Gird Your Laces ‘Cos There’s A 3-Storey Goddamn Air Max Shrine In Sydney

PEDESTRIAN.TV has partnered with Nike because… hold on, we’re just composing ourselves sorry… because there’s a whole goddamn building, being dedicated to a whole goddamn month, that’s being dedicated to the goddamn Air Max. It might be hard but please try to remain calm. There’s a whole heap of Air Max orientated action happening at the the Air Max Lab in the lead up to Air Max Day on March 26th – keep reading to find out what’s going down and how you can attend the location’s first event.


March is just a regular calendar month for most, but for sneaker heads it marks the annual celebration of Nike’s iconic shoe, the Air Max. The Month of Max is celebrated across the globe in the lead up to Air Max Day (AKA Air Max’s birthday) on March 26th, and the festivities in Sydney are huge this year – three storey building, huge.

Photo: Nike / Supplied.
Yep, Nike’s taken over a recently vacated, heritage corner building in Surry Hills, to host Sydney’s very first Air Max dedicated space. The interactive experience will open bit by bit, with the building’s floors becoming accessible as the month progresses. On Air Max Day it’ll be open for the public to explore in its entirety. 
The Air Max Lab will feature:
  • Curated Air Max collections from some of Australia’s premiere collectors.
  • Interactive and immersive sneaker design experiences – focusing on some of Nike’s most revered partnership – HTM (a three person design collaboration between Nike chief executive Mark Parker, designer Tinker Hatfield and cultural consultant Hiroshi Fujiwara).
  • Design, art and installations inspired by Air Max from some of Australia’s best artists.
  • The latest Nike sneaker launches, including the Air Max BW Ultra (which you can shop directly in the Lab).
  • Custom sneaker services including a cleaning station, and a lace + dubrae bar.
Mmmm, dat sneaker cleaning service doe.
The first event to take place in the Air Max Lab will be on March 12th and there’s a few spots left. The Max Talk introduces a select amount of attendees to Sydney’s designated Masters of AirSimon ‘Woody’ Wood, Jazz Bonifacio and Chris Kevin Au – who’ll be putting on a Q&A style interview session discussing things like the Air Max genealogy and their favourite Air Max shoe of all time.
Photo: Nike / Supplied.
Head HERE to register your keen interesting in hitting up the event. 
If you need a lil’ extra incentive (we’re sure you don’t) to register, our mate Mo gave us the run-down on why the Air Max is such an iconic sneaker and why you’ll want to drop in on the Max Lab. 
Mo Moubayed and his friends hit the nail right on the head conceptually when they came up with the idea for their space.
Photo: Butter / Supplied.
Butter is a recently-opened hybrid sneaker, fried chicken and champagne bar in Surry Hills,” he says. 
Photo: Butter / Supplied.

If you haven’t heard of Butter before, we understand why you suddenly need to sit down for a second. Sneakers + fried chicken + champagne. Seriously, what more is there to life?
“Our theory is quite simple: create a place where you would like to go. All the founders of Butter love sneakers so it was a no brainer. We wanted to build a place where you could have great food and drinks but also appreciate sneakers if you were a seasoned sneaker head or just wanted to know more about them. Luckily, we had Julian Cincotta (Head Chef of Thievery, ex Nomad and Rockpool) on our team to create amazing fried chicken.”
We’d like to echo that it is, in fact, amazing chicken. Seeing as there’s a focus on sneakers at Butter, and because Butter’s catering events at the Air Max Lab on the 12th and 17th of March, Mo was a great guy to talk as we head into the Month of Max.
“As I grew up, my appreciation for sneakers developed. My favourite Air Max is the Air Max 1. It is a testament to its timeless design (a sneaker that was released when I was 4 years old is still one of my favourites!)”
“From a young age, I was always jealous of my older brother’s sneakers. The day my eldest brother came home with a pair of Air Max 95 Neon was a notable moment. It was in this moment I truly believed owning a pair would complete my life.”

Mo believes that the Air Max took air – something that we’re surrounded by – and not only utilised it, but made it luxurious as well.  
“Air Max did the unimaginable. The thought of walking on air was more luxurious yet more comfortable than anything else, and the fact that you could now see it was a huge breakthrough. Ever since then, they have continued to push the limits.”
“To be great you need to be able to cross boundaries, time and cultures. Air Max has been doing that since its inception.”
To him, there were three pivotal moments in the creation of our present sneaker culture.
“Sportsperson: Michael Jordan and the banned AJ1. Designer: Tinker Hatfield and the AM1. Celebrity: Jerry Seinfeld.”
One of the main elements the Air Max Lab is focusing on is the work of HTM –  Nike chief executive Mark Parker, designer Tinker Hatfield and cultural consultant Hiroshi Fujiwara. Mo’s a firm believer that HTM really did, and continues to, shake up the shoe game. 
“Without HTM, sneakers would not be as we know them today.”
If you would like to know more about the talks and events taking place in the Month of Max at the Air Max Lab, head to Nike’s website HERE.
Photo: Nike / Supplied.

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