You need a fearless independent mindset to realize your creative vision. Tinker Hatfield knew it when he provoked havoc in Nike’s office with his Air Max design. And the guys we met in Berlin know it too as they face the challenges of everyday to realize their goals and do what they do.

Even as a city, Berlin reflects this creative drive. A place that was torn apart by almost a hundred years of conflict and yet which is now a creative capital of Europe. People didn’t believe the city could rise from the ashes, but it did. Its legendary live-and-let-live attitude now attracts people from all over the world, either for long-term living or for a short creative bout. The city did the unexpected. Its people had the visionary mindset to see the dream through.

Berlin, and Europe in general, has a connection to Air Max. Whereas U.S. streets had Jordans (thanks to basketball), European cities took to Air Max. As we hit the 30th anniversary mark since the sneaker’s first release, we partnered with Nike and styled the Swoosh's new Air Max 90 Ultra 2.0 Flyknit on the three Berliners – DJ and producer Peggy Gou, photographer Shirin Siebert, and tattooist and producer David Frisch.

The Air Max 90 was the first major successor to the Air Max 1. For 2017, Nike has tooled up the sneaker in its super lightweight Flyknit material and hollowed out the midsole even more to add to its airy credentials (hence the 'Ultra' element). Dropped in a variety of chromatics for guys and girls, including its OG 'Infrared' colorway, the icon is available now via nike.com.

Celebrating the Air Max lineage and the pivotal role of Tinker Hatfield’s controversial creative vision, we spoke to David, Shirin and Peggy’s to find out what it takes to realize your vision against the odds. Find out everything that’s happening across Highsnobiety this month for Air Max Day and how you can get involved and featured on our Instagram.