The Nike Air Force 1 from 1982. In 1979, Nike launched its first running shoe with Air Technology: the Tailwind. Once this technology had proven itself, the Nike designers thought about which sport could profit from this modern cushioning. Basketball was soon a topic, because here the players undergo extreme physical strain. Before Nike Air Technology was integrated in basketball shoes, many players used to wear several socks on top of each other to protect themselves from the impact when jumping.

Air Force 1 World Cup Edition

1982 was then the year: Nike Air Force 1 was launched on the market. It was the first Nike basketball shoe integrating Nike Air Technology and it became one of the most popular shoes on the hardest courts in the world. The Air Force 1 was originally developed for players like Moses Malone and Jeff Ruland. But it was soon worn by other basketball legends whose game was radical.

In 1984, after the first production wave of Air Force 1, Nike customers suddenly changed in their perception. Perhaps because Air Force 1 was suddenly hard to come by, and the demand grew for the basketball sneaker. Three retailers in Baltimore—Downtown Locker Room, Cinderella Shoes, Charley Rudo’s Sports—were finally able to convince Nike to take up production of a completely new series in various coloured designs. Even if, at the beginning, the demand was mainly concentrated on the East Coast of the USA, the popularity of Air Force 1 rose continually. From here, Air Force 1 carried its success out into the whole world. It was mainly the hip-hop fans who discovered it for themselves and made it especially popular.

I-95
The Interstate I-95 also played a major role in the distribution of the Air Force 1 hype. It links up three cities where the Air Force 1 is virtually at home: Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia.

Air Force 1 was, so to speak, reborn in Baltimore. In New York, the fashion metropolis, it became a social must-have. And in Philadelphia, the hub of basketball, Air Force 1 became a firm element of the city's culture.

Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia made the Interstate into a traffic channel that conveyed information from sports and culture to the courts and streets of the cities.
By approaching the development of the shoe in an equally practical as radical manner, Bruce Kilgore created a shoe design that proved for the first time that 'functional' could also mean 'attractive, and even 'fashionable' in the positive sense of the word. With an eye for detail and the soul of a traditional cobbler, Kilgore made Air Force 1 along the lines of the principle: everything that's not absolutely necessary for the shoe to 'function' is left out. When Kilgore sat down to develop the shoe that would dominate the world for the next 25 years and more, he generated his vision from the dreams of basketball players all around the world and crafted a reality that had never been seen before.
First, the Air Force 1 only came as a high or low version. Later, the medium-high one joined them.

Overall, more than 1,700 models have been developed in the last 25 years in countless different colours and material combinations.
Apart from the cushioning air sole, Air Force 1 offered the basketballers other advantages:

A Velcro fastening reduced pressure on the basis of the shinbone and fibula, providing better control to prevent twisted ankles.
The Air Force 1 sole formed a pattern around a pivot to allow better movement on the ground.
Air Force 1 Athletes
A particular legend are, of course, the 6 basketball players who presented the first Air Force 1 in 1982: Moses Malone, Michael Cooper, Jamaal Wilkes, Bobby Jones, Mychael Thompson and Calvin Natt.

Plus Charles Barkley, because no other player embodied the Force idea more than he did, who mercilessly fought for every chance and every ball to drive his opponents to desperation. His legitimate successors when he ended his career: David Robinson and Alonzo Mourning.

The youngest members in the Force family are: Jermaine O’Neal, Nate Robinson, Tony Parker, Amare Stoudmire, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Rasheed Wallace, Vince Carter.

With the last six following the legendary six for the Air Force 1 anniversary and ushering in the new Air Force 1 era with their own models.

Original Six
 A Poster showing the Original SixThe select ones who were to be the first to disseminate the message of Air Force 1 were the defence specialists Moses Malone, Michael Cooper, Jamaal Wilkes, Bobby Jones, Mychal Thompson and Calvin Natt. On a now legendary poster, they were dressed in astronauts outfits and presented the new Air Force 1 to the public which was soon to triumph all around the world. Their pose was and is a symbol for the six characteristic traits of the AF1: heroic, consistent, dominant, courageous, constant and pure.

