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"This is the Oral History Of: the Air Force 1 Prototype. My name is DJ Willingham, and I am a content creator on all social platforms. This is the Department of Nike Archives, over five different decades of heritage, inspiration, and truth."

"And now I want to introduce our guests today. My name is Ernesto Mayz, and I am the Senior Product Line Manager for Nike Classics. My name is Hirotaka Usui. I'm a Footwear Designer for Men's Lifestyle Classics."

"The DNA Archives are a second home to Product Teams. Usually, when a project is starting, this is the place that we come to for inspiration. So, jumping ahead first, can you describe the impact in modern culture of the Air Force 1 in one word?"

"I'll go with 'iconic.' So when it comes to 'iconic,' break that down a little bit for me. The thing about Air Force 1. I know you talked about modern culture, but the reality is that it's been a staple. It's timeless. And regardless of the decade in which you play into, the Air Force 1 has been a part of it."

"The Air Force 1 started as a basketball shoe in 1982, and at the time, the design was revolutionary. Even though right now it probably seems like a very normal silhouette. We're all familiar with it. At the time, it was very much pushing the edges of what a basketball shoe could be."

"It was also the first time that we featured Air inside of a basketball shoe which was also pretty iconic in its time. So, can you explain to the people what a prototype is, and how it kind of functions within the industry? A prototype was meant to be an exercise for learning."

"So, we make some prototypes as an object, and then we learn a lot of things through that, the process. We have a lot of detours for the first couple rounds."

"And some shoes could go longer on that detour than others. Some are just kind of quick. And sometimes it might take even more years just to get that final product. Yeah, but always, a mistake is a really good ingredient to making a good product."

"We, as the next generation of designers, we respect what other people think in the past, so we can achieve the goal within the latest technology of what we have. There's so much going on within the community, so..."

"How have you seen the changes from then to now? I think, culturally, what you see is that it became a vehicle for exploration. People wanted to put their hands on them, and the culture just kind of took over."

"Here we have it! The Air Force 1 Unity. Please tell me about this shoe right here. This is exciting. This is very exciting. This is the first time this has been unveiled. It's called the Air Force 1 Unity because it's about..."

"Really unifying and bringing multiple generations together to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Air Force 1, but not only use it as a celebration of the past, but as a platform to start building what the next 40 years of Air Force 1 will look like."

"We talked about prototypes earlier. This is the Air Force 1 prototype that led to the inspiration to the original Air Force 1. Looking back to the original vision was the way that we show our honesty, so like the prototype was a great..."

"Vehicle to kind of be honest about what we should do for Air Force 1 with the 40th Anniversary. What you see out here in the outsole is actually what we're calling the Air Force 1 Manifesto. And what this does is that it truly captures..."

"The voice of consumers all over the world, and also people all over Nike, to shape and explain what Air Force 1 means to us and to the culture. And what you'll see there is that, at the end of the day, what makes Air Force 1 special..."

"Is that it's not about the hype. It's about what you do while wearing the shoe. This is almost like, after you wear that shoe, it's kind of gone eventually, but it makes it like you're a part of the journey."

"Thanks for hosting. We appreciate you. You are definitely a part of the Air Force 1 family now. This is Ernesto Mayz. Thank you for watching. Thank you so much for having us. My name is Hirotaka Usui."