k i c k s t a r t m o n d a y s : a i r j o r d a n III...

What more can be said about this iconic shoe? the first Jordan to be designed by the legend himself, Tinker Hatfield (if you didn't know already, Fatz and I are big Tinker fans). this shoe had a lot of firsts for the series and for the sneaker game in general. the first shoe to debut the now infamous and 'massacred' trend of the elephant print, the first Jordan to debut the Jumpman logo we've all come to associate the brand with (sorry wings logo, you just can't deny the silhouette of the G.O.A.T.) and the first Jordan to visibly display the air sole unit.

I've always had love for the Air Jordan III, in particular the "white/fire red - cement grey" colourway (shouts to "instapump" for the hookup on my pair!). I would highly consider this in my top 3 of all time if not my favourite sneaker of all time. i'm still fairly new to the sneakergame and wasn't fully introduced to the onslaught of colourways until 2006 when i started really noticing sneakers. something about these sneakers just appealed to me and I've been a fan ever since. I got my first pair of Jordan III's (my second Air Jordan from the numbered line) back in '06 when they first retroed the Fire Red colourway. These were a general release and I was able to snap up a pair at a local foot locker here in the T.O. Unlike my lucky American counterparts, not all colourways reach the great white north so i was happy to know that these were available.

This sneaker saved the landscape of the shoe game without even knowing it at the time. who would have thought that if the stars weren't aligned properly (here I go trying to be all spiritually lol), his Airness would have left the brand we know as the shoe giant Nike in favour for Adidas. Can you imagine that? the air Jordan line ending with only two shoes and the rest to be generated by Adidas under a different name? what would he have rocked during the dunk competition? can you imagine a world with the AJ IV, V, VI, XI and XIII? I can't!

For this we salute you Tinker! you've spawned generations of sneakerheads and will forever be remembered as the best designer in the game (I'm a Jordanhead so I'm biased!).

is it the shoes? it's gotta be the shoes, money! - mars blackmon