Nike Air Max Day - 'Max Talk' With Joseph
Joseph, (Instagram: @jay_lc)
On Air Max Day 2022 we had the opportunity to interact with a handful of our community members and chop it up regarding anything and everything Air Max. Welcome to 'Max Talk' where our community members share some of their personal experiences with the Swoosh, more specifically the Air Max line and how they came to fall in love with the culture. It's no surprise the sport giant has been pushing the envelope with sustainable practices in efforts to build towards a more circular economy - prime example with their 'Move to Zero' journey crafting a variety of products from recycled materials. Meanwhile Nike pledges to converting to 100% renewable energy sources by 2025, let's tap in with Joseph to learn about his Air Max journey and what he wishes to see in the future from Nike regarding eco-conscious designs and directions.
What do you currently do for a living, and what are some of your hobbies?
"I am currently a transit worker for the City of Toronto."
What was your most memorable experience regarding a pair of Air Max (if possible, an experience tied to your hobby/profession)?
"Most memorable moments for me personally would be throwing it way back to first-come first-served days. Before pre-orders and raffles, first-come first-served releases used to be pretty civil. You could just show up to the line-up, usually early morning or even night before and just hang out with other people camping out. I was still in high school when there would be releases at Goodfoot. I always struck out because I just couldn’t get there early enough. Fast forward a few years, Capsule was doing a release for the Nike Air Max 1 'Home Turf Milan' and I was fortunate enough to snag my pair. Not a crazy hyped shoe, but nothing beats those butterflies when you secure a pair of kicks YOU hunted for - at retail, and on release day."
What is your grail Air Max?
"My grail Air Max would be either be the Air Max 90 'Home Grown' or the Air Max 95 'Stash'. Those were the two I couldn’t secure back in the day and now they’re even tougher to find. If you do find them, chances are they may be unwearable/crumbling."
With this year being the 35th anniversary of the Tinker Hatfield-designed Air Max 1, What are your thoughts on this years AM1 “Blueprint” with details such as architectural design elements that are incorporated into the uppers?
"I really like what they did with these. There are elements of everything you could ask for; a bit of leather, mesh, mini-Swoosh on the mudguard, translucent sole and details tied in with the blueprint theme. I also like the shade of blue they used on these. It’s not easy to rock certain colours but these are clean, and I think it’ll be easy finding fits to pull off in these joints."
What eco-conscious designs and directions do you hope to see from Nike's Air Max line in the future?
"I think Nike has a great initiative with the ‘Move to Zero’ campaign. I would love to see the project be included in more in their collaborative special projects. We see the crazy hype tied to collaborations with big names and the buzz it generates. I think it would be a great opportunity for such hyped collaborations to at least be more ‘Move to Zero’-esque and feature more eco-friendly materials. A good reference would point towards the Patta x Nike 'Move to Zero' Air Max. It would be dope to see Nike push more projects like that."
