The Black Air Force 1s meme characterizes anyone wearing the all-black Nike sneakers as a 'menace to society' who should be avoided at all costs. The joke stems from the idea that because the shoes are difficult to keep clean and often associated with street activity, someone wearing them has 'nothing to lose' and possesses a reckless, chaotic energy. The meme gained massive traction on social media around 2018, evolving into a universal shorthand for unpredictable behavior or someone who is inherently dangerous. It is frequently used in 'POV' style captions to signal that a situation is about to get intense or that the person featured is not to be trifled with.