What went down at Nike’s secret South London takeover

Friday. North Greenwich. 7pm. 11 degrees with a slight breeze. The sun had just set and a crowd of streetwear kids were streaming out the tube station towards a queue for mega venue Magazine. This was Nike​’s Infinity Lab, an end-of-week party marking the unofficial national holiday for sneakerheads worldwide: Air Max Day.

The mood was palpably jubilant inside the airy warehouse venue as the fanbase celebrated the arrival of a new design, the Nike Air Max Dn8 – complete with a bolshy, eight-bubbled sole. To toast the occasion, Nike tasked eight creatives to come up (or dream) of a space that explores their respective values and vision for the future of culture. The results spanned everything from ball pits to a fashion bootlegging station. It was all to play for.

First up, some activities. Dodging fashionistas in furry hats and baggy jeans, we took a seat at CsCb​’s chess club. Believe us, this was no nerdy, after-school affair. Under disco lights and an overhead camera that documented players’ moves on a screen, contestants challenged each other to the age-old game. Meanwhile, friends and spectators watched on, sipping rum punch and ooh-ing at particularly sharp moves. After losing a game (or two) we moved to the next booth.

Settling into a living room-style space at Better Listening​’s sound bar, we licked our wounds. Fortunately, the state-of-the-art speakers healed us, playing Sade’s Is It a Crime? on vinyl. Behind us, a fellow listener whispered, ​“I could stay here all night.” We agreed, but there was more to see.

As we walked towards INTRA​’s Intranet Cafe, we bumped into Sharkkana (founder of Sharkkini), who grinned at the snaking queue outside her customisation booth: ​“It’s so busy, it’s great!” By this point, it was time for a picture at Pay Your Shooter​’s ball-pit playground, followed up with a pit stop at Jerkish for some chicken and rice.

Nearby, the genre-hopping sounds of Elijah’s pirate radio booth rang out. Turning the ​“no requests” rule on its head, the DJ invited passersby to select tracks from the record collection around him, forming a playlist that took us from Little Simz to Yussef Dayes and beyond.

With full bellies and hearts, we paid a visit to 3STACKS’ video booth to check out her documentation of today’s musical underground. Later, we joined Mahalia, BXKS and Gabriel Moses to watch Billy Menezes work his magic (literally). We were expecting a pack of cards, but we looked up to find Billy standing six metres in the air inside a wooden crate, facing a menacing wall of swords. With a slam, the wall of swords stabbed into the box that Billy was seemingly standing in. The room fell silent. Was Billy inside? Was the event about to take a dark turn? Thankfully, seconds later, Billy appeared with a dramatic curtain drop on stage before Shaolin Wavy took over as afterparty hostess.

The rest of the night was spent dancing and drinking – Magazine’s river view in front of us – to the sounds of AMBRR​’s sing-along noughties set and performances from KWN, Fimiguerrero and Chy Cartier, before Jeeniius and AAA shut down the night.

At around 2am, hundreds of Nike trainers left the building and crossed the road back towards the station. We’re not sure if Air Max Day will ever become a national holiday but if you ask us, it really should.

Club Infinity by Play Piem
Club Infinity was brought to you by the good ravers over at Play Piem, a crew ushering in a new era of Black British partying. On the billing? AMBRR, Jeeniius, Chy Cartier and more.

Hustler’s Playground by Pay Your Shooter
Christmas parties, team building days, drinks on the company card… They’re all connection-building perks that freelancers miss out on when they work for themselves. To challenge that, Pay Your Shooter – a collective that aims to help sole-trader creatives navigate their field – erected Hustler’s Playground: a ball pit where attendees could get their picture snapped with office props and network with fellow creatives.

Intranet Cafe by INTRA
We hadn’t seen an internet cafe in years but graphic designer (and Blender wizz) INTRA’s Intranet Cafe brought the memories flooding back. Surrendering our phones, we walked into a space full of cameras presenting distorted versions of our digital selves. URL, IRL!

Keep London Loud by Elijah
In a rounded DJ booth painted in Elijah’s signature yellow, attendees were invited to hand the Butterz label co-founder and DJ records to spin live on No Signal radio. The message was one of encouragement for anyone making the leap from playlist curator to fully fledged disc jockey.

Kino Studio by 3STACKS
If you want something shot right, call 3STACKS. Favouring a distinctive, choppy style, the videographer presented a visual space made up of iPads and a large video collage showcasing her work as Kino Studio. The Kino DVD Vol. 2 – a follow-up to her first ​“visual mixtape” – documentary spliced footage of UK underground artists with BTS videos in a unique visual style inspired by archive hip-hop mags.

Listen Together by Better Listening
Created by ex-Universal A&R man, David Sonubi, Listen Together was envisioned as a space to sharpen and refine the senses. Frustrated by the lack of actual listening taking place in so-called ​“listening bars”, David put forward a peaceful spot where people could while away to tunes communally. Plush carpet, incense and custom speakers certainly helped.

One Square Better by CsCb
What started out as an alternative to parties has grown into a thriving chess club. Founded by Kojo Dwimoh, CsCb organises weekly chess nights for young people in South London to get together and bond outside of the nightclub. Bringing his boards to North Greenwich, Kojo introduced Nike fans to the stoic game, culminating in a heated tournament finale.

Wings Factory by Sharkkini
The queue for the Wings Factory was non-stop. Emblazoning grey Nike tracksuits with Sharkkini’s iconic, avian emblem, the station – conceived by designer Sharkkana – was a testament to the power of women-led streetwear design.