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  • Shoxvcad

    Vince Carter and Nike’s “Dr. Funk” advertisement from 2002

  • Nike Shox Vc 1 Dictionary Ad

    Nike Shox VC 1 “The Dictionary” Ad

“…he told me he loved playing in the band and being a drum major even more.”

  Aaron on Vince’s true passions in high school

The legend of Vince Carter began well before his high-flying acts in the NBA. Vince was an absolute stud in high-school as a multi-sport athlete, dominating several sports but particularly basketball and volleyball. Given his ability, the latter didn’t seem like much of a challenge, but he credits the three years he spent spiking balls for quite literally elevating his hoops package even higher.
 
Long before he morphed into “Air Canada” and “Half Man Half Amazing” with the Toronto Raptors, Vince Carter was known as “Sunshine” amongst his AAU teammates. He’d come from his hometown of Daytona Beach, FL to Paterson, NJ to play alongside Kobe Bryant, Tim Thomas, and other future stars, and it was there the larger body of basketball phenoms and scouts caught on to his freakish talents. While immediate footage can’t be found, Vince was known to be able to touch the rim with BOTH his elbows. A variation of this feat would later define his contributions to the game.

  • Vince Carter High School 2

    Vince Carter at the 1995 McDonald’s All-American Dunk Contest Tarheel Times

  • Vince Carter High School 1

    Vince Carter playing High School Volleyball @nostalgiasports

  • Vincedunkcontest

    Vince Carter’s “Reverse Windmill” at the 2000 NBA Dunk Contest

  • Vince Montage

    Vince Carter through the years via Deadspin

  • Vincedunk

    Vince Carter dunks over Frederic Weis during the 2000 Sydney Olympics

“…moving a Shox column just a couple of millimeters will literally change its performance.”

  Aaron on creating the Shox cushion for the VC1

Aaron reveals that the first VC Shox was intended to be a full-length cushion (see the sketch below), but it was simply taking too long in testing. He shares that at Nike, he was known to often say “every millimeter counts”. Consider that the typical basketball shoe sole is 8-10 millimeters in thickness, each and every decision will have permanent results.
 
But Nike had to bring a product to market, and creating a proper full-length Shox sole was simply too difficult in an 18-month span (the typical length of a product creation cycle). If one SHOX column was moved a millimeter or two, or if it was a millimeter wider, it changed the performance and every column thereafter would have to be adjusted.
 
“If you cut down a Shox column, there’s a hole inside and it’s rounded at the bottom for a performance purpose. We did them flat at first, but they failed. Then we made them rounded, and it worked. Every millimeter counts, and it has to be tested and retested. That’s why the VC 1 didn’t have full length when it was intended to.”

  • Nike Shox Early Sketch

    Early Nike Shox VC1 early sketch

  • Nike Shox Early Prototype1

    Early Nike Shox Prototype from 1992 via Nikestories

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Prototype 1

    Nike Shox VC1 Prototype

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Prototype 2

    Nike Shox VC1 Prototype

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Prototype 3

    Nike Shox VC1 Prototype

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Prototype 4

    Nike Shox VC1 Prototype

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Prototype 5

    Nike Shox VC1 Prototype

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Prototype 6

    Nike Shox VC1 Prototype

  • Nike Shox Vc 1 Unc

    Nike Shox VC1 Retail Versions

  • Vince Carter Nike Shox Vc 1 Shoes

    Nike Shox VC1 Retail Versions

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Final Release 1

    Nike Shox VC1 Retail Version

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Final Release 2

    Nike Shox VC1 Retail Version

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Final Release 3

    Nike Shox VC1 Retail Version

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Final Release 4

    Nike Shox VC1 Retail Version

“…I really wish we took a chance but I completely understood why we didn’t.”

  Aaron on the VC1 almost having no laces or zippers

Aside from the Shox cushioning, Foamposite skin, and “monkey paw” rib cage on the interior, the Shox VC1 almost had another innovative detail that could’ve changed the future of footwear. According to Aaron, the shoe was originally intended to be entirely lace-less and zipper-less as shown in the original rendering above and wear-test sample below. Instead, Aaron created a “barrel lock” that held the cords in place by screwing the two pieces of the toggle together. This new style of lace-lock was eventually patented by Nike.

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Laceless Prototype 1

    Nike Shox VC1 Laceless Prototype

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Laceless Prototype 2

    Nike Shox VC1 Laceless Prototype

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Laceless Prototype 3

    Nike Shox VC1 Laceless Prototype

  • Sneaker Story Sunday Vc1 Laceless Prototype 4

    Nike Shox VC1 Laceless Prototype

  • Vince Carter Nike Shox Shoes

    Nike Shox VC Signature Models

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