Nike's Tinker Hatfield on designing Air Jordans, Nike MAGs & creative inspiration

Pole vaulter turned architect turned shoe designer, Tinker Hatfield first made a name for himself working alongside Michael Jordan on the legendary Air Jordan sneaker line. In an in depth conversation, Tinker reflects back on everything from designing the Nike Air MAG's for Back to the Future II to how he uses motorcycling and music as part of his creative process.

In this episode:
00:42 THE ROLE OF TIMING, LUCK AND HARD WORK IN HIS UNPRECEDENTED CAREER
1:11 TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE OF BEING PAIRED WITH MICHAEL JORDAN
3:22 HOW MJ GOT TINKER INTO RIDING MOTORCYCLES
4:08 HOW CAR AND MOTORCYCLE DESIGN RELATES TO SNEAKER DESIGN
7:19 HOW HE USES MUSIC AS A CREATIVE OUTLET
8:02 MENTORING YOUNG ATHLETES AND YOUNG DESIGNERS
8:50 REFLECTING ON HIS CAREER AT NIKE
10:35 WHAT KEEPS HIM MOTIVATED AT THIS POINT IN HIS CAREER
11:18 NIKE AIR MAG / BACK TO THE FUTURE II
13:18 IN THE 90'S, COULD HE EVER HAVE IMAGINED SNEAKER CULTURE GROWING INTO WHAT IT IS TODAY?
13:55 THOUGHTS ON PEOPLE'S SENTIMENTAL CONNECTIONS TO RETRO SNEAKERS
15:15 GOLDEN ERA OF SNEAKER DESIGN
16:40 HYPERADAPT 1.0
17:35 LOOKING BACK AT HIS ATHLETIC ROOTS
19:00 THE COMPETITIVE DESIRE NEVER DIES
19:45 THE ROLE OF ADVERTISING IN THE MARKETING OF HIS DESIGNS
21:50 WILL HE STILL BE DESIGNING IN 20 YEARS?
22:30 WHAT KEEPS HIM YOUNG / WHERE HIS IDEAS AND INSPIRATION COME FROM

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Gabe Yeh, Matt Trettin and Robert Unrue are childhood friends who now run a twelve person creative studio, COLORBLIND, based in Southern California. Their clients include Ferrari, Stance, Lexus and Ducati. They frequently shoot with athletes, artists and celebrities including Justin Timberlake, David Choe and Gigi Hadid.