Whenever we think about Nike, we think about sports, and our mind immediately goes to basketball and running. After all, it’s the brand that scored the biggest deal in the history of basketball deals: Michael Jordan. And again, the Air Max line put Nike on the running map. But beyond the Air Jordan and Air Max popularity, we’ve got Nike Skateboarding. But how did this division become popular and give us one of our favorite Nike silhouettes? Let’s find that out and more with this brief Nike SB History!
Before Nike Skateboarding – There Was Basketball
Although skateboarding is a popular sport now, it was kind of an underground activity before. Not everyone accepted it as an actual sport and it wasn’t until 2020 that skateboarding became an official Olympic sport. So it makes sense that sneakers aimed at skaters weren’t a priority. The priority in the 1970s was basketball and more traditional sports like running, etc… So, in 1972, we got the Nike Blazer, and these babies got a new life among skaters because of the ankle support they provided.
Fast forward to 1987, and Air Jordans were the whole rage! MJ was doing his business on the court, and Nike was doing its business off the court. But surprisingly, Jordan 1 pleased more people than your average basketball fan. It became a favorite among skaters, especially after the “Search for Animal Chin” video! In addition to AJ1s, skaters also loved the Nike Dunks. And that makes sense since the Js and Dunks are pretty similar in build and provided the support skaters need.
Nike Skate Shoes – Failed Market Infiltration Attempts
In 1996, Nike decided to go into the skateboarding market. You know, it shouldn’t be too hard since some of their kicks are already popular, right? Well, that turned out to be very wrong. Skaters didn’t take kindly to a big company trying to infiltrate what was still an underground culture. And honestly, the kicks didn’t look too good either, so Nike backed out.
The second attempt was in the year 2000 when Nike bought the company Savier. Although the team there included people like Brad Staba, Brian Anderson, Stefan Janoski, and Jon Rattray, the company was short-lived. So, once again, Nike had to bow out. But that was all gonna change in 2001!
Sandy Bodecker- Putting the SB in Nike Skateboarding
In 2001, Nike put the late Sandy Bodecker at the helm of the Nike SB project. He started out at Nike as a shoe tester and was so good that he kept on getting promotions. Eventually, he was part of the Nike Soccer, Europe division, which was another challenging market for the Swoosh. Bodecker was the right man for the job because he knew that Nike should keep the skater’s interest in mind. And that’s exactly what happened by giving back to the community and using Nike’s history with skaters.
So, instead of designing new shoes, Sandy gave us the Nike SB Dunk! Moreover, Nike SB focused on providing skateboarding kicks to skate shops that felt left behind with the sport becoming mainstream. The Nike Skateboarding division also included actual skaters who knew what skaters need.
Supreme, P-Rod, Collabs, and the Rest Is History
In 2002, Nike hit the jackpot in the skateboarding culture when it partnered up with Supreme. The result was the highly-valuable Supreme Nike SB Dunk White Cement, and Black Cement. In fact, these are still the best Nike Supreme kicks we ever had, despite having strong contenders. Two years later, the skateboarding community was shooketh by the news that Paul Rodriguez is joining Nike. For reference, P-Rod was at the peak of his career and left és footwear for the Swoosh. That only reinforced Nike’s presence in the market, and honestly, it never left from then on.
Nike Skateboarding Today
The Nike SB division stayed relevant in the skateboarding community and became very popular in the sneaker industry. That would be thanks to Jeff Staples’ Pigeon Dunks in 2005 which put SB Dunks on the general public’s radar. From then on, Nike started dropping more silhouettes, but the Dunks will always have a special place in everyone’s hearts.
In the 2010s, Nike SB Dunks took a backseat, but the division was working as hard as usual. Then, in 2019/2020, the Dunks went through a Renaissance phase and became the it kicks. Everybody was wearing Dunks, and Nike capitalized on that surge in popularity very well! And now, although the silhouette’s popularity is settling down, one fact remains the same. Nike Skateboarding will always be here one way or another!
