Michel Bourez, Nike Town, San Francisco

“I’m just getting some new shoes for playing tennis in Hawaii,” Michel Bourez told photog Nate Lawrence at the Niketown store in San Fran. “Get a pair, pick whatever ones you like.” Michel, a Tahitian used to a minimalist lifestyle, isn’t about excess – he’s delighted to have the wardrobe he has. So when he, Nate, Julian Wilson and Alejo Muniz stopped by the five-storey shop (which houses every product Nike makes) and were thrown $1k each to drop on whatever they liked, he wasn’t too fussed about rummaging through the racks. But he was more than happy to hook Nate up with some sneakers. “He told me to pick out a pair of shoes,” says Nate. “And I’m not one to pass up some free kicks. I grabbed some grey Nike Airs and threw away my old shoes, which I’ve been wearing for the past three years. People actually heckle me about those old green shoes, but I love em.” That’s Tahitian generosity, not the behaviour of a Spartan.