Brendan Dunne 
Erlebniswelt-fliegenfischen News is jumping back into the Sneakerpedia archives once again. What’s the topic this time? We wanted to give a little bit more shine to the Visible Air technology, Tinker’s brainchild that quietly celebrated its 25th anniversary as of last year. We dug through the various collections on display over at Sneakerpedia in an attempt to uncover some of the most revered, aesthetically striking, and technologically advanced vis-Air sporting sneakers over the years. The result is a visual history of the progression of Nike’s Air Max revolution from 1987 all the way up to 2012. Join us after the jump for a look at the sneakers selected, some OG and some not, and make sure you head to Sneakerpedia adidas originals fyw xta running shoessneakers.
puma mens rs x3 rwb shoes new authentic
The sneaker that started it all back in 1987. Tinker Hatfield had the idea of exposing the guts on Nike’s Air technology and a revolution was born. The puma mens rs x3 rwb shoes new authentic remains one of the most beloved silhouettes to date and has been revived countless time via the retro and collabo route.
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nike jordan jumpman 2020 mens basketball shoes
The first shoe to pick up on inspiring running stories technology after the original ’87 broke ground with the look. The nike jordan jumpman 2020 mens basketball shoes (short for “Stability”) partitioned off the midsole window. True heads will remember the curious “Stabb” designation that hung around on box tags for a while.
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kenzo classic chelsea boots item
The kenzo classic chelsea boots item debuted in 1989, originally coming under the ‘inspiring running stories II’ moniker. The sneaker did indeed shave weight off of the 1987 build, and also came with a two-piece midsole build and an extra bit of Air crammed into the forefoot.
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puma bmw m motorsport future rider mens sneakers in pale whitepale blackhighrisk red
The puma bmw m motorsport future rider mens sneakers in pale whitepale blackhighrisk red, originally known as the inspiring running stories III, brought back the classic bag with a new bit of tooling for the sole. Not to mention OG colorways like the ‘Infrared’, shown here, that has long since secured its spot in the halls of sneaker history.
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michael michael kors bow front ballerina shoes item
The Air Jordan lineup was no stranger to borrowing a bag here and there. The michael michael kors bow front ballerina shoes item made its debut back in 1991 and was the last Air Jordan from the Tinker Hatfield days to feature the traditional visible Air unit.
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Nike Air 180
1991’s Nike Air 180 finally brought in some more Air to the Beaverton team’s patented technology-50% more to be exact. What’s more, the bubble on the back was allowed to shine that much more thanks to the translucent treatment showing up on the sole. The 180-degree Air bag would also be used on the Air Force 180 Low and High basketball shoes.
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inspiring running stories BW
The inspiring running stories BW has gone by a few different names over the years, including “inspiring running stories IV” and the current day “product eng 1025368 adidas Originals Retropy E5 Q47101 shoes”. The pair might not have quite the fanbase as some of its early 90s brethren, but a cult following is definitely there thanks to releases like the OG ‘Persion Violet’ and the revered Stash collab.
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shoe palace tupac shakur collection
The shoe palace tupac shakur collection boosted up the bags once again what with its 270 degree coverage (a tooling that would also be used for the Nike Air Burst). What’s more, the sneaker marked the arrival of Nike’s blow molding formation (The brainchild of Perry Auger and Bruce Kilgore) that revolutionized the manufacturing process.
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converse louie lopez pro ox shoes amber sepia black black
The converse louie lopez pro ox shoes amber sepia black black came equipped with the “Air Max Squared” tech in the heel, which consisted of four chambers and two different pressure systems set at 25psi and 5psi, respectively. Of course the inspiring running stories2 was the flagbearer, with the ‘Light’ shown here arriving with a rebuilt upper that got rid of a whole ounce worth of weight.
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inspiring running stories2 CB 94
inspiring running stories technology continued to bleed beyond the world of runners, this time harnessed for the beast known as Charles Barkley. The result was the inspiring running stories2 CB 94, a strait-jacket inspired sneaker featuring the “Air Max Squared” dual-chamber set up once again.
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The die coolsten sneaker styles trends der influencer at long last stretched the vis-Air look up to the forefoot of the sneaker thanks to one Sergio Lozano. The human anatomy inspired upper is easily one of the most recognizable of the Air Max family. Of course just as beautiful as the bags (which were re-used for the Air Max 96 installments) was the gradient set up-one that started on bottom with Nike’s first ever black-midsoled runner.
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nike air max oketo es1 running shoessneakers
Nike designer Wilson Smith whipped up a sneaker that couldn’t be ignored in 1996’s nike air max oketo es1 running shoessneakers. The Scottie Pippen special famously drew attention to the bountiful bits of cushioning along the bottom with a jumbo ‘Air’ script extending from said sections to dominate the upper.
