When we think of the world’s most popular brands, a few immediately come to mind—Apple, Google, Disney, Coca-Cola, Nike. Aside from being pioneers in each of their respective industries, each has one common strength: storytelling. 

Rooted in a deep appreciation for storytelling and partly due to his time spent working at one of Nike’s retail locations in the brand’s hometown, Tanner Gimbel opened the Portland-based vintage Nike boutique and archive Culture PDX on March 26, 2018. (Yes, Air Max Day 2018.)

Raised in Oregon and having family members that worked at Nike resulted in hand-me-down ACG outerwear that Gimbel recalls particularly piquing his interest in the brand beyond his childhood Nike running and soccer shoes. By the time he reached high school, sneakers became a big thing for him.

“Around 2007, maybe 2008, I bought my first few pairs of Jordans,” Gimbel said. He remembers before he became an employee, the brand’s presence being so embedded in his hometown was also a draw. “I was always able to go wait at Niketown or had a few friends that could get me to the employee store.”

However, it’s his time spent working with the brand after 2012 that really motivated him to open his store. Outside of Portland, it’s likely sneaker (and specifically ACG) enthusiasts know of Culture PDX via their Instagrams, @theculturepdx and @theculturepdxshop. With about 35k followers amassed between the two accounts, they’ve become known as a premier place to buy vintage Nikes and a homebase for the #ACGCommunity.

“What’s been really cool to see is this community developing around the outdoor technical culture of Nike products directly and the whole ACG community,” Gimbel said. “It is insane seeing some of the emails we get. We get all kinds of questions trying to see if we know people in certain areas so they can connect and hike while they’re traveling.”

But those that have been to the SW Morrison Street location know it’s more than just a sneaker shop, it’s almost like a Nike museum. The only other place you can view such an extensive archive is on campus, and even then, there are only a limited number of installations across the 286 acre headquarters–and not everyone has access.

Within the four walls of Culture PDX, Gimbel has meticulously cataloged and displayed shoes, apparel, advertisements, sporting equipment and other memorable pieces from the brand like Nike Rollerblades and mini Bo Jackson sneaker keychains.

Outside of thrifting, eBay, Craigslist and things they’ve hunted down themselves, Gimbel says a lot of stuff that finds its way to them from someone reaching out or people who have worked with the brand in the past. “We have a red banner from the late ‘90s in the store that a former employee of a local mom and pa shop took home when they were done using it.”

He even recalls a time he was in Miami for a pop-up the store was doing and his youngest employee was holding down the shop when they got a call from someone offering five feet tall wood-framed Air Jordan IV and Air Jordan V retro card posters for free. “I got a call from a frame and print company, and they were about to throw some posters away,” Gimbel said. “They told me to come down and pick up these huge posters! Each one probably weighs 45 pounds.”

As Culture PDX enters their third year, we had Gimbel walk us through the most rare pieces that have landed in his shop and the stories behind them.

2004 Paul Tergat Sample Air Zoom Katana 2

“One of our favorite shoes was created in 2005 for an athlete called Paul Tergat who was a Nike-endorsed marathon runner. It was essentially a one of one, one of two or three, maybe” Gimbel shared.

Steven Smith, a designer who has worked on the Adidas Yeezy collection, FILA and Reebok’s diamond series in addition to his work with Nike, has become a friend of Culture PDX and shares products and their stories. Gimbel said Tergat was really fond of a specific tooling that Smith made.

“That midsole, outsole tooling is pretty popular and Paul actually liked it so much that Smith used it up to 2005 even though it was released on a 1999 running shoe. Paul would specifically request that Ghost Racer outsole tooling on a Katana upper.”

In bright red and green for Tergat’s home of Kenya, the shoe Gimbel got his hands on has the number two on the outsole. You can see them in any photos of Tergat crossing the finish line in the 2005 New York Marathon, when he broke the then record.

The store has the pair from Smith’s personal collection. They’d been in storage. “It’s just really, really fun getting to see that kind of stuff and actually hold the physical pieces. I think that’s what makes them so cool, the historical relevance. Not to mention, what it was intended for. The fact that Steven was assisting an athlete by developing a world record breaking product is insane to me.”

