Tales From The Kitchen

The Nike Innovation Kitchen has cooked up some of the greatest products and technologies the sports world has ever seen. “Tales From The Kitchen” is a web series that takes a look inside the story of some of their most recent creations.

During a trip to China back in 2008, Shane Kohatsu noticed local ballers were wearing everything from running shoes to hiking boots. The game in China is predominantly played outside in humid conditions, and the courts are made of unforgiving asphalt, so naturally they were picking their footwear to deal with their environments. In some cases the running shoe’s breathability helped in the stifling conditions, and for others the strength of their hiking shoes meant their footwear would last on the blacktop. This is the story of the birth of Nike Hyperfuse.

In the early 2000s, Tobie Hatfield and a group of colleagues began a journey to find a way to bring to life the concept of training barefoot – a technique that helps strengthen the foot. Their goal was to create a product that replicated barefoot training while offering the support and traction of a lightweight performance shoe. This is the story of the birth of Nike Free.