words // Zack Schlemmer
In 1993 Nike did a series of "Nike Barbershop" commercials featuring the likes of Tim Hardaway, Chris Webber, Latrell Sprewell, and the player you'll see in these commercials: Dennis Rodman. Early in his career, Rodman wore Reeboks, but by the time he signed with the San Antonio Spurs he had switched to Nike. The Air Darwin, which most of you have by now seen redesigned as the Air Max Darwin 360 dropping this Spring, was the first Nike shoe associated with Dennis. The Darwin was designed as a durable shoe suitable for outdoor or indoor play and was a precursor to the NDESRUKT line which Rodman's later shoe, the popular Air Shake, was a member of. (Although the new Darwin 360 has the NDESTRUKT logo, the originals did not.)
In these two commercials you'll see Dennis in the white/black/teal colorway of the Darwin, chatting with his peers Tim Hardaway and David Robinson, and also basketball legends Artis Gilmore and George Gervin. In the first commercial, Dennis jokes about how the shoe was not named after him, and that "They should at least paint the bottom blonde or something!" In the second commercial Tim (also wearing another colorway of the Darwin) and David give him a hard time about his two championship rings.
In addition to the new Air Max Darwin 360, who would like to see this original version re-released?
