Peak performance athletes rely on their bodies to perform at maximum levels of efficiency – but just as valuable to their mission is a mind that helps guide them into a focused, competitive mentality. Through years of research, Nike know the importance of how an athlete's mental state affects their performance. This is why they created the Mind Science Department, whose experts have been working in the NSRL to get a deeper understanding of the connection between body and mind. They’ve also debuted their first-ever physical products, dubbed the Mind 001 and Mind 002, which are poised to land this October.
‘Nike Mind is a new sensory-footwear concept that helps reawaken the foot, the body and the mind,’ says Eric Avar, VP, creative director, innovation at Nike. ‘It represents a new paradigm of performance, and how we can potentially make athletes better in the future.’
The Nike Mind 001 and Mind 002 are the Beaverton brand’s first pieces of footwear based in neuroscience. Both the Nike Mind 001 and Mind 002 are built to help athletes lock in before and after competition, ensuring they can effectively block out mental noise. Each shoe's construction begins with 22 independent foam nodes, which are added to a water-resistant material that allows for up-and-down movement as you walk. They’re built to activate sensory areas underfoot which stimulate the mind and ground the body, creating heightened awareness.
Hundreds of athletes have tested Nike’s Mind platform over half a decade like Erling Haaland, Victor Wembanyama and A’ja Wilson who've recently stepped out in the Mind 001. ‘Focus is everything in football,’ said Haaland, Manchester City forward. ‘Every step I take, I think of the shoe and what I feel in my feet – which is a good thing. It helps me to bring balance to my game.’
The Nike Mind platform took over ten years to develop. Over that time, Nike used a mobile brain and body imaging lab to study the athlete mind – including brain activity and the nervous system – to gain insight. From the outside looking in, an athlete's mindset may seem like a whole new ball game for Team Swoosh – but according to Matt Nurse, Nike’s chief science officer, it wasn’t so different to creating a purely performance product – because they all start out the same way: ‘We don't always begin with a shoe,' he says. 'We start with, “What are we trying to achieve?” Some of the early running shoes actually started with us trying to better tackle fatigue. Fatigue is universal – every man, woman, and child experiences fatigue. When we started with something like this, we were really focused on, “What is pre-game preparation?” Of course, it has to be comfortable. You have to look at an athlete's rituals that are already in practice. But before we got to a slide or a shoe, we started with, “What is it we're trying to tackle? What are the things that we can influence?”’
There are distinct differences between the Nike Mind 001 and Mind 002. The former is a mule version, which would be favoured for ease of use, while the latter is a laced sneaker that increases the sensation underfoot.
While these are the first physical products from the Mind Science Department, the Mind 001 and Mind 002 will be far from the last. ‘This is an entirely new avenue for us,’ Nurse told us. ‘I don't think we've fully tapped into the senses. I think most people think of Nike as a visual or a tactile company. You see things, you might touch them, whether it's footwear or apparel, you put them on your body. But starting to combine those in new ways and starting to tap into other senses... I think we're just getting started.’
The Nike Mind 001 and Mind 002 will touch down in January of 2026. Keep it locked to our to stay updated.
Read about some of the other innovations Nike debuted this October, right here!