Nike's first neuroscience-based footwear "designed from the brain down"
Sportswear brand Nike has unveiled its Mind 001 and Mind 002 trainers, designed in collaboration with neuroscientists to improve the connection between mind and body.
Described as the company's "first neuroscience-based footwear", the shoes were created using data collected from brain scans at Nike's recently established Mind Science Department.
"These are the first shoes designed from the brain down, not the ground up," Nike chief science officer Matthew Nurse told Dezeen.
"Every element – from the foam nodes to the flexible strobel – was engineered based on data from athlete brain and body imaging scans, showing how underfoot sensation affects focus, calm and presence."
Marking the first releases from the Nike Mind platform, Mind 001 is a lace-up trainer, while Mind 002 is a heelless mule.
Both products share a distinctive sole that includes 22 bright-orange foam nodes, which were designed to move when the wearer walks or runs. According to Nike, this movement sends stimulation to the brain and improves concentration.
"Each shoe has 22 independent foam nodes that move and compress underfoot, sending precise tactile feedback to thousands of sensory receptors in the feet," explained Nurse.
"That input helps awaken the sensory-motor network in the brain, which can clear mental noise and sharpen attention."
"Using sensory science, we mapped where the feet are most sensitive – what's called the two-point discrimination threshold – and placed the nodes accordingly," he continued.
"They're closer together in the forefoot, where the foot feels more detail, and farther apart in the heel."
Nike argues that the Mind range of footwear will give athletes many of the benefits of being barefoot – but with much greater protection.
"Barefoot gives you sensation, but not protected support," said Nurse. "Nike Mind delivers both – it reawakens your natural connection to the ground, while still protecting the foot. It's like being grounded and cushioned at the same time."
Manchester City footballer Erling Haaland was among the first to trial the trainers, which are set to be released in January.
Nurse also expects the technology – and the science behind it – to be integrated into future Nike products.
"This is just the beginning," he said. "Once you understand how sensory feedback influences focus and recovery, that insight can shape everything – from training shoes that calm pre-competition nerves to recovery slides that help reset the mind after."
"We're at the starting line of an entirely new field," he added.
Nike recently announced it was developing a motor-assisted running device described as a "second set of calf muscles", while in London it collaborated with Palace Skateboards to create a transforming skatepark in a Victorian public bathhouse.
The photography is courtesy of Nike.
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