Memory Lane Pt. 6: Nike Air Maestro Flight 1992

some dope early 90's Flights, including Dynamic, Air Bound, Solo and of course Maestro 1 (Pic via flattophitop.blogspot.com)

During the summer of 1992 I developed an even greater passion for basketball, in fact I played out-doors all summer, listening to Leaders of the New School and A Tribe Called Quest on this ratty old boom box. I was balling heavy in my Huarache Flights, which have a very soft foam-like sole, needless to say I destroyed those joints (shoulda had some AIr Raids for the streeball steez). So back to school I go, and I decide to go out for my junior high basketball team and needed a new pair especially for that. Back to the Foot Locker I go, this time around I don’t really remember picking the shoes, or what else I had to choose from. I also can’t quite re-call if I had seen the Maestro worn by NBA or NCAA players yet, but I think I remember Golden State Warriors Rookie Latrell Sprewell may have worn them and since I was a die-hard Warriors fan (still am) I wanted them. No matter how I came up with the decision, I now had my very own pair of Nike Air Maestro 1, in black/white – these went so hard!


This shoe was by far one of my all-time favourite shoes to ball in, they were light, well cushioned and those straps that attach to the laces really felt like they added some stability for your ankles. They also hat a similar inner-sock liner like the Huarache’s (also well used that year on the Dynamic Flights) which made the fit exceptional. I also loved the look of them, black/white was the hottest colorway for b-ball shoes in that era maybe due to the trend that NBA teams like Chicago Bulls set, usually deferring from the white based sneakers during the regular season, to the black based shoes for the post season, when the stakes are at their highest. Soon the black based shoes became the “away” color during the season, with white shoes as the “home” color.

Many NBA players and NCAA squads wore these shoes, including Scottie Pippen, Dan Marjele, Jason Kidd & Cal U, Michigan’s Fab 5, and many others. There were several other colors I can remember not pictured here, but mainly simple team bank colors (ex. white/green accents) but I think those ones pictured were the only one’s available for retail, but I sort of remember a white/black/red one too, if anybody out there can verify please let me know. There is also a high cut version, and later the Air Maestro 2 (might have been a few more in the series as well).

my DS Air Maestro black/red (Scottie Pippen wore these as well as the black/white pair)

When I was first getting into actually collecting sneakers a few years ago, one of the first vintage sneakers I copped was a pair of the black/red Air Maestro in an attempt to recapture my youth. But they didn’t cut it, I wanted the black/white ones. Finally I found a beater pair from a dude in France and got them pretty cheap. I plan to rock them because they are still wearable. I remember throwing out my original pair in a trash can by a park bench, they were soaking wet and stank to high hell so I borrowed some kicks from a buddy and tossed my Maestros. Nike has retroed the Nike Air Maestro II, but never the original

my beater pair of Maestro's, exactly like my original pair

Anybody else had the Air Maestro?? If not, whhad do y’all think of them? Should Nike think of retroing these or are some models better left untouched? Let us know in the comments.