In 1985, Michael Jordan's first signature shoe with Nike, the Air Jordan 1, was prohibited from use on court in the Chicago Bulls colourway of black and red. Nike is celebrating that notoriety with this new rendition of the Metcon 1 Cross-Trainer, with Varsity Red and black panels looking dastardly on top of a white sole. Forged for competitors taking part in the CrossFit craze, the Swooshy spin doctors are positioning the Metcon 1 as a rogue sneak trying to break open a market dominated by the official CrossFit sponsor, Reebok. Nike is calling the Metcon a 'banned' model on the CrossFit circuit, which is true, but not because its revolutionary tech breaks rules or because its colourway is too bombastic; it is prohibited simply because it is not Reebok – a pretty standard arrangement when a brand has a legally binding monopoly on a training franchise. If you like these, and there are ,plenty of reasons to, cop them on July 16 at Swoosh stockists.
