Blast from the Past: Air Jordan 6 Retro “Infrared”
What were you doing on this day 11 years ago? Most of you are too young to even remember back that far. But for the older sn’eads, August 23, 2000 was one of the greatest days of the year. Most of that year had been full of anticipation for the release of one of the most iconic Air Jordan’s ever. Finally, that day had come. At that time, the Black/Infrared Air Jordan 6 hadn’t been retroed, and news spread very quickly that it would be. Brand Jordan initially leaked photos of the now-infamous reverse colorway, and fans of the OG version were not pleased at all. Luckily, the released version was VERY close to the original.
Shoe stores everywhere were flooded with crowds of people trying to get their hands on a pair. For some, that was their first camp out experience. After all was said and done, the Black/Infrared Air Jordan 6 Retro was the fastest-selling retro shoe ever, and one of the fastest-selling of all time. Still, 11 years later, this shoe is very desirable within the sneaker community. The presence of Nike Air on the heel of the shoe is a feature that may never be seen again on this model.
The retail price for the 2000 retro was $120, but inflation immediately kicked in if you didn’t get a pair. To be honest, this may have been the beginning of the resale game as we know it in the sneaker culture. If you are on the hunt for a DS pair, good luck on finding a pair that is wearable; that aspect is becoming slimmer by the day. Not saying that there aren’t any in existence, but they are becoming more difficult to find. As for the reverse colorway, a few of the samples eventually got into the hands of some lucky people. Some made their way to eBay, while the others remain feature pieces in their owners’ collections. So if you have a pair of either version, cherish that piece of Air Jordan history.
Photos: Kixclusive & Sunshining7
Category: Air Jordan, Blast from the Past, Sneakerhead News
Soooo beautiful… mouth watering.
Great piece, Chevy Boy. It doesn’t seem like it’s been 11 years already. I was a senior in high school that year, and I still have my pair from 2000. They sold out fast as you-know-what! I had to end up buying my pair off a dudes feet that I went to middle school with… no lie. Bought them off his feet while he was working on a Thursday night at the Foot Locker in South Dekalb mall. That’s how bad I wanted them.
This was my first pair of Jordans when I was little. My mom bought them for me back in 1991. I was in the 3rd grade and I was on my way to a birthday party, and my mom wanted to make sure her baby boy was fresh. Ha!
I remember her coming home and saying, “The guy at the shoe store said these Jordans just came out today.”
*Sigh* Memories.
Nice chevy boy! All time favorite! Like G, I still own this pair from 2000..while u were rockin ur infrareds I was in my carmines feelin like superman with my first pair of jordans ever. Mowed lawns that whole summer to get my pair..I’ll never forget the feeling of rockin my first pair of jordans. Priceless.
Thanks guys…this is my favorite shoe of all time. I remember being a freshman in college when these released. I got to the mall at like 6:30 that morning, and it was already packed. Luckily, everybody was standing at Footaction, because they were the first store to open. I walked down to Finishline and was 3rd in line. Ahh, the good ol’ days! Unfortunately, my pair was stolen from me within the next two days. But now, I got two pair of the 2000 retros, so I’m good.
He g-roc give chevy a call and get my number from him. I got some pretty good sneaker news for you.
I got my pair recently, they are 8/10, got really good deal on them, $180. it was a good day.
MINE STILL DAMN NEAR ICEY AS THE DAY I BOUGHT THEM
THESE ARE THE GOAT HANDS DOWN AND YOU CAN KEEP YOUR CONCORDS.
This is the day I fell in love with jays! I was 11 and my Big Brother Bought them. I Used To Wear His Pair Around the House When He Was Gone. They Were Way Too Big But I Used To Love Seeing Them On My Feet. I Started Getting Every Pair He Got. Then When I Found Out About Release Dates Online. I’ve Been A Snearker Head Ever Since. I Just Realized I’m 11 Years In The Game Lol.
i missed the release date on these cause the person workin in Foot Locker back in NJ at the time, gave me the wrong release date.
by the time i got word of them coming out they sold out. i have them now but they need to be restored.
great memories back in 2000!
Man , look at those pics , brand spankin new , impossible to find a pair in that crispy condition nowadays. This is how the infra pack shouldve been made , with class and respect to the shoes . Instead we saw a major dissapointment beyond failure. To all those who say that NA doesnt matter, you obviously dont have an eye for design..it wasnt a coinsident that tinker put it on the back with those fat letters..it was a part of the design and should be treated that way everytime its brought to life. Anyways , thx for the remenis
My favorite mike’s of all time. Still have my pair from 2000 and recently bought another pair!
These are my GRAILS. I still remember being in 10th grade when these dropped. OMG. I missed the release, but later on I bought a DS pair for a pretty penny – highest I’ve ever paid…..no regrets though.
Whatever happen to these days???? Man 2000 was a great year.
The world’s last remaining crispy, icy, pair of Jordan 6s currently resides at Greg Street’s house in one of his many collection rooms. Sad that it will never see the light of day. He should certainly share that beauty with the rest of mankind.
