Sole Collector x Nike Air Max Trainer Sole Knows Bo Jackson collaboration sneaker, photo 1

Sole Collector x Nike Air Max Trainer ‘Sole Knows’

Have this pair? Send us your photos, stories, and memories below.

Some shoes start with a colorway. This one started with a story that a lot of us have lived in one form or another, the story of the pair you wanted and the pair you got instead.

Sole Collector x Nike Air Max Trainer Sole Knows Bo Jackson collaboration sneaker, photo 2

Picture a kid in 1989 with his heart set on the Fire Red Jordan IV. He gets to the JC Penney to finally buy them after they go on sale, and they have just sold out of his size. Just missed it. As a consolation he walks out with a pair of Bo Jackson’s Air Max Trainer in Aquamarine and Citron instead. That consolation turned out to be a life changing moment for him, the kind of accident that ends up shaping a whole taste. Anyone who has ever fallen in love with their backup pair knows exactly how that goes.

Sole Collector x Nike Air Max Trainer Sole Knows Bo Jackson collaboration sneaker, photo 3

Years later, when the chance came to work with the Nike Training group on a collab to celebrate the Bo Jackson cover on the 30th issue, the inspiration picked itself. Those classic Aquamarine and Citron colors were always going to be the starting point. The only real decision was how far to push them, and the answer, of course, was as loud as possible. Everything came together on this one, a great colorway wrapped around a great issue with a great Nike group behind it.

Sole Collector x Nike Air Max Trainer Sole Knows Bo Jackson collaboration sneaker, photo 4

The Air Max Trainer is one of those cross training silhouettes that means more to a certain age than the magazines ever gave it credit for. Bo crossed sports and seasons, and the shoe carried that same do everything energy. Putting it on a magazine anniversary felt right, two milestones leaning on each other.

Sole Collector x Nike Air Max Trainer Sole Knows Bo Jackson collaboration sneaker, photo 5

What makes this one warm is that personal thread underneath it. It is not just a tribute to an athlete. It is tied to a real memory of a sold out size and a backup pair that changed somebody’s life. That is the kind of detail you cannot manufacture.

So we have to ask, what is your backup pair, the one you only bought because the one you wanted was gone, that you ended up loving more than you ever expected?

Gallery

Sole Collector x Nike Air Max Trainer Sole Knows Bo Jackson collaboration sneaker, photo 6
Sole Collector x Nike Air Max Trainer Sole Knows Bo Jackson collaboration sneaker, photo 7
Sole Collector x Nike Air Max Trainer Sole Knows Bo Jackson collaboration sneaker, photo 8

Photos by Nick DePaula

Part of The Complete Guide to Sole Collector Collaborations

Grab Some Nostalgia

Sole Collector on the market

Nike Air Zoom Flight 98 The Glove Sole Collector Gary Payton 630773-300 Men 10.5$142.47 Nike Zoom Rookie Galaxy (Sole Collector Edition)$350.00 Nike Air Zoom Flight '98 The Glove 'Sole Collector' (2013)$325.00 Nike Air Jordan CMFT 11 SC Premier Size 9.5 Comfort Sole Collector Carbon Fiber$555.00 2004 Sole Collector Magazine Los Angeles Sneaker Competition Shirt XL Vintage A7$49.95

As an eBay Partner and affiliate, SoleCollector.org may earn from qualifying purchases.

Shop on eBay → GOAT StockX Flight Club Stadium Goods
The community archive

Were you there? Add your memory

Photos, stories, the pair you still have in the box. This archive grows when you add yours.