Nike's ‘mind-altering' shoes are now available — what's the hype all about?

After weeks of dominating sneaker feeds, Nike's weirdest and most hyped footwear experiment has officially arrived. The much-teased “mind-altering” shoes — the Nike Mind 001 and Mind 002 — dropped on Thursday, 5 February, at 10 AM ET, setting the stage for what many are calling one of Nike’s most unconventional releases in years.

The launch came just a day after the Donald Trump administration launched a probe into the athletic footwear and apparel company over claims that it discriminated against white workers. The company's stock fell on Thursday.

The growing community of sneaker enthusiasts has made new product launches increasingly high-profile. Though Nike is a renowned brand, it has lost market share in the $7.4 billion US running shoe market, which represents about 8% of the footwear market as of November 2025, Bloomberg reported.

What's so special about Nike Mind kicks?

Built on more than a decade of neuroscience research and equipped with 22 tiny foam nodes underfoot that Nike claims “activate sensory areas of the brain”, the Nike Mind 001 mule and Nike Mind 002 sneaker are being positioned as more than just another streetwear statement, according to a report by Vice.

Nike is also pitching the shoes as tools that can help wearers “get present, focused, and dialed in” before they even lace up. Whether the claims hold up in real-world use remains to be seen, but early adopters will soon put the concept to the test, Vice reported.

If previous Nike launches are any indication, the shoes are expected to sell out in minutes. Raffles and SNKRS queues are already spinning up, and the all-black colourway dropping today has already sparked early chatter in the resale circles across the globe.

Stock market trend

The company's share was trading at $62.36, which is $1.86 or 2.9% down from its previous session's closing price. In the last six months, Nike's stock has been down 16.15%, and almost 17% in the last year.

The stock fell today following reports of US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) launching an investigation into Nike over allegations that the sports giant discriminated against white employees and job applicants.

Nike, which described the allegations as “surprising and unusual”, insisted that it adheres to “all applicable laws” on discrimination. The development comes amid a broader crackdown by the Trump administration on diversity initiatives, which he has repeatedly decried as “radical”, the Guardian reported.