Nike Skateboarding .nike sb ,nike dunk

In the 1980s, skateboard companies started to pop up around the globe. However, skateboarding still had a relatively small community—not enough to attract serious interests from major shoe companies, who were battling it out for precious basketball shoe territory. This gave smaller companies a chance to gain ground in the skateboarding market. Skateboarders mainly used Converse and other types of basketball shoes such as original Nike Blazer. Although Nike never officially entered the skateboarding market in the 1980s, many of its shoes gained a following in the skateboarding community because skateboarding shoes and basketball shoes share many similarities. Strong grips, durable ankle support, and relative comfort were some of the offerings that attracted skaters to Nike shoes. However, they were not considered the most desirable skate shoes due to the "underground" nature of skateboarding at that time, and many skateboarders rejected Nike because they believed the brand was too commercial.



The 1990s saw the rise of skateboarding into prominence and the vast improvement of skate shoe technology, with DC Shoes making major advances in shoe design. The company added stronger fabrics, multidensity rubber, gel pockets, plastic eyelets that encased exposed shoelaces, and soles with a gumlike grip that improved foot-to-board traction.

In the mid-1990s, skate shoes went mainstream. Their evolution was influenced as strongly by popular culture as by the demands of skateboarding. The loud, blocky skate shoe fell from favor as the hip-hop culture of the 1990s eventually died out. Nike started to experiment with the market by reissuing many of its older models in the late-1990s.

In 2002, after failing to enter the skateboard market, Nike SB had released Nike SB Dunk Lows with padded tongues and collars with the "Zoom Air" in soles to attract skateboarders to shoes similar to the padding in DC Shoes and Vans. After not selling the Dunks well, they released four other models. The Nike SB Angus, Nike SB FC, Nike SB Delta Force and Nike SB



In 2004, Nike SB tried hard to stay in the skateboarding industry so they decided to sign Paul Rodriguez. to give more fame to the Nike SB name.

In 2005, Nike SB gave Paul Rodriguez his own pro model shoe named the Nike SB P-Rod. After selling Nike SB's star shoe, it gave the company some recognition to the skateboarding market. That same year one of Nike SB's spokespersons, Lance Mountain, decided to release the Nike Blazer SB, a suped-up version of the Nike Blazer basketball shoe from the early 1970's. They named it the Nike SB Blazer and added a few new features such as the padded collar and "Zoom Air" in soles.

Ever since signing Paul Rodriguez, it gave Nike SB a whole new look by selling more shoes and making other shoe models successful such as the Nike SB Tre and P-Rod II besides the ordinary Nike SB line. There are many Nike SB shoes that have collectible value or limited release such as the Nike SB "What The Dunk" Dunks and the Nike SB "Tiffany" Dunks that were being bought by non-skaters and being resold for prices that were much greater than the MSRP.


Nike SB released their first video entitled "Nothing But The Truth" in 2007. The video consisted all the Nike SB Pros, Ams and some of the Flow riders.

In 2009, Nike SB gave rider Stefan Janoski his own pro model (aptly named the Zoom Stefan Janoski SB) as well as signed Eric Koston who had earlier in the year left Lakai Footwear. In addition, a video featuring the Nike SB Amateur team (known as "Debacle") released later in the year.