Name: Michael Leon.
Age: 33
Where you’re from: North Carolina.
Where you’re at: Portland, OR
Occupation: Art director of apparel at Nike.

What makes the dunk special?

The Dunk is special to me because of my memories of skateboarding when I was younger. That was kind of my first connection to Nike because of being a skateboarder. Wearing that shoe, the people who I saw wearing it who I looked up to, and just kind of the way it got appropriated into that world way before it had the status it has today–when it was just a basketball shoe and it was really like freshly appropriated into that world. Just one pair of Nike basketball shoes was the best skateboarding shoe and would last forever. Just the cupped sole and the durability of the materials–it just changed the way shoes are made. It’s a happy accident.

Do you have a specific creative process?

Like meditative, alone time, like that type of thing. I am not really a team sports type of person. I love working with a team on graphics and projects for sure, but there is something about the headspace that design and art kind of gives you. I just enjoy that time.

How does the statement “Be True” relate to what you do?

I know that I can design a cool t-shirt but it’s like how long do you want to just design cool t-shirts, you know? So I think for me it was just like what do I graduate to, where can I go how can I take a certain skill set and bring it into a bigger picture and maybe influence something that’s bigger than just me sitting at a desk.

PAGE: