Words by Community member Bjorn aka @180degreesofAir
Tell us about yourself (Where are you from, what do you do for a living?)
I'm Bjorn, running the @180degreesofAir account on Instagram out of the Netherlands. My daytime job is behind a desk and screen mostly, so let's fast forward to more interesting stuff.
How long have you been into sneakers and how did you get into them?
My passion for sneakers started at an early age, around 6 or 7 years I guess, so somewhere mid-80s. I was gifted a pair of sneakers from a brand I can't remember, but certainly nothing special. But I clearly remember the comfort they provided, as I only had worn leather kids' shoes before. That lack of focus on what they were changed after we as a family moved to another city, and I grew older. I remember harassing my parents to buy me a pair of Nike's, preferably 'Air Max'. I ended up with Nike Crosstrainers (white, blue details) from a discount store though. Nice, but I had seen and was wanting more. When I started to earn my own money, I was finally able to own my first pair of Air Max, the 1994 AM2, "Red Berry", women’s CW) and soon after those the AM2 Light, and some pairs of 95's, including the Neons. I won't call it collecting though, as most of the time I had two wearable pairs at max before I trashed them totally at house parties and moved on to the next pair. But that whole era definitely planted the seeds for my sneaker passion.
Tell us about your page and your love for max 180. When did it start? Why did you start the page?
From the story above you might have noticed the Air 180s missing. That’s as they came (and went) before I could buy them myself. But wearing my unbranded or Crosstrainer sneakers in 1991/92 I was amazed by them when they released. That huge Air bubble was truly ground breaking and never seen before. They were to me what we nowadays call grails. You could go down to your local sports shop and gaze at them and their very, very steep price. And that was also the reason why they were so close and yet so far away from me. I couldn't afford them, and my parents wouldn't buy me sneakers that would set them back for around €349 translated to this time. Can't blame them for that, but the sparkle they caused never faded.
Fast forward to 2018 I was searching for info on Air 180s in general around the time the CdG released, and the Ultramarine were coming. I only found shattered info in so many places, but IG was my best source. I decided to dedicate a page to pay tribute to the Air 180 silhouette and to gather and share all those stories and knowledge in one place. The main goal is by reposting earlier posts on IG, to pay tribute to a specific pair and its owner/photographer while at the same time providing more knowledge on that specific pair. See it as a simple digital catalogue on Air 180s. Besides that, I share info on upcoming releases, 180s on sale or for sale by others through posts, stories and some reels.
180 is your number 1, what other shoes are you in to?
It's all just Nike and mostly Air Max runners over here, from 1s to 95s. Besides those, some Span II, Skylon 2, AM97s, Spiridons, and Air Structure Triax are amongst my favorites in the collection. I also own several SB Dunk Lows as for me, this might be one of Nike's best silhouettes to collect and I have huge respect for the skating community. It's kinda like a love-hate relationship as I love the silhouette, but dislike them for the lack of comfort when I’m wearing them.
Where do you see the page going?
To me, it's Nike's best silhouette with only a small but dedicated group of enthusiasts buying and wearing them. So whenever Nike spits out new retro's like we see right now I'll keep on posting on the subject and try to share new stuff and their stories, insights and facts with 180 enthusiasts from all generations, but the preparation of these posts take up a lot of time as you're constantly searching for new info, posts and so on. Sometimes it becomes an unhealthy habit to try to keep up with all of this, so I try to balance that with other more important things in life. I hugely underestimated the time that goes into such a project and never expected to gather such a following, with the page becoming sucha a project . So basically, activity here will go up and down depending on activities from Nike and what I'm able to spend timewise.
We personally love it, how do you feel about the new 180 retro?
