After being promoted as lead shoe designer for Nike in 1987, Tinker's first project was working with the technology that Nike had available at the time. Nike was encapsulating gas inside a urethane air bag for a cushioning component. Tinker's idea was to make the bag a little bit wider and make sure it is stable but his next idea is what made him who he is today.
Tinker wanted to remove part of the midsole so you could actually see the air bag. After the images had released of Tinker's design, it had been discussed that he had pushed it to far. People wanted to get him fired because they thought there would be no way that people would ever buy a shoe that looked so fragile with an exposed air bag. After the product was finally released, it took off. This wasn't only a success for Nike but for all footwear design.
The Air Max 1 was built on taking a risk for a good reason. Not just only to tell a story but to make a better product.
