Nike Air Max

Air Max is a revolutionary footwear cushioning technology created by sports athletics brand Nike. The idea of encapsulating Air into a midsole was first thought up by Marion Frank Rudy, an aerospace engineer. He presented his idea to Nike founder Phil Knight in 1977, who was very intrigued by the idea after testing a prototype running shoe. Air cushioning was used in Nike running footwear as far back as 1978 with the Air Tailwind running shoe. However, the Air was not visible as it was embedded into the sole.

Air Max didn’t come into the picture until 1987. Footwear designer Tinker Hatfield introduced the idea of making the Air cushioning visible to the eye, doing so on the Air Max 1 running shoe. At the time, running footwear was extremely plain, so he chose to do something completely different to align with the changing times of pop culture. Since then, a long history of running shoes have released, many named after the year they were released. These shoes are considered extremely important to sneaker culture as many collectors searched far and wide for limited editions and collaborations with Parra, Sean Wotherspoon, and atmos.

Since its inception, the visible Air revolution has expanded beyond running models – including sports like basketball. Many sneakers with a visible Nike Air bubble can be considered “Air Max,” but modified versions of the technology from over the years have launched with different names. The most popular retro sneakers under the line are the AM 1, the Air Max 90, and Air Max 95. Most of Nike Running’s marquee performance shoes no longer rely on the revolutionary technology, opting for a combination of responsive foams, full-length Air units, and Zoom Air bubbles. In 2024, two new models entered the family with the Nike Air Max Plus Drift and Nike Air Max Dn, the latter silhouette receiving a massive spotlight in the first half of the year as it made its official debut.

Nike’s modern offerings are more lifestyle-focused than before, leaving original designs from the game-changing family to enjoy proper retros, limited editions, and special collaborations.