Tinker Hatfield

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Tinker Linn Hatfield
Air Max
SpouseJackie Hatfield
Children3 daughters
Parent(s)Tinker Haven Hatfield, Sr.

Tinker Linn Hatfield Jr. (born April 30, 1952) is an American designer of numerous

cross training" shoes, the Nike Air Trainer. Hatfield oversees Nike's "Innovation Kitchen". He is Nike's Vice President for Design and Special Projects.[1][2] For his many innovative designs and numerous creations over more than three decades, Hatfield is considered a legend of design.[3][4][5][6][7]

Early life

Hatfield was born on April 30, 1952, in

track-and-field star in hurdle events and pole vaulting. In 1970, he was recognized as the top high school athlete in the state of Oregon.[8][9]

At the University of Oregon, Hatfield studied architecture and continued his track and field career under the coaching of Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike. He set the university record in the pole vault and placed sixth in that event at the 1976 Olympic trials. However, his athletic career was cut short by an injury during his second year at the university. He finished his college studies in the fall of 1976 and was awarded a bachelor's degree in architecture from the university in 1977.[9]

After graduating from college, Hatfield practiced as an architect in Eugene until he joined Nike in 1981.[9]

Nike

Hatfield joined Nike in 1981, and in 1985 started working on shoe design.

Centre Georges Pompidou;[1] and in 1990 released the third in the Air Max line, the Air Max 90 (Air Max III at the time). Hatfield designed the bat-boots for Michael Keaton to wear in Batman and Batman Returns.[11] Hatfield's younger brother, Tobie Hatfield, joined Nike in 1990 as a senior engineer.[12]

He also created the graphic design on the basketball court at the

SXSW
.

Air Jordans

Hatfield was the lead designer of Air Jordans III through XV, XX, and XX3. Additionally, Hatfield co-designed Air Jordans 2010 and XXX.

Phil Knight credits the Air Jordan III with saving Nike, claiming it kept Michael Jordan from leaving the company for Adidas.[17]

According to a 2018 interview with Hatfield, his favorite Air Jordan model is the Air Jordan 11 and his least favorite is the Air Jordan 15.[18]

Honors and awards

  • One of Sportstyle Magazine's most influential people on the business side of sports, 1993 and 1996
  • One of Fortune magazine's "100 Most Influential Designers" of the 20th century, 1998[10]
  • Ellis F. Lawrence Medal, University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts, 2008[9]
  • Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, Special Contribution to Sport, 2008[8]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ a b Thomas Prudon, "Nike Air Max 1 - Respect the Architects", Sneakers.fr. Accessed: May 24, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Richard, Brandon (November 7, 2010). "Tinker Hatfield Designs New University of Oregon Basketball Court". Sole Collector. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  3. ^ Boykins, Austin. "Tinker Hatfield". Hypebeast. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  4. ^ Winter, Jack (September 18, 2015). "Tinker Hatfield Explains The Story Of The Air Jordan XI Low IE". Uproxx.com. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  5. ^ "Tinker Hatfield Interview". Highsnobiety. December 14, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  6. ^ "Tinker Hatfield". SneakerNews.com. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  7. ^ Nojima, Aaron (April 30, 2015). "Happy Birthday to Sneaker Legend Tinker Hatfield". Sneakerhistory.com. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Special Contribution to Sport: Tinker Hatfield [web page is mislabeled as Bob Blackburn]". Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. 2009. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  9. ^
    University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts. Archived from the original
    on June 16, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Peterson, Erik (December 19, 2002). "Tinkering with success". Albany Democrat-Herald. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  11. ^ These Boots Were Made For Batman Fortune magazine August 1989
  12. ^ Wieberg, Steve (February 19, 2006). "Hatfields & Olympics: 'It's gotta be the shoes'". USA Today. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  13. ^ "What's up with Nike and Jordan in Vision Gran Turismo?". Destructoid.com. August 21, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  14. ^ Billington, James (February 17, 2014). "Nike is actually making Marty McFly's self-lacing shoes". New York Post. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  15. ^ "Netflix launches new documentary series Abstract: The Art of Design with a stellar lineup". www.itsnicethat.com. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  16. ^ Ian Stonebrook (March 25, 2019). "Tinker Hatfield Debuts New Nike REACT Model at SXSW". Nice Kicks.
  17. ^ "New Air Jordan 3 honors the designer who saved Nike". March 22, 2018.
  18. ^ "AIR JORDAN DESIGNER ADMITS JORDAN 15S WERE TRASH ... But My 11S Were Fire!".
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