Michael Jordan Bares His Sole To RWD!
Artist:
RWD
With the impending release of the new Jordan XXII everyone and their brother has tried to get interview time with the man himself... Once and a while you get the chance to meet legends and when that time came we jumped in feet first... words by Danny Walker
If you don’t know about the Brand Jordan you must know about the phenomenal athlete Michael Jordan. Knowing full well about BOTH we were luckily enough to be invited to NikeTown to meet MJ and the main designer behind the movement, Tinker Hatfield. With 100+ eager Jordamaniacs waiting to get a picture with, autograph from or at least a glimpse of the superstar, it was an edgy wait to speak to Mike.
His entrance accompanied by Hatfield was similar to that of a Gladiator in the ancient Coliseum (I can only imagine); he knew all eyes were on him. We soon watched a short film dedicated to Brand Jordan and then – after rapturous applause – he spoke to his minions, most of which were draped head to toe in the aforementioned apparel. “Thank you, thank you,” a very humble and very tall Mr.23 responded to the crowd, who most (including myself) had only seen on television slamming dunk after dunk. On only his second trip to Oxford Circus’ NikeTown he seemed very glad to be in the presence of loyal supporters to the brand which was now in its 21st year. “It’s good to be back,” he told via the aid of a microphone, “There’s a lot of new faces and it’s good to see you guys. A lot has happened since ’99 [the last time he was at the Flagship store].” Knowing he was on the second leg of his European tour – looking for fresh b-balling talent and promoting Brand Jordan – we knew we didn’t have much time so we dived-in straight after the press conference.
Settling in his leather chair, surrounded by Jordan trainers including my favourite Jordan V’s he was ready for the reporters probing questions. I looked down at his ALL-WHITE Tinker-designed Jordan III’s and fired away. “Right now we’re working on XXIII,’ he answered to the current shoe he’s working on. Released in 2008, we can’t believe he’s already configuring the landmark 23rd shoe, “it’s almost a year and a half away now. It seems long ago since I first saw Tinker’s design for the Jordan III.” Since the eighties Brand Jordan has come a long way and in his 43 years, it’s really hard to pick a pinnacle moment. The MVP soon answers our killer question though:
Brand Jordan has been expanded over the years (before it was just trainers that kids would fight over) and now you’ve moved into endorsing baseball, American football and even boxers. Why do you think the brand has lasted so long? (Even longer than your actual basketball career)
He sits up in the chair and answers in style…
“I think cos we’re able to endorse concepts from everywhere. We’re now starting to specifically cater for women. We’re expanding what the Jordan Brand represents and not what sports Michael Jordan played. The whole concept in terms of how he played, that carries over into soccer and other sports, even your jobs. It’s all about trying to be the best with hard work, love and passion. That’s what we represent.”
After designing 14 of the 20 Jordan shoes we didn’t want to leave Tinker Hatfield out in the cold, we ask him what he thinks of MJ as a person, “He’s an amazing person,” he open up to RWD. “I’ve always known him to be a very private person and somebody who is very loyal and kind to the people he knows/ works with.” He goes on top explain sometimes, Jordan is different when it comes to getting the desired look, “He loves to get his point across.” So how does the design process work? “It’s different every year, sometimes,” he lays down the secret formula, “I’ll go in with an ideal (maybe a drawing) and he’ll go, ‘I like that’ or, ‘just make a change here’. Then we’ll talk about his life and what’s going on and I’ll go and draw after that, then get the computer going. We keep it fresh each time.”
So with the exciting fresh prospect of the Jordan XXIII around the corner, in the press conference we heard they’re thinking of heat-responsive material and top secret ideas. He gives us the scoop. “We’ve actually sorted out how we’re gonna build the 23… he [Mr Jordan] doesn’t actually know it yet. We’re gonna have a meeting here in Europe and if it’s not right for basketball performance, he’ll let us know.” And how did the legendary Jordan V come about, “We’ll the flames are from an old World War 2 fighter movie and I actually chose a Spitfire to look at. We think it perfectly matches Michael’s game. He strafes the enemy and then lands down on them.” We soon agree and wrap up with our concerns about Globalisation, Tinker puts us straight that they’re concerned too. “That’s a good question; we talk about that all the time,” on-point as always (I stop to pat myself on the back) and probe on, “Our corporation set goals to reach a formula where you get maximum profitability (obviously we’re a public company) and still look out for people so they can afford the product. I don’t think that our margins are any higher than any other company who make anything. If we don’t make enough money there would be no Nike and no Brand Jordan.” Fair enough, we let Jordan and Tinker continue the tour.
