The Origins of the Rugged Nike Air Max 95 NDSTRKT ‘Neon’
The OG ‘Neon’ retro is being joined by a rough and rugged NDSTRKT edition that has copious winterised upgrades, and will release globally very soon. But first, a little history lesson.
The NDSTRKT moniker actually refers to a line of outdoor-specific basketball shoes originally known as NDESTRUKT (vowels are so uncool, so Nike must’ve dropped them for these new 95s) that had beefier rubber outsoles and, in some cases, extra upper panels to resist abrasion. Some of the best known sneakers in this series include the – famously worn by Dennis Rodman – and the eponymous Air NDESTRUKT, which debuted in 1995. No points for guessing what else dropped that year…
Which brings things back nicely to this Air Max 95 NDSTRKT. Its sibling featured aforementioned abrasion panels, and now they’ve been grafted onto the techy Air Max model’s toe cap and side panels. In fact, the layered upper has been eschewed for this new durable build, exposing extended lace loops that have been coated in reflective material. The departure isn’t too radical beyond this, except the beefier outsole tread. Elsewhere, the familiar mesh overlays, reflective heel panel, and classic ‘Neon’ accents have been retained.
Consider this an alternate-timeline Air Max 95. They’re out now in regions like Australia, but a global drop is on for December 30.