Released in 1987, the Air Safari has long lived in the shadows of another shoe in Nike's revolutionary Air Pack—the Air Max 1. Whilst everyone swooned over the introduction of visible Air bubbles, the Air Safari was aimed at a more discerning consumer.

Nike's star designer Tinker Hatfield was looking to create an up-market shoe that was imbued with all the comfort of Air but served in a decidedly more luxurious package. As the story goes, during a trip to NYC Tinker spotted an ostrich skin couch in an upmarket furniture. The unique texture left enough of an impression on him, that he created a stylised version of the unique hide which was then used on the Air Safari—birthing another iconic Nike material.

Whilst far from a commercial success, the supple uppers and unique colourway of the Safari garnered attention from people who were picking up what Tinker was putting down. One such person was none-other-than Biz Markie, who wore them on the sleeve of his sophomore album Goin' Off.