Tate Kuerbis has been at Nike for 26 years and probably has one of the coolest but most nerve-wracking jobs in the world: designing shoes for Michael Jordan. As the senior footwear designer for Jordan Brand, Tate is tasked with creating the game shoe for the most iconic signature sneaker line ever created. After launching the 36th signature shoe in its legendary history, Kuerbis says he still faces a lot of pressure designing silhouettes for Jordan—especially when the face of the sneaker hasn’t laced up a pair on an NBA court since 2003.
“It’s always an honor to work on a project like this, and there is a ton of pressure.