The launch of the first Nike Free shoe a decade ago marked the debut of Nike’s first shoe to openly tout the benefits of natural motion, but the concept itself had been brewing inside Nike’s design department for decades.

The idea of a shoe that set the foot free to move naturally would find expression over the years in a series of shoes that often seemed odd at the time, but which, collectively, would form a direct lineage to Nike Free—proving that they were, perhaps, merely ahead of their time.

And as Nike Free continues to expand the boundaries of natural motion and influence footwear design across the world of sport, it’s worth looking back at some of the shoes that influenced the development of Nike free itself.

A motley collection of unique footwear that often exhibited Nike Free DNA—and always exhibited a Free spirit.