Rubber Even though the heel has an air sole, the entire outsole is made of solid rubber, which is not as forgiving as foam products like polyurethane, Phylon, and EVA. In case you didn't know, Michael Jordan fractured his foot while wearing the Air Jordan 1.. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
After leaving University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a star player on the basketball team, Michael Jordan started his own sports apparel company called Nike. The company's first product was a pair of shoes that Jordan designed himself. They became so popular that they have changed the way basketball shoes are made today.
Since then, Nike has continued to release new versions of the shoe time after time after time. In fact, there have been over 100 different models of the shoe released by various manufacturers. Each version is named after a legendary player who wore the shoe. For example, the Air Jordan 1 has been released over 20 times since its initial debut in 1985.
The original black/white colorway of the Air Jordan 1 was inspired by the Chicago Bulls' uniforms at the time. However, due to their popularity, other colors were added to the lineup later on.
The solid rubber outsole of the shoe makes it extremely durable and able to withstand heavy use. This is why athletes such as Jordan can play through pain when they wear these shoes.
And when you consider how many pairs of Air Jordan shoes are produced worldwide, you can only imagine how much material is required. Synthetic rubber compounds, polyurethane, phylon, phylite, and other materials are used to make the shoes.
In fact, each pair of Air Jordan shoes contains about 6 pounds of material! That's a lot of plastic for your body to process over time.
The shoe companies claim that they have done everything they can to make these shoes eco-friendly. But some people say they smell musty when they first put them on because they contain old books which animals eat for food value rather than just playing with them. Also, there are reports that they may cause cancer if they were released in large quantities into the environment.
Some people believe that recycling would be an option but since the shoes are made from synthetic materials they cannot be recycled in any way so they end up in landfill sites or burned in factories which causes pollution.
The best thing you can do is try not to wear them out too quickly! There are charities such as Save The Sea who collect worn out sports shoes that cannot be recycled and use them to create sand beaches all around the world. So, in theory at least, they are helping the environment by clearing out rubbish dumps.
Finally, it was the first Air Jordan with a visible Air-Sole unit under the heel. Nike's "Air" embroidery remained on the heel, as did encapsulated air in the forefoot and a polyurethane midsole for comfort. Jordan averaged 35 points per game while representing the AJ III in his fourth consecutive All-Star Game. He finished the season as the top scorer in the NBA.
The Air Jordan III is considered by many to be one of the best basketball shoes of all time due to its innovative design and high quality materials. It debuted during the 1992-93 NBA season and remained popular throughout most of the next decade with variations being released periodically. The original white/black colorway remains one of the most sought after pairs of sneakers today. It is estimated that over 10 million pairs have been sold worldwide.
In addition to being a major success on the court, the Air Jordan III helped establish Michael Jordan as one of the biggest sports stars in the world. His popularity and influence on future generations of players has been cited as one of the reasons for its continued popularity even today. In 2005, Sports Illustrated named the Air Jordan III the greatest basketball shoe of all time.
Looking back at this early version of the shoe, it is clear to see how influential Michael Jordan was on future generations of sneaker designers. His ability to create unique designs that people wanted to wear led to many other athletes creating their own versions of the shoe.
Copyright © 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc.