For me personally it's very clear. I think it's the best Air 180 retro ever since the release of the 6 OG CWs. Finally, we witness the return of the OG-sized Air bubble, the main feature of these when they launched. There is a frontfoot air unit as well, which no retro has ever received before and is true to the OG releases. Besides that, the shape and comfort are unmatched as well, but certainly comfort is different for each individual and therefore debatable. The level of detail @prestology and his team has put into this on a very high level. We see minor details such as stitching crossing the medial and lateral swoosh again, heel logo's that are identical to the OG pairs and above all they come in silver OG styled boxes again. It's not a 100% match though, the bottom of the Air Bubble is slightly different, the midsole is a bit thicker and the AIr 180 booklet is not included in the 2024 package. But I'm not worried by what is not there or not a 100% match, but grateful that this is the best retro I've ever seen as I have never expected to see these so close to the OG again after, from an enthusiasts perspective, the 30th anniversary of the Air 180 went by seemingly unnoticed by Nike.
The Olympic colour way has been retro’d. What are your thoughts on it?
First of all; the timing is great. To release these in an Olympic year, during the Olympic Games, is another detail that tells us that the team knows Air 180 history. That famous series of photos by Walter Looss, where Michael Jordan is wearing this OG CW in his USA Dream Team kit around the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona made the silhouette iconic, even more in the US where runners are less popular compared to Europe. Second, to do that with an eye for detail like bringing back the golden Nike Air heel logo (the 2013 retro received a Concord coloured heel logo) along with a matte black TPU heel clip, both similar to the OG release make this pair special to me.
Do you have any sneaker regrets and what is your sneaker grail?
I wouldn't call it a regret, as times were different then. But looking back at all the OG pairs like the AM2s, different '95s including Neons and Slates and (Jewel swoosh) AM1s that I trashed at house parties in the '90s and '00s makes me wonder sometimes why I didn't realise the nostalgic value of those pairs. I don't think the outcome would have been very different, but I might have kept them trashed and all, or just even their boxes instead of throwing it all away. I don't have a real grail, as I like to wear them and I’m not really interested in owning all OG pairs that lay crumbling in their boxes or on a display. I tend to look at my (only) OG Air 180 pair from time to time, but each time it's also a bit sad to see them fall apart even more with each movement of the box. Highest on my wish list though, is a re-release of the OG Air 180 "Clear Turquoise" Womens CW from 1991, aka "Aqua's". This CW has never received the retro treatment to date and is the missing piece of my OG CW retro line up.
What sneakers are in your rotation currently?
Right now both the 2024 and the 2013 retro Air 180 Ultramarines receive a lot of wear, but I also find myself wearing my Air Max Zero's a lot. If you like the comfort of 180s, you probably like the Zero's as well, that open mesh of these is perfect for hot summer days and more breathable as Air 180 but maintain that sock-like snug fit and a comfortable midsole. The Span and Skylon retros have been out in the sun a lot as well lately.
Aside from sneakers what else are you into?
Besides spending time with the family, that would be sports. Endurance sports mostly, like running and cycling. I enjoy spending time outside while pushing your limits and exploring surroundings, both local and afar. And the funny thing is, I don't run in Nikes as other brands seem to fit my feet better when it comes to running specs. I might try the new Air Pegasus 41 though just out of curiosity. I'm also keeping a close watch on Nike making small steps into cycling again with the recent signing of Demi Vollering as a Nike Athlete, the Swoosh logo returning in the Men's World Tour and where Nigel Sylvester's Bike Air line is heading to. So, even when I'm not busy with sneakers, I'm still busy with Nike ;)
Quick fire round:
Whats the best 180 ever released? Easily the OG Air 180 Ultramarine for me. That's the one that truly triggered my sneaker enthusiasm to the level it is today.
If you could go back in time, what year you going back to?
1991. I would try to track down a very mysterious pair of OG Air 180s. To my knowledge there is a seventh CW produced back then, probably a sample/prototype that I've only seen on 2 or 3 pics bad pics of them. It's a purple-ish looking pair, with black accents and the swoosh, the TPU heel clip, the wedge around the bubble and the toe tip are dressed in gold. It has been displayed on the old Opium-Crew website years ago but nobody seems to know exactly the story behind them though. So if you're reading this, and you do know; please hit me up in the DMs as I don't see a time-machine on any release calendar popping up soon.
Concord or ultramarine?
Nothing matches the Ultramarine for me, so I'll choose these always, over any CW or silhouette. It simply is the best sneaker for me
