MEMORIES:

Manufacturer:

When it was time to take your board to the streets, no self-respecting skater would be seen in anything less than Airwalks. Specially made for the rad, skateboarding crowd, Airwalks were a departure from traditional sneakers, and helped start the X-treme sports frenzy.
The Airwalk company was formed in 1986 by George Yohn and Bill Mann in California (where else?) They were an alternative to the high-tech performance sneakers that were the market leader – the anti-Nike. They represented the fringe athletes in the skateboarding world, and – like the skaters who wore them – were on a mission to break away from the mainstream.

 

Airwalks were specifically made for skateboarding, designed with thick rubber soles and pliable tops to allow full freedom of movement for the complicated footwork required on the boards.

 

As the skate craze took off in the late ‘80’s, Airwalks catapulted to the top of the market. The “Jim” shoe represented the defiant attitude and pride of the skating world, while parodying other sports that skaters deemed inferior. Instant hits includes a fuzzy yellow felt tennis shoe, an orange leather hi-top basketball sneaker, and a dimpled toe golf shoe. Even non-skaters who felt left out of the mainstream world of traditional sports made Airwalk their sneaker of choice.

 

Skateboarding’s popularity took a dive in the early ‘90’s when the boards got banned on public property after outcries that skaters were a nuisance. But boarders took their skills to specially-designed skateparks, and the Airwalks followed. The growth of other “extreme” sports – in-line skating, BMX biking, and snowboarding – allowed Airwalks to continue to find a place on the feet of jocks on the fringe.