After signing to the Chicago Bulls in 1984, he’s broken endless records, retired from basketball THREE times, launched about a million trainers (and counting) and is obviously a man who’s inspired billions… Michael Jordan, a true legend. For more info visit http://www.jumpman23.com
RWD Magazine
With the impending release of the new Jordan XXII everyone and their brother has tried to get interview time with the man himself... Once and a while you get the chance to meet legends and when that time came we jumped in feet first... words by Danny Walker
If you don’t know about the Brand Jordan you must know about the phenomenal athlete Michael Jordan. Knowing full well about BOTH we were luckily enough to be invited to NikeTown to meet MJ and the main designer behind the movement, Tinker Hatfield. With 100+ eager Jordamaniacs waiting to get a picture with, autograph from or at least a glimpse of the superstar, it was an edgy wait to speak to Mike.
His entrance accompanied by Hatfield was similar to that of a Gladiator in the ancient Coliseum (I can only imagine); he knew all eyes were on him. We soon watched a short film dedicated to Brand Jordan and then – after rapturous applause – he spoke to his minions, most of which were draped head to toe in the aforementioned apparel. “Thank you, thank you,” a very humble and very tall Mr.23 responded to the crowd, who most (including myself) had only seen on television slamming dunk after dunk. On only his second trip to Oxford Circus’ NikeTown he seemed very glad to be in the presence of loyal supporters to the brand which was now in its 21st year. “It’s good to be back,” he told via the aid of a microphone, “There’s a lot of new faces and it’s good to see you guys. A lot has happened since ’99 [the last time he was at the Flagship store].” Knowing he was on the second leg of his European tour – looking for fresh b-balling talent and promoting Brand Jordan – we knew we didn’t have much time so we dived-in straight after the press conference.
Settling in his leather chair, surrounded by Jordan trainers including my favourite Jordan V’s he was ready for the reporters probing questions. I looked down at his ALL-WHITE Tinker-designed Jordan III’s and fired away. “Right now we’re working on XXIII,’ he answered to the current shoe he’s working on. Released in 2008, we can’t believe he’s already configuring the landmark 23rd shoe, “it’s almost a year and a half away now. It seems long ago since I first saw Tinker’s design for the Jordan III.” Since the eighties Brand Jordan has come a long way and in his 43 years, it’s really hard to pick a pinnacle moment. The MVP soon answers our killer question though:
Brand Jordan has been expanded over the years (before it was just trainers that kids would fight over) and now you’ve moved into endorsing baseball, American football and even boxers. Why do you think the brand has lasted so long? (Even longer than your actual basketball career)
He sits up in the chair and answers in style…
“I think cos we’re able to endorse concepts from everywhere. We’re now starting to specifically cater for women. We’re expanding what the Jordan Brand represents and not what sports Michael Jordan played. The whole concept in terms of how he played, that carries over into soccer and other sports, even your jobs. It’s all about trying to be the best with hard work, love and passion. That’s what we represent.”
After designing 14 of the 20 Jordan shoes we didn’t want to leave Tinker Hatfield out in the cold, we ask him what he thinks of MJ as a person, “He’s an amazing person,” he open up to RWD. “I’ve always known him to be a very private person and somebody who is very loyal and kind to the people he knows/ works with.” He goes on top explain sometimes, Jordan is different when it comes to getting the desired look, “He loves to get his point across.” So how does the design process work? “It’s different every year, sometimes,” he lays down the secret formula, “I’ll go in with an ideal (maybe a drawing) and he’ll go, ‘I like that’ or, ‘just make a change here’. Then we’ll talk about his life and what’s going on and I’ll go and draw after that, then get the computer going. We keep it fresh each time.”
So with the exciting fresh prospect of the Jordan XXIII around the corner, in the press conference we heard they’re thinking of heat-responsive material and top secret ideas. He gives us the scoop. “We’ve actually sorted out how we’re gonna build the 23… he [Mr Jordan] doesn’t actually know it yet. We’re gonna have a meeting here in Europe and if it’s not right for basketball performance, he’ll let us know.” And how did the legendary Jordan V come about, “We’ll the flames are from an old World War 2 fighter movie and I actually chose a Spitfire to look at. We think it perfectly matches Michael’s game. He strafes the enemy and then lands down on them.” We soon agree and wrap up with our concerns about Globalisation, Tinker puts us straight that they’re concerned too. “That’s a good question; we talk about that all the time,” on-point as always (I stop to pat myself on the back) and probe on, “Our corporation set goals to reach a formula where you get maximum profitability (obviously we’re a public company) and still look out for people so they can afford the product. I don’t think that our margins are any higher than any other company who make anything. If we don’t make enough money there would be no Nike and no Brand Jordan.” Fair enough, we let Jordan and Tinker continue the tour.
After signing to the Chicago Bulls in 1984, he’s broken endless records, retired from basketball THREE times, launched about a million trainers (and counting) and is obviously a man who’s inspired billions… Michael Jordan, a true legend. For more info visit http://www.jumpman23.com
RWD Magazine
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