Kicksology 101: Air Jordan 'Revolution'

Air Jordan "Revolution" Sketch

People say Nike took off in 1985 with the release of the Air Jordan I. The company hit new highs with record breaking sales, controversy of the NBA banning the shoe from professional courts and of course, Michael Jordan's arrival into the league. Although Mike's career helped the brand get on it's feet, it wasn't until 1988, Nike really hit it's stride with the third Air Jordan, dubbed: The Air Jordan Revolution.

There are various reasons why I think the Air Jordan III did more for the company than any other Air Jordan in history - and one of those reasons is Tinker Hatfield.

Tinker Hatfield with sketches and Trainers and Huarache's

The late Rob Strasser (Ex-Marketing Exec for Nike Inc.) was the man responsible for bringing top young college prospect, Michael Jordan into Nike's office to discuss a temporary 2 year contract. With Mike, at the time, being a fan of Adidas (who shared top spots with Reebok), he was reluctant to comply and disliked the idea of him signing with a struggling Nike Inc. When shown the first model "The Air Jordan" (a Nike Dunk with a 'Wings' Logo), the man himself declared:

"I'm not wearing those. I'll look like a clown."

Peter Moore, the designer of the Air Jordan, convinced Mike to take the offer into consideration. And the more Michael looked at it, the more it grew on him. After a few test wears, stares in the locker room, and controversy surrounding it's colorways, Mike took the contract.

Although sales went through the roof for both the Air Jordan I and II, Peter Moore and Rob Strasser decided to leave Nike hoping to lure MJ with them. Jordan, still second guessing his decision with Nike and with his contract coming to a close in 1987, was ready to jump ship as well.

After the success of the Air Max and the multi-purpose Air Trainer, Nike appointed kitchen-designer Tinker Hatfield (Air Max 1, Air Trainer, Air Jordan III-XV, Air Zoom Generation) to take on the task of revolutionizing the Air Jordan line to try and convince Mike to stay. After spending hours with Moore and Strasser discussing future business, Mike was ready and willing to pick-up and leave with the people who put him in the marketing spotlight. It was later that sunny afternoon in California, where Michael reluctantly sat down to see what Tinker had come up with.

"Michael is in a really bad mood. You can tell he didn't want to be there."

A sample was made and was unveiled. Michael's face lit up and his attitude made a complete 180 degree turn in the boardroom. The shoe was complete with a full grain leather upper, multiple eye stays, visible air-sole unit, elephant print, and the first ever seen "Jumpman" logo.

"At that point, he realized the shoe was him. It was a part of who he was at that moment."

And with that statement by Tinker, the Air Jordan, at that moment, officially became a foreshadowing of the next 23 years for the brand. And counting. Tinker Hatfield developed a new found relationship with MJ and would design the next barrage of Air Jordans, including the most recent Air Jordan 2011 and the infamous Air Jordan XI.

Fast forward those 23 years, and the Air Jordan IIIs still remain ever so popular, having released multiple colorways in Retros and are still a staple in collections all over the world. This year in 2011, comes a retro that pays homage to the 1988 madness.

Paying homage to OG Air

Back by popular demand, the Air Jordan III in white/cement makes it's way back into the scene, since it's last retro release 10 years ago. This time, it's commemorative box and accessories makes this release one of the most sought after Jordan's of the past year.

 

The Jordan III comes fully OG'd up (with the exception of the Jumpman on the heel tab) in it's original colorway in white, cement gray, and fire red. Fully equipped with OG style box, tissue and Air Jordan brochure. To ice the cake, Jordan Brand included an Air Jordan hangtag a la '88. I would have prefered the Nike Air logo over the Jumpman, but we can't get everything we want now, can we?

Since 1994, the Air Jordan III Retro re-released it's original 4 colorways and also retro'd various versions of the shoe including pairs like the Cool Grays, Flips, Pures and a colorway inspired by the Spike Lee Joint "Do The Right Thing". Although the '80's version of the shoe retailed at a price of $100, you can grab this retro at a price tag of $160.

