As one of the most influential sneaker designers of all time, Tinker Hatfield is widely regarded as the best in the business. However, back in the late ‘80s before his big break, his designs were often dismissed by his co-workers as being a waste of time, or too “out-there” compared to other sneakers at the time. In 1987 he set to work designing the first-ever multi-purpose training sneaker, as rumour has it he was fed up of hauling around multiple pairs of trainers for his gym sessions that involved racket sports, athletics and also basketball.
Dubbed a “stupid project” by several Nike employees at the time, Hatfeld began designing what would become the Nike Air Trainer 1 . While he knew that Nike could make superior basketball shoes, or superior running shoes, what he planned to create was a sneaker that was the perfect all-rounder, rather than one that excelled in a single field. "We can always design a better basketball shoe or a better running shoe, but this is going to sit in the middle where it's good enough for most people."