The Nike Air Max 97 was first introduced to the public in 1997. The Nike Air Max 97 was the first Air Max running shoe to feature full length Air Max cushioning. The Air Max 97 placed one long Air Max unit what went underneath the entire foot. The Air Max 97 continued the tradition. The Air Max 97 was literally covered in 3M materials. This caught the eyes of many runners for making themselves that much more visible, but caught the eyes of many fashion forward eyes since this separated the Nike Air Max 97 shoes from all other shoes.