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Mike Friton is a freelance shoemaker, weaver, paper sculptor and innovator with over 30 years of experience at Nike. In a short video, Friton, tells his story of how he came to be known as "The Innovator."

Mike Friton is a freelance shoemaker, weaver, paper sculptor and innovator with over 30 years of experience at Nike.

In this video from Cineastas, former track and field athlete at the University of Oregon and designer, Friton, tells his story of how he came to be known as "The Innovator."

In high school, Friton decided to join the school's track and field team, which would lead him to the University of Oregon where he specialized in the Steeplechase. The event required an athlete to jump over five hurdles and then move on to a water jump.

Designing and putting together his first shoe, Friton took into account the amount of weight the shoe had stepping out of the water. He then figured out how to include holes in the structure in a way that wouldn't damage the shoe’s integrity.

Friton is the type of designer that goes above and beyond by thinking of mind-boggling ways to expand the variation of athletic footwear.



As is described in the video, he was given the nickname “The Innovator" while working on a project during his time at Nike. He and his team manipulated distinct objects that weren't necessarily related to shoes to design outstanding, superlative things, much like engineers.

Friton expresses towards the end of the video, that the human race would be completely extinct without the idea of "innovating." Without a doubt, Friton has made his mark in the world of shoemaking.

His innovations are responsible for many elements of athletic footwear that people wear today. Each of his crafts informs one another and he is constantly exploring the fringes of his field. Friton's work is a great example of how non-traditional methods of exploring can lead to unique end results.





SOURCE  Vimeo

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