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Mike Friton is a freelance shoemaker, weaver, paper sculptor and innovator with over 30 years of experience at Nike. In a short video, Friton, tells his story of how he came to be known as "The Innovator."

Mike Friton is a freelance shoemaker, weaver, paper sculptor and innovator with over 30 years of experience at Nike.

In this video from Cineastas, former track and field athlete at the University of Oregon and designer, Friton, tells his story of how he came to be known as "The Innovator."

In high school, Friton decided to join the school's track and field team, which would lead him to the University of Oregon where he specialized in the Steeplechase. The event required an athlete to jump over five hurdles and then move on to a water jump.

Designing and putting together his first shoe, Friton took into account the amount of weight the shoe had stepping out of the water. He then figured out how to include holes in the structure in a way that wouldn't damage the shoe’s integrity.

Friton is the type of designer that goes above and beyond by thinking of mind-boggling ways to expand the variation of athletic footwear.