The Nike Trainer endeavor was born in 1987 with the introduction of the Air Trainer, a ground-breaking shoe worn by Jon McEnroe during the U.S. Open of that year. Sprouting from McEnroe’s trainer was the Cross Training line – part of which was the Air Trainer SC Line that consisted of four models. The nomenclature for the entire Trainer catalog is absolutely convoluted due to Nike’s relentless ‘branching out’ of the original Trainer as well as a decrease in popularity of the Trainer shoe (which led to even more ‘dumbing down’ of names) but one shoe that has stood firm in its original title is the Nike Air Trainer SC II. Untouched by a re-issue in two decades, the Air Trainer SC II is considered to be one of the greatest Nike releases of all time and is certainly a favorite among those with a sneaker craze rooted from the Nike Air Trainer.
The Nike Air Trainer SC II was marketed by Bo Jackson but the Air Trainer SC line was considered to be a sequel of sorts to the original Nike Air Trainer – the primary reason why the ‘SC’ designation is somewhat of a mystery. Those who attribute the Air Trainer SC line to Bo Jackson call it ‘Strength and Conditioning’ but other Nike historians have called it ‘Sports Culture’, ‘Supreme Court’, and ‘Signature Category’. Clearly there hasn’t been an established, definitive answer, but the nebulous nature of the name only adds to the mystique and legacy of the Air Trainer SC line. Like the Air Trainer SC, the SC II featured a durable Flywire-like material called web-tec and also featured the fore-foot strap that was carried over to the Air Trainer SC III (which was originally named the Air Trainer SC). But Good news comes to those who wait, because the Nike Air Trainer SC II is set for a re-release in the Summer 2011 making this is one classic shoe we can’t wait to revisit.