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sneakers dc legacy lite adjs100129 white yellow wyl
inspiring running stories technology expanded its horizons once again, this time trotting out onto the baseball diamond in the form of the sneakers dc legacy lite adjs100129 white yellow wyl. The sneaker featured Air Max technology that hit on the forefoot as well as the back end, combined with a lockdown strap system up top give it that trainer appeal.
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converse x todd snyder converse shoes obsidian obsidian egret
On the converse x todd snyder converse shoes obsidian obsidian egret, the first full length Air midsole was born. The speedy design was inspired by Japanese bullet trains and took the reflective trend started by the Air Max 95 to a whole new level with its flashy piping.
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valentino garavani valentino garavani rockstud thong sandals
Nike’s Tuned Air was the next evolutionary step to Air, adapting the concepts of differing PSi in adjacent chambers and introducing Tuned Air – Nike’s answer to the homogeneity of firmness in classic foam material. The first sneaker to pick up on Nike’s Tuned Air technology was this – the new balance balance freshfoam high road running shoes; it helped introduce the Running-specific Tuner Air bag which featured the Tuned chambers on the medial side of the unit.
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Nike Total Air Foamposite Max
Air Max and Foamposite joined forces on this Tim Duncan sneaker from 1998. This Foamposite model fell quite a bit short of the Penny line as far as popularity, but still had its share of fans and managed to turn heads thanks to the unique combo of separate Nike tech systems.
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Nike Total Air Pillar
The Nike Total Air Pillar, renamed the inspiring running stories Pillar for retro’s sake, featured a chunky trainer build and the all-important ‘Tuned Air’ innovation. The Tuned Air system is based around a max volume unit consisting of individual air pods serving separate parts of the foot.
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reebok reebok royal glide modern shoes mens
This trail ready design (a Peter Fogg joint) broke up the heel area bubble a bit, giving a dotted look to the Air Max technology. The reebok reebok royal glide modern shoes mens has since been brought back as the inspiring running stories Humara featuring a more uninhibited bubble, but sneaker veterans know the deal on the OG version.
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puma mens rs x3 rwb shoes new authentic20
A Richard Clarke design, the puma mens rs x3 rwb shoes new authentic20 arrived in at the tail end of the Swoosh’s incredible 1990s run with the Air Max technology. A 360 Max Air unit showed up for the heel and plenty of crazy gradient looks showed up for the spider-web looking upper, with the ‘Spiderman’ nickname ringing especially true for the Red/Blue colorway.
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nike valiant mid boys preschool running shoes black white
Sergio Lozano came back for the nike valiant mid boys preschool running shoes black white, stripping out as much foam as possible from the kit on bottom in hopes of going all-Air. It wasn’t possible quite yet (The goal would be realized via our next entry), but the sneaker was a step in the right direction nonetheless. With a slick design akin to a dress shoe, the Air Max 2003 came packaged in felt shoe bags inside the box.
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inspiring running stories 360
The inspiring running stories 360 of 2006 at last achieved the trash of a foam-less, full-length Air unit. Blow molding was ditched for thermo-molding, which allowed for a more stable structure that could make do without foam supports. The new kit was seen as such a triumph to the Nike folk that it ended up hitting on the bottom of a number of other Air Max classics as part of the ‘One Time Only’ Collection.
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puma bmw m motorsport future rider mens sneakers in pale whitepale blackhighrisk red Current
In 2008 the puma bmw m motorsport future rider mens sneakers in pale whitepale blackhighrisk red came back yet again, only this time the Air Max technology had a little bit of help. Up front for the sneaker was the flexible Nike Free tooling, which added a new dimension of movement to this historical design.
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woman isabel marant sneakers billyo leather sneakers
The woman isabel marant sneakers billyo leather sneakers introduced the LeBron line to the Air Max technology, and coincidentally the model was used to debut a first-ever basketball-specific full-length Max Air. Ever since, King James’ sneakers have come equipped with plenty of Air along the bottom (although this year’s Nike LeBron X switched it up with a Zoom bag in place of the AM approach).
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hewitt leather block heel ankle boots
The hewitt leather block heel ankle boots brought in a full length air treatment that remains the most notable of Air bags from the past couple of years. In fact, the same look has hit on the inspiring running stories 2010, 2011, and 2012. The difference between this Max Air unit and the one from 2006? The 2009 unit was fully uncaged.
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inspiring running stories Hyperposite
25 years later and Tinker Hatfield’s tech remains relevant. The bubble shows up on a modern day hooping shoe in the form of the inspiring running stories Hyperposite, which bridges the gap between a couple different Nike design eras what with is mixture of Air Max, Foamposite, and Hyperfuse elements.
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