@G-Roc
These were my first pair back in middle school early 90′s too. I remember wearing them as soon as I got home and walking to the park. I heard someone yell “He got the new Jordans on!” I ran home full speed and ripped em off, breathing fast and all (people were gettin shot for Jordans back then and I was scared as hell). That was the first shoe drew an emotion out of me: FEAR. I was like whoa. To date these are my favorite J’s of all time , all time.
Another story. By 2000 I was in college and the retros were to release after I went back. Now I went to Cornell in bumblef*@k ithaca new york so I knew I wasnt gettin em there. I gave my man back home money for the shoes and called him. Release date: no answer. Few days later: no answer. Finally got him and he was like he didn’t get em but he was. His girl worked at foot locker so I thought he had it handled. Long story short. I never saw the sneaks or my money.
man jordan messed up when they retro’d these and they didn’t even put the leather on the back the shoe was all suede and they put them in a infrared package just stupid highly disapointed
if nike/jb really wanted to do something special, they would’ve done an ‘amber-infared’ pack of these this year, not last year.
what is the ‘amber-infared’ pack one may ask. simply put it is cool concept that puts a amber tint on the black pair and a brownish-bronze-like tint on the white pair. however, these parts will still be translucent. oh yeah, nike air is also stitched in gold on the heel of the black pair. the white ones will have bronze stitching. imagine that!
Wish I could could go back in time so I could actually buy a pair, didn’t have the money for these back in the day and there was no way in hell the parents were gonna shell out $120 for some sneakers…
I had an OG pair of these when I was 9 and a Retro pair when I was 19. I’ll be 30 next month and still remember getting both pairs like it was yesterday. I’m deep in this game. lol
GRAIL STATUS!! I FINALLY COPPED MY PAIR OF THESE IN DECEMBER 2009 PAID $300 WELL WORTH IT RATE THEM 8.5/10 WORE THEM TWICE STILL FIRM THESE J’S ARE THE ONE’S THE FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP THE BEGINNING OF A DYNASTY!! GREAT POST G-ROC DUNK EXCHANGE IN VEGAS YESTERDAY WAS CRAZY!! CAN’T WAIT TO GET BACK TO THE ATL SO I CAN SWOOP UP THE INFRARED NIKE AIR TRAINER 2′S BOSS!!
I got my DL the same day these came out. I went to the DMV wit moms. Dropped her off in my honda accord…lol.. Hit the SouthCenter mall in WA (drivin 5mph so everybody could see me- Will Smith). All the stores were sold out.. EXCEPT! Nordstroms? Didn’t even know they had J’s but I saw one of my HS friends Tad, and he worked there and asked me if I had gotten them yet. He was on break but walked with me back to Nordstroms and I copped them. Put them on before I walked out the store feeling SO FRESH! Hopped in the Honda…wit a BIG SMILE! Still have them till this day. I rock my Varsity reds tho.
Ahhh the memories…Nice post. I needed that!
MAN i was a sophmore in highschool i called footlocker and they still had my size copped them asap them were the good days when retros where 120 R.I.P to them days
ONE OF THE GREATEST JORDAN OF ALL TIME. NOTHING COMPARES TO THAT EYE POPPING INFRARED A SPECTACULAR COLOR CODE BY NIKE. THANK YOU JB FOR BRINGING THE “INFRARED PACK” BUT TRUTH BE TOLD THE COLOR WAS WATERED DOWN.
-ALL HAIL TO THE TRUE JORDAN 6 INFRARED!
Man, i was mad when i found these came out, didn’t have any idea.Saw a kid at school have it on.I just bought the VI(white/silver)for a $100 that Sat,Aug 26.None of boys knew about it.TSG where were y’all.lol
Rocked my 2000 ds pair last friday night to foxwoods! They were in perfect condition, but a couple of hours later and the midsoles started cracking… They still fresh as F**k though.
Nike can remake Jordans all they want but nothing, I mean NOTHING beats the OG!
I was a freshman in college, copped a pair from Foot Action in Greensboro with my refund check, and actually copped them a week after they dropped. Lucky me.
good times, good year, great shoe
In my top 5 j’s of all time…Wanna cop a pair when i get my money right prolly the last ones though due to the fact that i wouldnt be able to wear a 2000 pair those would have to be put on ice forever.
so I cant tell if its my lucky day or not.. But I just was on ebay and saw a dude selling these for $625 long story short I got them for $600 ds condition no cracking looks fresh as hell (from the 25 pictures he sent me) I still cant tell if I got a good deal because Now I’m broke and wont be able to get dinner tonight or tomorrow for that matter but thats a different story. I had the varsity red’s but I always wanted the 2000s but due to reasons I wasn’t able to and now im filled with mixed emotions but hopefully this will all change when they get to my door by wednesday… Im a size 9 but there in a size 8.5, well I just gotta man up and wear them probably once a year