In the late 1980s and early 1990s, director-actor Spike Lee played the character of Mars Blackmon in the cult-classic Air Jordan Nike commercials alongside Michael Jordan. During a recent appearance on Complex’s Sneaker Shopping, Lee opened up about his ties with the Jordan brand, which allowed him to create his own design on the Air Jordan model that bore the name “Spizike”. The famous director explained his idea behind the sneaker to Complex’s host Joe La Puma.
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The 67-year-old talked about crafting the shoes based on The Black Liberation Flag color scheme, which epitomizes the values cherished by him. He also touched upon how the original shoes had the Mars logo on the back, based on his character in the ads.
“I just really wanted to you know the color of the flag, Liberation Flag, red, black, and green. The original one I think had a Mars logo back here but this one has the Jumpman,” Spike Lee told Joe La Puma
The critically acclaimed director also highlighted how the shoes bore the logo of his 1983-founded production company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. The sneaker is close to the iconic director’s heart considering that it was the first sneaker that was designed out of his ideas. Talking about future collaborations with Nike, Lee stated that his son Jackson Lee has his Air Jordan shoe line as well called “Son of Mars”. “Jackson is a business mind and amazing, so I handed the baton to him,” he added.
Then the celebrated Hollywood figure talked about wearing the Golden-painted Tinker Hatfield-designed Air Jordan 3s during the 2019 Oscars. Since Oscar awards are infused with 24-karat gold, this color scheme made sense for Lee. Fittingly, famed actor Samuel L. Jackson presented Lee with his first competitive Oscar award on the Best Adapted Screenplay category for “BlacKkKlansman”. Lee then spoke about how he got the shoes done with the help of the designer.
“Once I got the nomination, I put the call on. I call him [Tinker Hatfield]. He has to get okay from Mike[Michael Jordan]. Mike said, ‘Go Ahead’. Sign off on him,” Spike Lee revealed to Complex
These Golden 3 shoes were the highlight of Lee’s apparel during the 2019 Academy Awards. Later, many were befuddled when they found out that the Oscar winner had donated these shoes. So, what is the truth behind the story?
Did Spike Lee donate his Oscar-themed shoes?
In 2023, Complex’s Victor Deng reported how Lee’s Golden-painted Air Jordan 3s sold for $50,000 in an auction. Someone had donated the shoes to Portland Rescue Mission’s Burnside Shelter. After verifying its authenticity from designer Tinker Hatfield, Sotheby’s put the shoes on an auction. This led to a question, why would Spike Lee give away the shoes that were a part of one of his most cherished memories?
During the interview with La Puma, Lee answered the question. He revealed that he hasn’t given away the original pair he wore at the Oscars. Apparently, Hatfield had designed multiple pairs and one of them ended up in the donation bin.
“They weren’t mine. I had two or three, only wore one. The rest never been worn. They make some more sizes. Somehow ended up where ended up and went for $50,000,” disclosed the director of BlacKkKlansman
The Knicks diehard fan then revealed that the original pair he won during the Oscars is still in the “exhibition”. Therefore, after much suspense, he finally cleared the air on the Golden Air Jordan 3s being auctioned off
