Sportswear giant Nike has always taken pride in their thoughtfully designed shoes that aim to help athletes in high-performance.
But now, the brand is launching a new kind of shoe not for athletes or daily sports and fitness activities, but for people with disabilities.
Called the Zoom Soldier 8 Flyease, the newest Nike creation features a zipper in lieu of laces to help disabled people wear it on and off with much ease. The development of the shoe actually took a long time, it was first designed seven years ago.
The idea for the Zoom Soldier 8 Flyease came when Nike employee named Jeff Johnson suffered from a stroke.
After Nike CEO Mark Parker heard about Johnson's stroke, he instantly informed Tobie Hatfield, the brand's Senior Director of Athlete Innovation.
Hatfield then began designing the shoe in such a way that Johnson would not have any difficulty in wearing them, given his condition.
After the shoe was manufactured, Johnson then pointed out that the design of the shoe could benefit more people aside from himself. This then prompted the sportswear giant to further develop the footwear.
As fate put it, Mark Parker also received a letter from Matthew Waltzer, a high school student, in 2012 requesting for help while stating that he suffers from cerebral palsy.
Waltzer noted that he always need to recruit his parents' help to tie his shoes, and even his schoolmates for times when he was in school. He noted that he wanted to be able to put on shoes on his own as he was about to start college.
Nike was so touched by Waltzer's letter that Hatfield collaborated with the high school student for three years to create the shoe that he could wear with ease.
But it didn't stop once Matthew Waltzer received his first shoes from Nike. Regardless of the distance, Hatfield was able to get information from Waltzer to help him develop an even better version of the sneaks.
In fact, Waltzer's love for basketball was the mere reason why Hatfield ended up designing the shoe to have zippers at the back end. The same shoe was also based on Johnson's custom pair that had "a door-like opening at the back which allowed the foot to easily slip in."
The Zoom Soldier 8 Flyease was then released three years later.
Watch the video below to find out how the Zoom Soldier 8 Flyease was concocted.
