982, iconic youth film "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

In 1963, before Phil Knight was selling his own brand of sneakers, he travelled to Japan where he contacted Onitsuka Tiger Co. Ltd, and convinced the company that their product had a market in the U.S..

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

After working with his brother at the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory, which later became adidas, the two acrimoniously parted ways in 1948 and Rudolph founded "RuDa" which eventually because PUMA.

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

Though it has become a staple in the skateboard arena, the Nike Blazer was originally made for the hardwood. Introduced back in 1972, it has since become something to rail slide in.

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

Though the BK on the side stood for British Knights, the "Crips" in Los Angeles started wearing the shoes and the legend began that BK stood for "Blood Killer." In response, schools and universities banned the shoes in order to curb gang-related violence.

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

Due to the disproportionate amount of outdoor courts in China, many of the basketball shoes made for the country come with a denser outsole make-up to combat playing on the cement. An example of this is the Nike Kobe 8 which can be ordered with the XDR outsole instead of the standard one.

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

Tobie Hatfield, the brother of Tinker Hatfield, may not be as well-known as his older sibling, but he created one of the most beloved silhouettes in sneaker history, the Nike Free.

Fact Or Fiction: Fiction

While that all sounds nice because of the popularity of the Reebok Freestyle back in the 1980s, Reebok is actually the Afrikaans/Dutch spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle. By the way, did you know that Reebok wasn't sold in the U.S. until 1979?

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

Most likely spawned from the streets of New York and rappers like Redman mentioning them in their songs, the Reebok Freestyle was known as the 5411 based on its price of $49.99 plus tax.

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

An ill-tempered Romanian, Ilie Năstase is one of the five tennis players in history to win more than 100 ATP professional titles. He would later get a signature model from adidas, but he became Nike's first professional endorder when he signed with the company in 1972.

Fact Or Fiction: Fiction

While some would say French is the more romantic language, ASICS is actually an acronym for the Latin phrase, "Anima Sana in Corpore Sano," which translates to a "sound mind in a sound body."

Fact Or Fiction: Fiction

This one is kind of more up in the air as it may have represented that at some point, however, the most likely reason these days is bored kids with worn-out kicks. Most cases when sneakers are found on powerlines happen when kids get out of school for the day or during summer breaks. Go figure.

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

With the type of money that Bruce Wayne has, it is no wonder that in the early 1990s the Michael Keaton version of Batman was lucky enough to have his boots designed by Tinker Hatfield. With all the running, jumping, kicking, and fighting Batman has to do, it was only right for Tinker to use the Nike Air Trainer as a base.

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

Though Converse is one of the most popular brands today, the company went through a rough spot in 2001. In fact, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and was purchased by Nike in 2003.

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

While it seems like a far-fetched idea, the Korean company that creates cars and TVs was actually the company that came up with the correct formula for the Nike Air Foamposite One. So the next time you see a Daewoo on the streets, you should definitely give a salute for your Foamposite addiction.

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

British Knights American and British Knights Europe are two different companies. The European version, owned by a Dutch company, bought rights to the name in 1996 and started selling take-down and skate versions of the popular shoes.

Fact Or Fiction: Fact

While this is technically true, it is not that way that most people understand it. Vans is owned by the VF Corporation (VF stands for Vanity Fair), however, the Vanity Fair magazine that we all think of is not a part of that company. Vanity Fair magazine is owned by Conde Nast.

Fact Or Fiction: Fiction

While it really sounds cool, the name adidas came from the name of the founder, Adolf "Adi" Dassler. He started creating shoes in his mother's laundry after his return from World War I.

Fact Or Fiction: Fiction

Though the name Nike Air Force 1 would imply that it was the first to receive the technology, it was actually just the first "basketball" shoe to receive the Nike Air technology (in 1982). The first sneaker, period, to utilize Nike Air was the Tailwind in 1979.