Another shoe in LeBron launch

BEAVERTON – While the main focus of the media launch was on LeBron James’ latest signature shoe LeBron 12, there was another fantasy pair for global sneaker-heads to drool over that made it to center stage during the inaugural proceedings at the Nike World Headquarters here recently.

Also unveiled was the Nike Zoom Hypercross Trainer which will hit stores with the lime-green “Volt” colorway on Oct. 10. Both the LeBron 12 and Hypercross Trainer feature the revolutionary hexagonal air-bag cushioning in the sole which makes for a more natural and fluid motion to cover the pressure points in the forefoot.

Nike Athletic Training Footwear Design Director Nate VanHook, a graduate of Industrial Design at Philadelphia University, was on hand to talk about the Hypercross Trainer. A former furniture designer who worked five years with a surfing company before joining Nike in 2008, VanHook has been described as a mad scientist by some. But he struck me more as a creative genius in a one-on-one conversation last Wednesday. Maybe, there is little distinction between a mad scientist and a creative genius.

VanHook said his latest baby was a collaboration of the entire Nike team coming together to create a cross trainer that delivers high intensity, power and obsession to every workout. “It starts with the athlete,” he explained. “Then, we get everyone working hand-in-hand to look at aesthetics, responsive cushioning, durability, comfort. We get data from the NSRL (Nike Sport Research Lab) and we do wear-tests. We’re obviously deep into innovation. With the Hypercross, we’re using the hexagon air-bags for the first time on trainers.”

The Hypercross features a lightweight mesh upper backed with soft, pliable foam for training-specific support, flywire cables integrated with the laces for lockdown in the forefoot, hexagonal air-bags, nubby delta node pattern on the rubber outsole, synthetic leather overlays for structure and support, multidirectional outsole patterns for traction and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) for a softness and stability. The shoe has phenomenal flexibility, something the invited media found out in wear-testing drills at the Nike Gym.

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James’ personal trainer Mike Macias supervised two sets of training exercises for 75 media from 12 countries. I put on the shoes like the others and went through two 30-minute sessions. One session split the group into fours and went through vertical hurdle progression for power, first step explosion and the tennis ball drop for speed, shuttle progression for agility and box tag for live action. We put on the Hypercross for that. The other session was basketball-centered with exercises on finishing with one-foot and two-foot contact driving to the hole and layups, shooting with the L-cut series, jumpers, one dribble-jab step and the attack series with the jab/cross/counter. We wore the LeBron 12s for the “fun” part.

Personally, I hadn’t felt as comfortable in trainers or basketball shoes as I did during the drills. The hexagonal air-bags on the sole made the difference. There was absolute no drag in moving forward, backward or laterally. Macias thought of the basketball exercises with the LeBron “experience” in mind. He even brought down the basket to eight feet to make it easier to attempt a dunk. Attempt, of course, was the key operative word. From a wear-testing point of view, both shoes got high marks from the visiting media.

“What Zoom Air brings (to) athletes, besides that responsive cushioned feel, is zero energy loss,” said VanHook whose previous Nike creations included rapper Kanye West’s Air Yeezy II and a slew of ACG hits. “That’s critical to ensure all their effort is directed into the training activity. With hexagonal Nike Zoom Air, we have been able to make a really lightweight training shoe that has great Zoom responsiveness in the forefoot with a level of flexibility that we just haven’t seen before.”

Matt Nurse, NSRL director, said the process of creating a shoe from design to production takes anywhere from four to 10 years and right now, the backroom is busy conjuring visions of models for the 2020 Olympics. That’s how far ahead the Nike thinkers are.  

Nurse said the motivation in creating the LeBron 12 is to produce a shoe fit for the best basketball player on the planet. Working with James in the lab, he said, is a wonderful experience because the King is easy-going and good-natured. Clearly, James knows what he wants in a shoe and the NSRL makes sure his demands are factored in the execution.

Nurse has a doctorate in biomechanics and medical science from the University of Calgary. The NSRL boasts of a multi-disciplinary team of researchers, scientists and innovators focusing on biomechanics, human physiology, sensory perception and data science. The team has 50 researchers, 17 of whom are PhDs. According to Nike, the NSRL’s mission is “to drive performance production innovation through knowledge and insights gained from a scientific understanding of athletes and athletic performance.”

Nurse said the NSRL’s focus is on form, force and fatigue, not aesthetics, through the lens of performance, protection and perception. “We take data from athletes and turn it into knowledge,” he said. “Some high profile examples have been heavily influenced by the lab like Nike SHOX, Nike FREE, low-top Kobe V, Pegasus, KD and of course, LeBron. It’s great to work with LeBron in the lab. When athletes come into the lab, we put them through a demanding set of experiments. They’re wired up to our machines. We’ve got them in motion capture suits. LeBron takes this all in stride. He’s always super nice, personable and friendly.”