Tinker Hatfield is teeming with stories.
The legendary-doesn’t-even-do-him-justice shoe designer can talk for hours about numerous subjects, from Oregon’s natural beauty, to his sit-downs with Phil Knight or the time his wife accidentally sold a pair of rare Jordans at a garage sale. (“Thems the breaks,” she told her husband after selling a pair that were one of only a few in the world.) Hatfield, however, believes he tells his best tales through his shoes.
“I’ve often said, I’m a storyteller,” Hatfield explained to Sports Illustrated from a glowing room filled with shoes on Nike’s campus. “I happen to tell my stories through what I’m designing.