The History Of The Nike Air Max Tailwind II

1997

The first Air Max and Tailwind collaboration was a success. But the shoe was leather and didn’t provide the type of breathability and comfort people wanted from a running shoe in the 1990s. The Nike Air Max Tailwind II focused on breathability and supplying a cooler and more comfortable fit. The upper featured mesh, to offer ventilation and a lower temperature. The Tailwind was now firmly a part of the Max series, and the Tailwind II took design cues from the Air Max 97.

About Phil Knight

Phil Knight is the co-founder of Nike. Knight was the President of Nike from 1968 to 1990. He would return as President from 2000-2004. Before getting involved with Nike, Knight was a certified public accountant and a Professor of Business Administration.

About Bill Bowerman

Bill Bowerman is one of the most renowned track coaches of all time. Bowerman coached Phil Knight when he was a runner at the University of Oregon. Bowerman was a coach at Oregon for 24 years. He helped to develop some of the greatest runners of all time, like Steve Prefontaine.

The Knight & Bowerman Team

Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight both had an interest in approving the footwear that was available for athletes. In the early 1970s, Bowerman developed the waffle outsole. The waffle outsole was an experiment by Bowerman that had him pouring rubber compound into his wife’s waffle iron. The duo wanted to offer athletic shoes with more traction and that were lighter. The waffle soles and the great marketing of Nike helped to establish them as a leading athletic shoemaker very quickly.