Brand New: 2006 ARI MENTHOL 10's - SIZE 13, DS #5 Of 252, Air Force One AF1
USD $12,495.95
Condition : New with box
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Brand New: 2006 ARI MENTHOL 10's - SIZE 13, DS Nike Air Force One AF1. Condition is "New with box". Shipped with USPS Priority Mail. #5 of 252. Lowest # pair of size 13s made.
Ari Saal Forman, a sneakerhead and graphic designer from LA who’d moved to Philadelphia and later New York, as a teenager grew up surrounded by the strong push in advertising that Newport menthol cigarettes were doing, particularly in African American communities. From the ’50s to the '2000s the percentage of menthol cigarette use among African American smokers had gone from 5% to a whopping 80% by the start of the new millennium. Newport, from a marketing standpoint, was in this way, very successful, although its product was actually dangerous for one's health, and this dichotomy has always fascinated Ari.
In the early 2000’s the internet was truly coming into its own, as a place for sneaker communities to flourish and there was a turning point were sneakers became a culture. E-bay and forums like Nike Talk were the first examples of this expansion, the beginning of something big. A big influence on Ari came from Japan in the form of the Bathing Ape 'bootleg' sneakers that Nigo (Tomoaki Nagao) had created because it showed that it didn’t have to be only Nike or adidas, and that something adventurous that Nike wouldn’t put out could still be successful, having even a higher value than an original, and was the spark for Ari to go about creating his own sneaker. Ari had started working in marketing and via his vocation ended up doing work for both Newport and Nike. Frustrated by Nike’s lack of creativity and New Ports successes in marketing something that will kill you in this glossy colourful way, he wanted to make a case study in the form of an art piece that posed a question to both these brands. For anyone who’s seen the Newport logo, known as the Spinnaker, will quickly note its strong resemblance to an upside-down Nike Swoosh. This laid the perfect graphic foundation for the starting point of the sneaker’s design, paired with Newports iconic turquoise green colour. Made in China, in only 252 pairs, which is what constitutes a sample run, they were released on the 17th of June 2006, sold exclusively via the Alife and Clientele in NY, the sneaker quickly became a sold-out cult classic and featured a lot of, particularly interesting details.
First off the shoe box resembled a huge cigarette pack, where the classic cigarette warning label had been edited to read, General Warning: Get Off The bandwagon! The text ‘Ari' replaced Nike’s brand text logo and the upside-down Newport Spinnaker replaced the Nike Swoosh. On the shoe itself, the inside tag came with the provocative text: "This sneaker is dedicated to the two brands who have taken the most and given the least. Thanks for the motivation, now it’s our turn” The in-sole looked like a cigarette filter, and for those that know their AF1's well, the stars just underneath the toe had been replaced by dollar signs. Finally, the classic “Air” text on the back of the sole had been replaced by “Ari.”
After the release and success of the sneaker, it didn’t take very long until both Nike and Newport came knocking on Ari’s door. Nike knocked first by sending a “Cease and desist” letter which is a standard statement saying, stop what you are doing and don’t do it anymore. Newport, on the other hand, came knocking much more aggressively and started legal actions against Ari. They demanded damages, and didn’t believe that the shoe had only been made in 252 pairs, to cut a long legal battle short, the shoe became banned and was ordered to be destroyed, going as far as under the terms of his settlement, Ari cannot legally own a pair of Menthol 10’s, he can’t use them, he can’t own a digital picture of them, can’t profit from them, can’t talk about them, essentially not being allowed to do anything related to the shoe. After a few years, the case died down, but we are now at a point where the exact number of the Menthol 10’s aren’t known and the chances of seeing a pair are pretty much near impossible, especially outside of the US, until now.
Ari Saal Forman, a sneakerhead and graphic designer from LA who’d moved to Philadelphia and later New York, as a teenager grew up surrounded by the strong push in advertising that Newport menthol cigarettes were doing, particularly in African American communities. From the ’50s to the '2000s the percentage of menthol cigarette use among African American smokers had gone from 5% to a whopping 80% by the start of the new millennium. Newport, from a marketing standpoint, was in this way, very successful, although its product was actually dangerous for one's health, and this dichotomy has always fascinated Ari.
In the early 2000’s the internet was truly coming into its own, as a place for sneaker communities to flourish and there was a turning point were sneakers became a culture. E-bay and forums like Nike Talk were the first examples of this expansion, the beginning of something big. A big influence on Ari came from Japan in the form of the Bathing Ape 'bootleg' sneakers that Nigo (Tomoaki Nagao) had created because it showed that it didn’t have to be only Nike or adidas, and that something adventurous that Nike wouldn’t put out could still be successful, having even a higher value than an original, and was the spark for Ari to go about creating his own sneaker. Ari had started working in marketing and via his vocation ended up doing work for both Newport and Nike. Frustrated by Nike’s lack of creativity and New Ports successes in marketing something that will kill you in this glossy colourful way, he wanted to make a case study in the form of an art piece that posed a question to both these brands. For anyone who’s seen the Newport logo, known as the Spinnaker, will quickly note its strong resemblance to an upside-down Nike Swoosh. This laid the perfect graphic foundation for the starting point of the sneaker’s design, paired with Newports iconic turquoise green colour. Made in China, in only 252 pairs, which is what constitutes a sample run, they were released on the 17th of June 2006, sold exclusively via the Alife and Clientele in NY, the sneaker quickly became a sold-out cult classic and featured a lot of, particularly interesting details.
First off the shoe box resembled a huge cigarette pack, where the classic cigarette warning label had been edited to read, General Warning: Get Off The bandwagon! The text ‘Ari' replaced Nike’s brand text logo and the upside-down Newport Spinnaker replaced the Nike Swoosh. On the shoe itself, the inside tag came with the provocative text: "This sneaker is dedicated to the two brands who have taken the most and given the least. Thanks for the motivation, now it’s our turn” The in-sole looked like a cigarette filter, and for those that know their AF1's well, the stars just underneath the toe had been replaced by dollar signs. Finally, the classic “Air” text on the back of the sole had been replaced by “Ari.”
After the release and success of the sneaker, it didn’t take very long until both Nike and Newport came knocking on Ari’s door. Nike knocked first by sending a “Cease and desist” letter which is a standard statement saying, stop what you are doing and don’t do it anymore. Newport, on the other hand, came knocking much more aggressively and started legal actions against Ari. They demanded damages, and didn’t believe that the shoe had only been made in 252 pairs, to cut a long legal battle short, the shoe became banned and was ordered to be destroyed, going as far as under the terms of his settlement, Ari cannot legally own a pair of Menthol 10’s, he can’t use them, he can’t own a digital picture of them, can’t profit from them, can’t talk about them, essentially not being allowed to do anything related to the shoe. After a few years, the case died down, but we are now at a point where the exact number of the Menthol 10’s aren’t known and the chances of seeing a pair are pretty much near impossible, especially outside of the US, until now.
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