Sneaker Freaker

IT’S VERY UN-NIKE. PERFORMANCE IS DEFINITELY NOT A PRIORITY, ALTHOUGH IT DID HAVE AN AIR-BAG RIGHT? WAS THAT A HARD SELL WITHIN THE CORPORATION?
Oh, the performance is still there. It’s just not overtly displayed. Performance is a relative term. These perform nicely for their intended purpose... slacking! Also remember, most of the performance comes from the athlete. Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four minute mile in 1954, essentially in a pair of hard bottom bowling shoes with 16 penny nails sticking out the bottoms. And yes, the Mocs were a VERY hard sell inside of Nike.

SEEMS LIKE A SHOE THAT WOULD DO WELL IN JAPAN. THEY MIGHT BE CRAZY ENOUGH TO GO FOR IT.
The Japanese aren’t crazy. They just have more of an open mind for new ideas.

YEAH... CAN I TAKE THAT STATEMENT BACK?
Before Nike, I worked for Esprit and spent a lot of time in Japan. Esprit had a house in Shibuya designed by Shiro Kuramata. I love Japan. I feel honored that the Mocs did well there.

DO YOU KNOW HOW THE THING SOLD?
We had to fight like hell to keep the Nike marketers from dropping the Mocs from the line. They said no one would buy them. In the end, the Mocs had quite a cult following and stayed in the Nike line for more than 10 years. Longer than any other outdoor shoe by a long shot. I believe around 100,000 pairs sold over that period, maybe more?