Let’s start with some trivia surrounding this sneaker; what is the resounding title it dons OH so comfortably?
Avoid reading any further if you’re wanting to amicably accept our CHALLENGE, dipping a toe into Nike’s vast internet ARCHIVE.
Now to answer our own question, this is Nike’s TL AIR MAX IV from ‘99, unashamedly mistaken for 1998’s Air Max 98 TL on a regular basis. Though visually similar, their soles share very little in the way of technology; our Air Max IV envelopes tri-pressure units sat upon Carbon Rubber outsoles with Duralon forefoot detailing, whereas the TL 98 was 0.3oz heavier and boasted Nike’s Regrind sole. Interestingly, our silhouette in question went by many names - not limited to; ‘Air Max ‘99’, ‘TL ‘99’ and ‘120’ -- do any of these ring bells for those collecting what would become an article of footwear HISTORY after launch?
Unsurprisingly, TL stands for TOTAL in a similar fashion to Nike’s Shox line seen collaboratively sporting CDG, SIZE? AND grime artist SKEPTA’s palettes in recent years. Instead of Shox-tech, the TL IV featured a tri-pressure, full-length air-bag sole unit combined with shallow insteps to encourage the PERFECT stride for its wearer’s benefit. Furthering our topic’s runner-orientated reasons for existence, each step pushed the athlete’s foot forward upon impact with credit to a mercifully guiding set of lateral crash pads.
Paying extra attention to sole-attributes before venturing into the upper unknown, sculpted PHYLON provided substantial stability where required and bottomed-out with Nike’s renowned carbon rubber BRS 1000 outer layer. Despite this, some say the TL Air Max IV was an incredibly unstable pair on foot…
Swoosh’s original Air-Sole PATENTS were about to overstay their upsettingly non-renewable 20 year life span in 1999; fear not, we welcome DEREK WELCH to the floor. He adopted an elemental formula approach for carrying technology into a future whereby its legacy was clear for all to see, birthing a multitude of logos with RECOGNISABLE embellishments in tow.
