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Tinker Haven Hatfield is the renowned designer of many of Nike's most popular and innovative athletic shoe designs, including the Air Jordan III through Air Jordan XV, the twentieth anniversary Air Jordan XX, the final numbered Air Jordan, the XXIII, the 2010 (XXV) and other athletic sneakers including the world's first "cross training" shoes, the Nike Air Trainer. Hatfield oversees Nike's "Innovation Kitchen".

Early life
Born in Hillsboro, Oregon on April 30, 1952, Tinker Hatfield attended Central Linn High School where he earned distinction as an accomplished basketball player, an All-American Track & Field star in hurdles and vaulting. He was an All State running back and Sunkist All American (Top 100) football player. In 1970, Tinker was named the State of Oregon’s top individual high school athlete. In 1971 Tinker was the first High School athlete in state history to win four individual track events at the State Championships (100, High Hurdles, Low Hurdles, and Pole Vault). In all, Tinker won eleven individual state championships.

Tinker studied architecture at the University of Oregon while being coached by the legendary Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike. He held the UO record in the pole vault and placed sixth in the 1976 Olympic trials. After graduation, Tinker practiced architecture in Eugene until 1981 when he joined up with Nike to design offices, apparel showrooms and Nike retail outlets.

Hatfield grew up in Halsey in Linn County, Oregon, and loved basketball Central Linn High School. In high school he was an all-state selection as basketball player, football player, and an All-American in track and field, leading to him being named as the athlete of the year in 1970 for high school athletes in Oregon. He then attended the University of Oregon where he ran track for coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman, and at one time had the pole vault record at the school. Academically, he studied architecture and graduated from the University of Oregon School of Architecture.

Nike
In late 1985, Tinker began designing Nike products, becoming Creative Director of product design in 1989. Tinker was named Vice President of Nike Design in 1993. In addition to helping design the first ever cross training shoe (the Air Trainer) Tinker has earned global recognition for imagination and innovation in his collaborations with Michael Jordan for the Air Jordan line. Tinker and Michael Jordan are good friends to this day. Tinker’s other credits include the second Air Max running shoes, the Air Huarache series, Andre Agassi footwear and apparel, Pete Sampras footwear and apparel, Cross Training, Nike ACG, and the creation of Nike’s secret design think tank called the Innovation Kitchen.

In addition to working with Michael Jordan each year, Tinker currently creates specialized Nike athletic products for champion athletes including Dwayne Wade, Roger Federer, and numerous Track and Field Athletes. He also spends time mentoring young Nike designers and helping to build the Nike of the future.

Hatfield joined Nike in 1981 and in 1985 started working on shoe design. He realized that his architectural skills also could be applied to athletic shoes. Hatfield was also published for the architectural design of his Portland, Oregon home. He claims to have designed the cross-trainer as a "multi-sport" shoe when he realized people at his Oregon gym brought various sneakers with them for diverse activities such as basketball, aerobics, weightlifting and jogging. In 1987, Tinker Hatfield designed the Air Max 1 Running Shoe after visiting the Centre Georges Pompidou. The visible airbag and lightweight engineering ensured status as the icon of the original running Shoe. Also Tinker created the famous Infrared Air Max 90 shoe, which has retroed many times since its initial 1990 release.

Sportstyle Magazine listed Hatfield as one the most influential people on the business side of sports in both 1993 and 1996, while Fortune pegged him as one of the "100 Most Influential Designers" of the twentieth century in 1998. He also created the graphic design on the basketball court at the Matthew Knight Arena at the University of Oregon when the facility opened in 2011.

Hatfield's younger brother, Tobie Hatfield, joined Nike in 1990 as a senior engineer.

University of Oregon
Tinker is primarily responsible for the re-branding of the University of Oregon, including conceptualizing the ‘O’, redesigning uniforms; changing colors, and contributing architectural work such as designing the new University of Oregon video replay board, and the controversial new basketball floor at Mathew Knight Arena.

Design Contributions and Collaborations

 * Air Jordan
 * Air Trainer
 * Air Max
 * Air Huarache
 * Andre Agassi
 * Dwayne Wade
 * Roger Federer
 * Michael Jordan (ongoing)

Honors, Awards, and Publications
In 1993, Tinker won an International Design Award for the Air Huarache. In 1993 and 1996, he was named one of the 100 most Influential People in the sports business by Sportstyle Magazine. In 1998, Fortune Magazine named Tinker one of the 100 Most Influential Designers of the century. Some of Tinker’s design work for the Air Jordan is included in the Smithsonian Museum for design. He has been the subject of sneaker collector documentaries and cover stories on several magazines such as Sole Collector and ESPN Magazine. More recently, Tinker was recognized by Fast Company Magazine as one of the top current design influencers.

Tinker has written for the Harvard Business Review in addition to appearing in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Fortune Magazine and many other publications. He has also spoken at numerous design conferences around the world.

Extracurricular Activities
Outside of Nike, Tinker spends much of his time with his wife and three daughters. He attends football games at Grant High School in Portland, and volunteer coaches for the track team. In Tinker’s spare time he enjoys, playing music, surfing, sailing, water-skiing, rock climbing, bicycling, motorcycling, and figuring out other new ways to get injured.