SELECT Collections: BikeManX Part 2 – Air Force 1s
A few weeks ago, we brought you a look at Bronx collector extraordinaire BikeManX’s incredible collection of PEs, samples, rarities, and special editions, but it barely scratched the surface of the jaw-dropping treasures that lie within. With his all-time favorite shoe being the Nike Air Force 1, you can imagine that he’s got quite the stockpile of them, and Part 2 of our BikeManX SELECT Collections feature focuses on just that.
If you like Air Force 1s, you’ve come to the right place, as we can confidently say you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more extensive assortment of rare AF1 heat anywhere on the web. When it comes to PEs, promo samples, and obscure AF1 gems, there aren’t too many collectors out there that can hold a candle to what BMX is sitting on, so get comfy and dig into one of the most impressive Air Force 1 arsenals you’ll ever lay eyes on.
SN: How many pairs of Air Force 1s do you own?
BikeManX: Wow, I’m gonna be honest. I have no idea. I lost count a long time ago, but the majority of shoes in my collection are AF1s.
Nike Air Force 1 High Rasheed Wallace PEs
SN: What was the first pair of Air Force 1s you ever owned?
BikeManX: The first pair I ever owned was the 1994 AF1 Mid, the suede pecan/pecan color with the black midsole. That was the first and last pair I owned for a while. Fast forward to the year 2000 when my boy @REEFHUSTLE put me back on to the AF1.
Then I met @BUCKWILD_DITC who also was heavy in the AF1 game. Then I started going crazy with it. I blame those two for where I’m at with my whole Air Force 1 craze.
Nike Air Force 1 LeBron PE – White/Navy/Curry Laser
Nike Air Force 1 LeBron PE “Four Horsemen”
Nike Air Force 1 LeBron PE – White Laser
Nike Air Force 1 LeBron PE – White/Green/Blue Laser
Nike Air Force 1 LeBron PE – “Chamber of Fear”
SN: What is it about the Air Force 1 that makes it your favorite model ever?
BikeManX: What makes it my favorite is the shape. The AF1 is just a dope looking shoe. It’s clean, they come in low cut, mid cut, and hightop and I like the fact you can wear the af1 with anything, even a suit. The colors and designs they come in are bold, yet simple.
Nike Air Force 1 LeBron PE “Dunkman”
Nike Air Force 1 LeBron PE “Saturday Night Live”
Nike Air Force 1 LeBron PE – Tan Suede
Nike Air Force 1 LeBron PE – Coach Leather
SN: When did you start collecting Air Force 1 PEs and what were some of the first pairs you got your hands on?
BikeManX: I started collecting AF1’s PE’s back in 2004. The first pairs I ever acquired were Rasheed Wallace AF1 Highs. They were two versions from back when he was playing for the Detroit Pistons. One was all white patent leather with the Swoosh, strap and midsole in blue. The second pair was all white patent leather
with the Swoosh, strap and midsole in red. Those two pairs are what started it all for me with the PEs. I would walk down the street and people would stop and ask me “Where can I get those from?”, or “how’d you get those?”. Shout out to Paul for plugging me in with Sneakerpimp Joe for those two Sheed AF1 PEs.
Nike Air Force 1 “LeBron James”
Nike Air Force 1 LeBron PE “Four Horsemen”
Nike Air Force 1 LeBron PE “China Tour”
Nike Air Force 1 LeBron PE – Coach Leather
Nike Air Force 1 LeBron PE – Seamless Patent Promo Sample
SN: What’s your all-time favorite pair of Air Force 1s?
BikeManX: My favorite AF1 of all-time has to be the Mark Smith Laser. Cashmere, tan, laser etch all over.
Nike Air Force 1 – Mark Smith Laser
Nike Air Force 1 – Stephan Maze Georges Laser
Nike Air Force 1 – Stephan Maze Georges Laser (Promo Sample)
SN: What are some of your most prized pairs in your collection?
1) “Bogeyman” AF1 made for Andrew Bogut, first Australian NBA player to be drafted number one overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2005. Bogey was one of the nicknames he was called when he was a kid. The purple and green patent color way is crazy!
2) Cal Ripken Jr AF1 – 1 of 25 pair made when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007.
3) Tony Gwynn AF1 – 1 of 6 pairs made also for the 2007 Hall of Fame induction.
4) LeBron “Dunkman” AF1 with laser etched lion head on the heel, Dunkman logo on the tongue, his old number 23 on the back of the tongue on the shoe perforated white leather butter soft black leather one of the rarest Lebron James AF1s made it’s a sick PE.
Nike Air Force 1 Kobe PE – Royal/White/3M
Nike Air Force 1 Kobe PE – White/Red
Nike Air Force 1 Kobe PE “Elephant”
Nike Air Force 1 Kobe PE – White/Green/3M
SN: What are some of the rarest Air Force 1s you own?
1) Jimmy Rollins All-Star/MVP AF1 PE
2) Albert Pujols St. Louis Cardinals All-Star/MVP AF1 PE
3) Stephan Maze Georges Laser AF1 promo sample
4) All pink Terror squad Fat Joe AF1
Nike Air Force 1 Kobe PE “Curry”
Nike Air Force 1 Kobe PE “Denim”
Nike Air Force 1 Kobe PE “Denim” (Frayed)
Nike Air Force 1 Kobe PE – White/Grey/3M
SN: Which of your AF1s was the hardest to get your hands on and what lengths did you go to to get them?
BikeManX: There are two different AF1s in my collection that were the most difficult to acquire. That would be the Cal Ripken Jr and Tony Gwynn 2007 Hall of Fame induction AF1s. All I’m gonna say is a plane ticket was purchased and I flew thousands of miles to get them, but it was worth the trip for me.
