Society was stricken with equal parts fear and excitement in the final days of 1999. While many were hurriedly preparing for a crippling doomsday delivered by a widely anticipated Y2K bug, the more optimistic among us chose to ponder with wonder what the new millennium would bring.
Y2K trend consolidates
Science fiction had lead us to believe that flying cars would soon be a reality and hover boards wouldn’t be a wheeled form of transit that spontaneously bursts into flames, and, while neither are true (for now at least!), such anticipation for revolutionary technology had infected almost every area of product design – with the sneaker industry one of the few truly ready to satiate our futuristic visions in the looming year 2000.
2000 was undeniably one of the greatest years in sneaker history and marked a significant transition towards the lightweight sneakers of today. With a new millennium in motion and a new Olympic Games fast approaching, sportswear brands were eager to unleash a wave of revolutionary designs. 2000 brought us a number of iconic and influential sneakers – including the legendary Air Presto – but perhaps the sneaker release that best fit the mould of our pre-2000s vision was the launch of Nike Shox: a new line of sneakers that featured exposed energy-return struts in the heel, influenced by the construction of car jounce bumpers.
Shox was promoted by Nike as the next big thing in sneakers, with the support of millions of dollars in advertising. The memorable ad campaign, which is arguably even more memorable than the shoes it was promoting, featured almost superhuman levels of performance, accompanied by over-the-top ‘boing’ sound effects that were enough to have these wild new sneakers topping the Christmas lists of young and old (this writer included!).
Shox was promoted by Nike as the next big thing in sneakers, with the support of millions of dollars in advertising.
While the audio may have been added for comedic effect (after all, what grown adult would want to sound like a bounding kangaroo on a casual stroll?), the performance capabilities surprisingly was were, as we discovered when the 6’6” Vince Carter effortlessly leapt over all eighty six inches of towering French centre Frédéric Weis while wearing the Shox-blessed BB4.
Although the performance advantage offered by Shox technology has been all but forgotten in the present day – superseded by the lightweight energy-returning foams of the years that followed, including the likes of Lunarlon, BOOST and React – the aesthetic ‘wow’ factor of that excavated heel remains to this day. For many, Shox was seen as the successor to the Air Max line, as, once Nike achieved full-foot Visible Air with the Air Max 97, where was there left to go but to remove the bubble entirely?
The Show r4 takes us fully into the year 2000
While many were keen to lace up in a pair of the line’s flagship Shox R4s and hit the treadmill, many more were drawn to the sneaker for its unique, aggressive design. In this pre-hype era, when collaborations were almost nonexistent, sneaker fanatics drawn to the outlandish designs of the sneakers themselves to stunt on the streets and the Shox R4 marked the perfect sneaker to fit the bill, appeasing fans of technical-focused silhouettes like Nike’s Air Max 97 and Air Max Plus from the years prior. It’s jaw-dropping suspension system was complemented by equally futuristic double-lasted silver-dipped synthetic uppers.
The sneaker scene has changed a lot in the past 19 years. We’ve seen trends come and go, including Shox. But, as every last drop of originality is wrung from the once avant-garde collabs of the likes of Virgil Abloh and Kanye West, the return of the Shox R4 feels decidedly fresh. Nearly two decades have passed since the model’s debut, but the once-revolutionary runner still feels as unique as it ever did.
Air Max Day is fast approaching, but, before it does, it’s time to celebrate the shoe that took visible cushioning to the next level. The Nike Shox R4 returns to Foot District’s Nike store next Wednesday, March 20. Pairs will release through our online store at 9am CET and on a first-come, first-served basis through our Madrid and Barcelona locations from 11am CET. Don’t miss out!