There’s not a day that goes by that you don’t see a Tinker Hatfield creation. No matter where you are in the world, whether it’s a shoe, a shirt, or a building, Tinker is probably there with you. As overwhelming as that idea is, it’s even more improbable that the journey to become a household name in popular culture began in rural Lynn County, Oregon. Hatfield, like his father, was a three-sport athlete in high school, and the early beginnings of his mindset for change were established by his dad, who as a coach and athletic director at his high school, was known as an outside-the-box thinker. It’s safe to say that trait was passed down to him. Fear was not a word in the Hatfield vocabulary, and that attitude served him well as he began to do bigger and better things.

In this episode, we’ll explore the beginnings of Hatfield’s life and how he developed the confidence to embark on a life of change.   

Three-Part Series

This is the first of a three-part series into Tinker Hatfield’s role in reshaping popular culture and how being an Oregon Duck vaulted him into a world he could never have imagined.

The designer of the Air Jordans, the Air Max, and many other popular designs, Hatfield was a student and athlete at Oregon during the sweet spot of creating the Nike brand. An architectural student, Hatfield became involved in shoemaking with legendary Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman and Nike founder Phil Knight, and the rest is history.

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