Here's some Air Jordan III love:

"Do the smurf, do the wop, baseball bat. Rooftop like I'm bringin' '88 back" - Nas

"The Jordan III was different from anything that had come before, and my life mirrored that fact"
- Michael Jordan

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Yep. Just kinda happened.

Happy Valentine's Day!

J2: Things I learn in life...

As a young adult, I've come to realize that life can be explained and carefully analyzed when you look at your past experiences. Your trials and tribulations. Your successes and failures. Your childhood and teenage adolescence.  Past experiences open your eyes and you begin to piece together the ultimate puzzle. As you embark in your journey through adulthood, you begin to realize that the things you learn in life......

.....you learn from Super Mario Bros.

1. Dramatic growth spurts can occur as quick as eating magic mushrooms. The green ones give you life.
2. Italians have a very strong accent.
3. Turtles are your natural enemy. If you ever see one, kill it before it kills you first.
4. Plants eat people. Always.
5. If you skin a raccoon and wear it, you can fly.
6. Money comes from bricks. If you see them, punch them.
7. When you die, you have 2 more continues.
8. If I learn to play a flute, I can travel to different worlds that I've never seen before. 
9. If you eat flowers, fire comes out of your hands. 
10. Dinosaurs exist to this present day. And we can all ride them like horses.
11. My girlfriend always gets kidnapped. 7 out of 8 times, she's in another castle.
12. Some mushrooms can talk. Sometimes it gives me mushrooms to eat.
13. I can fight a wide array of inanimate objects such as cacti, bullets, giant bricks and cannon balls with razor sharp teeth.
14. Stars make you a crackhead - if you get one, you change color, become out of control and feel the need to kill everything on site.
15. If I get into a fight, I can pull vegetables out of the ground and throw it at everyone.
16. Ghosts cover their eyes when you look at them.
17. The next step in life can be obtained by fighting your boss.
18. I can swim underwater forever without the need to break the surface for air.
19. Your younger siblings get Luigi. 
20. Life as a plumber is as easy as hopping into pipes to get where I want to be..

Who would have thought of a game concept involving two Italian plumbers from Brooklyn, New York who venture off in a world with man eating plants, turtles, chain chomps and castles to save a Princess whom has been captured by a giant monster-turtle hybrid? All while eating magic mushrooms and riding multi-colored dinosaurs. If you really think about it, I'm pretty sure the creators were high off crack when they designed this. Thank you, Nintendo. 

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J2: Week Recap

• My project is coming along pretty good. Except the client pushed our deadline forward, so we're probably going to have to speed things up a little bit and pick up the pace. I'm still getting used to the fact that I now have to delegate work and make calls and e-mails to certain people when required. It's harder than I thought.
• I haven't gotten back to "Get Fit" mode yet. My vacation put me in a little fitness slump. I'm pretty certain I gained about 12 pounds during a one month stint in the Philippines. And I'm STILL on vacation mode. 
• Hockey was cancelled all week and I didn't get a chance to play. Hopefully slots open up this week so I can make use of all my equipment. 
• After a month of being back home, I still miss the Philippines. Thank God for Skype. That's probably the only means of keeping in contact with relatives back 'home'.
• I think I'll try to get back into shape this week and hopefully it sticks.
• I caught Ip Man this weekend. I don't know why I didn't watch this movie sooner. It's sick. I highly recommend it! 
• The weekend was doing pretty good up until this morning when my basement flooded, soaking half my current rotation of kicks and a whack load of boxes. Thank God I caught it sooner, before it did more damage. Now I got 12-15 pairs drying outside my room. Oh well, could have been worse.
• Lastly, congrats to the Green Bay Packers winning the Super Bowl over the Steelers, 31-25. I also won some money off this game. Hahaha. 

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