Infinite Drift: When Nike Air Max Goes Full Throttle in Belgrade

What happens when sneaker culture collides with underground motorsport? Nike’s Infinite Drift campaign takes us straight to the smoky edges of Belgrade, where chaos turns into choreography and speed becomes sculpture. Created in collaboration with Málaga-based creative studio Free Practice, this project isn’t just about the launch of the Nike Air Max DN8—it’s a visceral, neon-soaked tribute to Serbia’s drifting scene, reimagined through the lens of art and motion.

Eight Serbian drift drivers. Eight custom-built cars. Eight international artists—names like Ram Han, Jonathan Castro, and Gustavo Eandi—who transformed each car into a moving canvas that reflects its driver’s personality and style. “Like riding a fire-breathing, mechanical demon, the drivers need strength, but also finesse and softness,” said Free Practice, capturing the paradox at the heart of drifting. This tension—between beauty and burn, control and chaos—defines the entire campaign.

Shot like a fever dream, Infinite Drift mixes grainy CCTV feeds, infrared drones, and cinematic night rides. Every frame is hazy with tire smoke, long exposures trace hypnotic lines across the asphalt, and the cars move like mechanical dancers on an endless figure-eight track. Henrik Alm’s direction and Gabriela Alatorre’s photography turn the Belgrade night into a painting—somewhere between Tokyo Drift and the sci-fi grit of Akira.

At the heart of it all is Belgrade’s sneaker scene. Marko, founder of the local sneaker institution Tike, explains why the DN8 feels so connected to the city. “Air Max has always been part of the uniform in Belgrade—especially for drift drivers. When they’re not in racing shoes, they’re wearing TNs. A shoe with eight visible Air units? That made perfect sense—the drift track is shaped like an 8.”

What emerges is more than a sneaker drop. Infinite Drift is a hybrid of performance, collaboration, and design—a place where burnt rubber meets rubber soles, and the raw energy of underground racing fuels the spirit of Nike Air Max. Or as Free Practice summed it up: “Chaos becomes choreography, and speed becomes sculpture.”