Written by Russ Bengtson (@RussBengtson)
Even before you undo the flaps revealing the familiar black box within, a NIKEiD shipment is
unmistakable for anything else. And given the time the anticipation has to build, it’s hard not to
just shred everything in the interest of a quick reveal. But patience is a virtue - as we’ve been
told many a time - and what’s an extra five minutes anyway?
For those of you who may have missed the initial story, the concept I was working from for this design was an Air Max 1 that would have been worn by Bill Bowerman’s Oregon track teams back in the Steve Prefontaine era of the early ‘70s. Bowerman was the consummate tinkerer (pun fully intended) and Prefontaine was his go-to test mule, so it seems likely that they would have given the first Air Max shoe a go.
The starting point was the initial red-based colorway of the Air Max 1, the iconic design of which
was based on the Georges Pompidou Centre. I kept the classic Neutral Grey suede and Summit
White mesh the same, and just switched the red of the original to Gorge Green, adding a Vivid
Sulfur outsole and Team Yellow eyelets (which are far enough apart that any difference in
shade is undetectable). An Oregon Track Club tree logo on the heel completed the would-be
edition.
Would I have done anything differently? The laces and midsole probably should have been
Summit White instead of Neutral Grey, although the grey contributes to the toned-down vintage
feel I was going for. As for the rest, check out the unboxing GIF below and you tell us.
Click Here To Design Your Own Pair of Air Max 1s at NikeiD
