Nike Shox is a support system feature in several of Nike's flagship

sneakers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...

, first released in 2000. The design is an arrangement of primarily

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethan ...

hollow columns in the

midsole A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the Foot, human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from cult ...

supporting the shoe's heel. Most models include four

circular Circular may refer to: * The shape of a circle * ''Circular'' (album), a 2006 album by Spanish singer Vega * Circular letter (disambiguation) ** Flyer (pamphlet), a form of advertisement * Circular reasoning, a type of logical fallacy * Circula ...

columns in a square formation to provide stability. Later variations sometimes added additional columns, or changed to triangular or rectangular formations.

Overview

Nike claims that Shox not only absorb impact from heel strike while running, but the company also claims they "spring back" and add more power to a runner's stride. Aside from this alleged boost in speed, the Shox is supposed to provide superior shock absorption with high-tech elastic foam. The newer Shox series is compatible with

Nike+ The Nike+iPod Sports Kit is an activity tracker device, developed by Nike, Inc., which measures and records the distance and pace of a walk or run. The Nike+iPod consists of a small transmitter device attached to or embedded in a shoe, which comm ...

technology. Actor

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in a ...

of Fox's ''House'' was known to wear the Nike model repeatedly on and off the set. Comedian

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a Jerry Seinfeld (character), semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he ...

is also a fan of, and wears Nike Shox. On February 17, 2006,

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

reported that Nike had filed a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

infringement suit against rival

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

, claiming that a range of their trainers replicated its technology. Nike_Shox_columns_inside

History

In 1984, designer Bruce Kilgore began researching the Shox project design. Inspiration for the shoe is said to have come from viewing indoor track sprinters who appeared to "bounce" after impacting the surface of the track. Nike developers experimented with many materials that were unable to provide the runner with sufficient support and was only returning a small portion of energy to the runner following impact with the ground. Ultimately,

was developed as the system's key component. Black & Gold Nike Air Shox

Nike released the first Shox shoe in 2000. During the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, the brand saw a boost in popularity when Team USA's

Vince Carter Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. (born January 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who serves as a basketball analyst for ESPN. He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, but occasionally played Powe ...

dunked over a 7'2" center from Team France in a pair of Shox BB4, his first signature shoe with Nike. Carter's dunk would become a major influence on Shox' advertisement strategy. In 2016, Nike created an

Air Force 1 Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircr ...

prototype with Shox cushioning, never released to the public. The proficiency testing sample was then sold by an ex-employee during an

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

auction organized in collaboration with the sneaker collector Jordan Geller, owner of Shoezeum and of the record for the biggest sneaker collection of the world. The shoe is now owned by the Swiss startup Support Your Localz, founded by Andrea Antonacci. On June 29, 2019, Nike commemorated Vince Carter's career by re-releasing his first signature shoe, the Shox BB4, in various colorways, including the "Olympics" variant.

sported the shoes in different colorways throughout the

2018–19 NBA season The 2018–19 NBA season was the 73rd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 16, 2018, and ended on April 10, 2019. The 2019 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 17, 2019, at the Spectrum Cen ...

and 2019-20 NBA season. Carter famously wore the model during the

when he pulled off "''le dunk de la mort''" ("the Dunk of Death"). The shoe worn by Carter in the

2001 NBA All-Star Game The 2001 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 11, 2001 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., home of the Washington Wizards. This game was the 50th edition of the North American National Basketball As ...

, a white and varsity red colorway, was re-released on October 11, 2019. Several other colorways that Vince wore on-court throughout his final years in the NBA were also released.

References

External links

* {{Nike, Inc., state=collapsed Nike brands

Overview

History

See also

References

External links