BOBBY JONES
Behind the spectacular dunking of an irresistible Philadelphia team, lurks a defence player with nerves of steel. The upper of his metal-look AF1 is an homage to the down-to-earth, indestructible style of Jones.

MYCHAL THOMPSON
From the Bahamas via Minnesota to L.A., Thompson demonstrated the power and finesse that made him into a quite special Air Force 1 type. The close-meshed, uncoloured upper made of cotton and jute are reminiscent of his Caribbean roots.

MICHAEL COOPER
An attacker weapon and solid defence wall. This player could fill out both roles everywhere and anytime. That's the reason for the elaborate perforations of the fully grained leather in ying and yang style.

JAMAAL WILKES
An elegant, slim warrior who was more a quieter man of softer tones on the court, but let the statistics speak for themselves. The violet silk is a pun on his nickname Silk and the Lakers' team colours.

CALVIN NATT
This man was as cool as ice and buried heaps of opponents beneath him. The materials of his Air Force 1—leather, re-worked polyester and bamboo fibres—reflect the coolness that made him learn a quite special profession after his professional career was over: he became an undertaker.

MOSES MALONE
As big as basketball itself and unstoppable. No college career could attract him. No limelight could impress him. Perhaps because of his down-to-earth origins. The upper of his Air Force 1 is reminiscent of this. It is dark grey, the colour of a concrete court of his home town Petersburg. From here, Malone catapulted himself directly after leaving high school into the professional league to become the first Air Force 1 face. With his help, Nike revolutionised the status quo of the shoe's performance and established a new generation of innovative design.

New Six
REVOLUTION BECAME EVOLUTION. From Akron in the state of Ohio through to the streets in the north of Philadelphia. From the American South Coast to the coast of France. Air Force 1 now lives on in six new players who carry its torch and even more embody the characteristics of the AF1:

Tony Parker: cool aesthetics
Amare Stoudmire: ingenious talent
Kobe Bryant: heart and stamina
LeBron James: majestic dominance
Rasheed Wallace: traditional game
Vince Carter: defiance and independence

Each of the new Air Force 1 players is aware that a tradition is not only to be preserved, but also improved. That's why their AF1 models not only follow the guiding principles of craftsmanship, that all Air Force 1 products in the collection to appear in 2007 display, but they also reflect the game and the style of each one of the six players.

Rich colours, unique details and portraits of the New Six—Kobe, Rasheed, LeBron, Vince, Amare and Tony—adorn the sneaker's upper and stand for the unbroken Force tradition: don't become conspicuous at all costs, but because of unique performance!

Air Force 1 anniversary models
 The Air Force 1 SupremeTo mark the Air Force 1 anniversary, there are a few extra designs on the classic Air Force 1, for instance: high-class leather, less decorative stitching and a specially shaped cuff and tongue for greater comfort.

The Air Force 1 Premium also has metal-tipped laces, anti-soiling shoelaces and an inside shoe specially shaped for a better fit.

The Air Force 1 Supreme has a sandwich sole bound in leather, an embossed logo, leather lining and waxed shoelaces.

The Air Force 1 LUX—Anaconda and Krokodil (anaconda and crocodile). They are produced in Italy completely from very high-grade materials. The Air Force 1 Lux comes in a cedar-wood box. Also with a shoe bag for travelling and a shoetree made of cedar-wood.

Air Force 25
Apart from an Air Force 1 upgrading and two new high-class models, Nike Designer Tracy Teague has also developed a new high-performance basketball shoe that sets quite new standards. A genuine innovation, paying a tribute to the origins of the Air Force 1: the Air Force 25.

By investing the same craftsmanship in ensuring the performance attributes of the Air Force 25 as was employed in 1982 for the AF1, a legitimate successor to the Air Force 1 has been found as regards durability and comfort. The anniversary model Air Force 25 is with Max Air (in the heel) and Zoom Air (in the layer above) a technological innovation that is a revolution compared to all previous cushioning systems.

It will be worn by players who fit in with Air Force with their battling spirit and their attitude: Amare Stoudemire, Jermaine O’Neal, Al Harrington and Nate Robinson.

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