Airwalk Brings Back Jim Shoes
|
In the mid 90’s a new form of music was being played that could not be properly categorized and was quickly dubbed alternative. Likewise, a sneaker company that seemed to do everything differently from everyone else did the same, and their name was Airwalk. While companies were spending millions on endorsement deals, advertising, and research and development, Airwalk did the complete opposite creating the Jim Shoe. A take off on the the phonetically similar “gym shoe”, the Jim Shoe was to be some casual and creative. Airwalk created a “tennis shoe” which was nothing more than the Jim Shoe covered entirely of tennis ball material. When it came time for them to create a “basketball shoe”, again they took the task literally raising the Jim to a higher cut and laying basketball leather around the upper. Since the initial release of these two memorable Jim Shoes, Airwalk has headed in a different direction; however, the Jim Shoes will be returning in their original form in the near future. Airwalk is keeping things hush hush about the release for now when it comes to the where and when, but we will give you the updates when they are received. |
Airwalk Jim Shoes - “Tennis Shoes”
Airwalk Jim Shoes - “Basketball Shoes”
|
|
Related Articles |
26 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Oh my GOD! I went to school with a kid who had the “Tennis shoes”!!!
I completely forgot about them until just now. I think i remember looking on eBay for them when the Alife Ball Outs came out cuz I was trying to scoop the original ideas.
Comment by sneakFREAK — June 6, 2008 @ 4:02 pm
What’s funny is that I saw a dude wearing the Tennis Shoes at the Project Show in Vegas back in February. They were in pretty decent shape too which is amazing given that they are 13 years old.
A lot of people thought that Alife was the first company to do the solid tennis ball upper but it actually was Airwalk.
As for the Basketball Shoes, Nike made a Jordan shoe way back that was made of basketball material that never released. Recently MJ has been spotted wearing the Jordan PHLY with a basketball leather upper that look very much like the pair he had way back.
Comment by Nice Kicks — June 6, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
NICE!
I always wanted the original Ball Outs but I wasnt about to pay $900-$1100 for them. I gotta get the tennis ones and I think i’d rock those basketball kicks too.
Nice bit of history too. Funny that a lot of kids reading this probably only know of Airwalk as a brand sold at Payless.
Comment by mic check 212 — June 6, 2008 @ 4:08 pm
these are classic. too bad they sell airwalk at payless now. i’d never step foot into that store. not knocking anyone who does, its just not me
Comment by bkbigjay — June 6, 2008 @ 4:12 pm
Airwalks were the hype back in the mid to late 90s…I remember the day I finally got a pair of them. Truly the first skate shoes
Comment by Flatsole — June 6, 2008 @ 4:12 pm
I should say popularized skate shoes…the vans cabs beat them to it. They kinda breathed life into skate shoes being the 2nd brand
Comment by Flatsole — June 6, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
i hope they aren’t some payless editions because i really like these
Comment by bkbigjay — June 6, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
Don’t expect to find these at Payless.
They will be reissuing some of their older classic models as well. If I was a boutique owner, I wouldn’t have any problem at all with carrying these even though the name is also sold at Payless.
mic check, to your point its sad that some kids only know of Airwalk as a skippy brand. I remember when they had a MAJOR television advertising campaign on MTV in 1995-96. Actually back then my parents didn’t initially shell out for the true Airwalks for me…lol I got the K-Mart version. Finally I did get the real deal though.
To your point Flatsole, I remember that these were a shoe worn by quite a few skaters but were worn by anyone who wanted an “alternative” to a big brand like Nike or any other athletic name.
Comment by Nice Kicks — June 6, 2008 @ 4:18 pm
I used to rock Airwalks all the time back in the day! I loved the cool stickers the shoes came with… I’m glad to see them making a comeback!
Comment by agc41510 — June 6, 2008 @ 4:20 pm
Maan, I hadn’t seen or heard anything about Airwalks in a long time…I remember when these were popular back in the day and when I finailly got a pair….