Nike Air Force 1 – Cal Ripken, Jr. 2007 Hall of Fame Induction PE (1 of 25)
Nike Air Force 1 – Tony Gwynn 2007 Hall of Fame Induction PE (1 of 6)
Nike Air Force 1 – Albert Pujols PE
Nike Air Force 1 – Jimmy Rollins PE
SN: Which AF1s are on your wish list to track down?
BikeManX: I’m trying to track down two different version of AF1s made for Marshall Faulk – white/navy blue/gold colorway with the St. Louis rams logo on the heels. Those are the only two pairs that are on my wish list that I absolutely know were produced.
Nike Air Force 1 – Pro Bowl 2006
Nike Air Force 1 – Pro Bowl 2007
Nike Air Force 1 – Pro Bowl 2007
Nike Air Force 1 – Pro Bowl 2008
Nike Air Force 1 – Pro Bowl 2008 (Promo Sample)
Nike Air Force 1 – Pro Bowl 2008
Nike Air Force 1 – Pro Bowl 2008
Nike Air Force 1 – Pro Bowl 2010
SN: What are some of the most recent AF1s you’ve picked up?
BikeManX: I just recently picked up a pair of Rasheed Wallace promo sample AF1s in all navy blue suede with the big white sheed logo on the side of each shoe. Light grey suede toe panel, all white with blue speckled midsole and Sheed’s number 30 on the back. The number three on the back of the left shoe and the number zero on the back of the right shoe. Really rare.
Nike Air Force 1 Carmelo Anthony PE – Green/White
Nike Air Force 1 Carmelo Anthony PE – White
Nike Air Force 1 Damon Stoudamire PE
Nike Air Force 1 Andrew Bogut PE
Nike Air Force 1 High Rasheed Wallace PE – Navy Suede
SN: How do you feel about the rippled Lunar sole that’s being used on a lot of recent Air Force 1 releases?
BikeManX: Personally, I don’t like the look of the Lunar midsole on the AF1, but I had to try them on and I have to say they’re very comfortable. I prefer the original AF1 look though.
Nike Air Force 1 Mike Bibby “Team Dime” PE – White
Nike Air Force 1 Mike Bibby “Team Dime” PE – Black/White
Nike Air Force 1 Amare Stoudemire PE
Nike Air Force 1 Amare Stoudemire PE
SN: With all the options out there, the Air Force 1 has taken a bit of a dip in popularity in recent years. What’s your take on the current state of the AF1 and what Nike can do to revitalize it?
BikeManX: In my opinion, I strongly think that the Air Force 1 has not taken a dip. I see a lot of people wearing Forces. I mean, Nike is doing a bunch of different things with the AF1. You have the ID program, the Bespoke program, a lot of collaborations with designers. They’re actually putting out some pretty dope stuff. A lot of nice looking general releases. The Air Force 1, no matter the color or style, is affordable and is worn more than a lot of other sneakers out there in my opinion. When I’m traveling, I see more people wearing AF1s than almost anything else, but to each his own.
Nike Air Force 1 “Terror Squad” Pink
Nike Air Force 1 Vince Carter Laser PE
Nike Air Force 1 Mid “Canada”
Nike Air Force 1 – Denver All-Star 2005 (Promo)
Nike Air Force 1 – Denver All-Star 2005
Nike Air Force 1 – Houston All-Star 2006 “Astros”
Nike Air Force 1 – Houston All-Star 2006
Nike Air Force 1 – Phoenix All-Star 2009
Nike Air Force 1 – Jay Z “Black Album” PE
Nike Air Force 1 “Playstation”
Nike Air Force 1 “Playstation” Leather Sample
Nike Air Force 1 “Head Automatica”
Nike Air Force 1 “One Night Only”
Nike Air Force 1 – BET Hip-Hop Awards 2008
Mad Hectic x Nike Air Force 1
Kaws x Nike Air Force 1 1World
Yi Jian Lian x Nike Air Force 1 Supreme
Yi Jian Lian x Nike Air Force 1 1World
Questlove x Nike Air Force 1 1World
Booba x Nike Air Force 1 1World
Busy P x Nike Air Force 1 1World
Marok x Nike Air Force 1 1World
Hajime Tachibana x Nike Air Force 1 High 1World
Uslu Airlines x Nike Air Force 1 High 1World
Nike Air Force 1 Crocodile Lux
Nike Air Force 1 Supreme Max “Knicks”
Nike Air Force 1 High 25th Anniversary Force Pack
Nike Air Force 25 “USA”
Nike Air Force 1 High “NY Destroyer”
Nike Air Force 1 Black History Month 2003 (Promo Sample)
Nike Air Force 1 Black History Month 2006
Nike Air Force 1 Black History Month 2008
Nike Air Force 1 Black History Month 2010
LIVESTRONG x Mr. Cartoon x Nike Air Force 1
LIVESTRONG x Busy P x Nike Air Force 1
LIVESTRONG x UNDFTD x Nike Air Force 1
Nike Air Force 1 House of Hoops Exclusive – Black/Grey
Nike Air Force 1 House of Hoops Exclusive – Black/Mustard
Nike Air Force 1 House of Hoops Exclusive – Black/Wine
Nike Air Force 1 – Blue/Red Canvas Sample
Nike Air Force 1 Mid “Chocolate Suede” 1998
Nike Air Force 1 – Grey Canvas
Nike Air Force 1 – Black/Grey Pebbled Leather
Nike Air Force 1 High – Grey/Navy
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Huge thanks to Gerald (@BikeManX) for all the hard work that went into putting this all together!
Photos: TAK, Norman Cacho