1997 Storm-F.I.T.™ Tech Jacket

Gimbel has been finding a lot of jackets from the late-1990s that have become increasingly popular, even more so than those from the ‘70s or ‘80s. “Your ‘95, ‘96, ‘97 or ‘98 stuff is surprisingly durable, has really modern silhouettes and kind of holds up in comparison to any modern outerwear coming out. It’s just so timeless.”

The shop has had a few of ‘97 Storm-F.I.T.™ jackets come in and sell out, but they recently came across a sample that Gimbel had only ever heard stories about. While most had a plastic zipper pull, the store ended up with a jacket with a large metal one.

“I guess they quit using it and they switched to a plastic toggled zipper because this metal zipper was chipping people’s teeth while they were doing heavy outdoor activities, specifically skiing and snowboarding.”

Interestingly, Gimbel heard of the zipper pull before this specific sample ended up in his store. “I had an early outerwear designer here a long time ago, probably like a year and a half ago. And he goes, ‘Oh yeah, this is the zipper they use to replace that metal one that was hurting people,’” Gimbel recalled.

Original Hike Nike T-Shirt from the late-1970s

“There’s these t-shirts that are quite popular, both the early ‘80s Hike Nike ones and this original one. As far as we know, this one is from ‘75 to ‘77. We think it could’ve been drawn and in development in like ‘75, but the earliest we’ve ever seen it in a magazine or print ad is in ‘77 in an older Japanese mag.”

He says the most recent reference of Hike Nike would be on select Air Forces with the Hike Nike Man logo. (There’s a pair set to be release this month.) This tiny logo man has become so popular that outside the U.S. market, t-shirts featuring him are listed for $1200 to $1300.

“It’s one of the earliest retros we’ve ever seen as well. On this early version, he’s wearing Cortez because at the time there was no Nike hiking boots. In the ‘70s, we only had running shoes, so he’s wearing blue and white Cortez, backpack, shorts, just a traditional kind of hiking setup with a big beard. It says Hike Nike. That’s the true original graphic.”

The updated version has footwear that didn’t come out until the ‘80s. “They changed up some of the coloring on his shorts and things like that. And then in ‘81 or ‘82, Nike released their first Gore-Tex boot.” Nike Hike Man is wearing the boots, making the earlier tee a retro despite it being less than 10 years old.

“Not too many t-shirts really have a following like the Hike Nike t-shirt. So, it’s really fun to see a true OG one and have it come from the Portland area.”

Gimbel says there are a few different groups of Nike collectors in Portland, and this t-shirt in particular came from one of the older guys who has been collecting since the 1990s. “In my opinion, that’s where the true gem archive type stuff is. It’s people that never went public with it, people that never opened up a shop. It’s people that never started collecting with the idea of selling it.”

1994 Air Moc, formerly known as the Air Ida

“One of my personal favorites, the Air Moc looks like a slipper with a back pull tab. A lot of people call it the potato shoe because that was the concept idea. It looked like a baked potato with fork holes on the side of it. That was the big joke, but it’s a tan leather house slipper kind of thing, an after camp shoe.”

Intended to be the shoe for before or after skiing, snowboarding, hiking, surfing or other activities and around the cabin or campsite, the Air Moc was first released in 1994 alongside the Air Lupin and the Zion in a high and mid silhouette. The shoes were re-released under the Nike Considered label, the company’s 2006 eco-friendly collection. Designer Steven McDonald and the team were working way ahead of the curve.

“Part of it was made from recycled tires. The upper was made of natural leather with hemp canvas dyed with nuts, all that kind of stuff. One of them featured a liner that was done out of this Terry cloth, remanufactured material. McDonald was essentially doing what we look at as early eco design in ‘93, ‘94.”

There was even a little controversy around the booties. Originally named the Air Ida, a riff on their potato-like design, the owner of Ore-Ida threatened to sue Nike. The brand changed the name to the Air Moc, but not before some of the Air Ida’s made it into the wild.

“We are actually lucky enough to have come across the ‘94 Air Ida from before the name change, and it really says ‘Air Ida’ on the insole.”

The store hasn’t been able to come up on the Lupin, but they do have both Zions, and knowing the background on the trio via McDonald in 2020 when sustainability is (or should be) at the forefront of every brand, makes this pair that much more exciting.

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