Comment by Ian P. — June 6, 2008 @ 5:11 pm
THEM SHOES CHEAP LIKE 15$ OR CHEAPER AT PAYLESS. MAN YOU GET CAUGHT WEREING THOSE DOWN HERE N DA H-TOWN MAN YOU CLOWNED FOR REAL. HEY BUT THAT’S D TRUTH
Comment by D truth — June 6, 2008 @ 5:24 pm
The Jordan XX2 did release in the basketball skin as It was on sale at DTLR is January 07. At the time I had a wallet that I copped from the dollar tree in Charlotte. I was gassed that the kicks matched my wallet. Funny ish indeed…
Comment by J.King — June 6, 2008 @ 5:57 pm
D truth if i may ask, how old are you? you cant be that old im guessing. you will one day appreciate all kinds of shoes and colors. usually someone starts a trend and everyone follows it.
set your own trend, who cares if you get clowned on? besides, when you get your shoe game level high, you can make just about anything look good. these are dope.
Comment by bkbigjay — June 6, 2008 @ 5:59 pm
D Truth,
You are just the kind of kid that mic check 212 was talking about. Young, ignorant, and too damn lazy to read.
I can assure you that the tennis ball joints will get you respect no matter where you are at. If they don’t you have got some lame ass friends…
Comment by sneakFREAK — June 6, 2008 @ 6:25 pm
yea hthe jordan 22 has a basketball look but i havent brought so i dont know about exterior materials. [the basketball edition of the 22 not the players edition-pe]
Comment by sneakerhead3 — June 6, 2008 @ 6:42 pm
both are fresh. they executed the basketball material wayyyy better than the xx2
Comment by lilrip133 — June 6, 2008 @ 7:41 pm
dont like airwalk but those r dope
Comment by greenmaker24 — June 6, 2008 @ 8:55 pm
Wow, these are nice. Airwalk had lots of good models back in the 90s. Glad to know they’re coming back, and this is definitely a good start.
Comment by ErictheWindow — June 6, 2008 @ 9:44 pm
Airwalk had a mean high top back in the day. That blicka was sick!
Comment by J.King — June 6, 2008 @ 10:31 pm
i LOVED airwalk. they need to re-release the One. i also had a pair of sandals that were ridiculously comfortable. i had them for ten years and they were still as comfy as the day i got them.
on another note, converse needs to do justice to the one star. they were really great quality in 95 and now they’re terrible. the ones at target aren’t even really one stars.
Comment by johnny qb — June 6, 2008 @ 11:06 pm
My aunt owns an OG pair of those.
she had em back when i was younger and i always thought they were insane.
im definitely gonna be one of the cool kids and cop a pair of these, just for nostalgic purposes alone.
Comment by Terrell — June 7, 2008 @ 10:21 am
I didnt know about either of these shoes when I made my tennis ball or basketball customs. I wouldnt wear these cause I dont like the overall shape of this model, plus a colored sole would add a lil bit more too, but you gotta respect an OG shoe.
Comment by emmanuelabor — June 9, 2008 @ 12:34 pm
I had a pair of the tennis ball shoes back in 96. I wore em the first day of my freshman year and all the seniors threatened to beat me with a racket. I got crap about those shoes for years. Later as I got older alot of kids who gave me hell told me that they thought the shoes were actually dope. And gave me credit for having the balls to wear em.
Comment by Nate — July 14, 2008 @ 2:36 pm
I want to know the day these come out. I had these in high school, and now I’m a tennis coach.
Comment by Ryan M — August 1, 2008 @ 10:15 pm
I still have my pair of the Tennis Shoe.
They’re kinda balding…and survived my junior high crush markings. I also added leopard print fat laces to them.
I will buy another pair though as soon as I can get my hands on them. I was famous at my high school for those shoes.
Comment by Shandi P — August 16, 2008 @ 12:48 am
I wore the tennis ball shoes in 1996 right out of college on my first job as a therapist. The place I worked for said we had to wear tennis shoes and not sandals in the summer. So to rebel I bought the tennis ball shoe and wore them to every meeting and even once with a black suit to a dinner presentation. They really helped an old stakeboarder relate to the kids because they became a focal point and an ice breaker to beginning therapy. I look forward to getting another pair since I outgrew the others.
Comment by Scott B — August 31, 2008 @ 7:32 pm