Nike Skateboarding
Background information
Before skateboarding was considered a sport worth catering to, skateboarders had to seek out shoes that would hold up to the stress. In the 1960s, the Van Doren Rubber Company introduced so-called vulcanized shoes, in which a rubber sole was cooked onto the body of the shoe.
In the 1980s, skateboard companies started to pop up around the globe, but skateboarding still had a relatively small community; not enough to attract serious interests from major shoe makers while they were battling out in the precious basketball territory. This gave smaller companies a chance to gain ground in the skateboarding market, Airwalk led the charge, they developed an oversized shoe that combined an inflated tongue, thick sole, suede exterior. Although Nike had never officially entered the skateboarding market in the 1980s, many of its shoes (especially the basketball-specific) gained a following in the skateboarding community due to the fact that 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 them. They were never considered the most desirable skate shoes due to the 'underground' nature of skateboarding at that time. 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. It added stronger fabrics, multidensity rubber, gel pockets, plastic eyelets that encased exposed shoelaces and soles with a gumlike grip that improved foot-to-face traction. Airforce One Shoes began to dominate the skate shoes market. 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. The current trend reflects the punk-rock look of the 1970s. Nike started to experiment with the market by reissuing many of its older models in the late-1990s.
More recently, Nike SB has emerged as a successful skateboarding company by signing many well known skateboarders. They have become a major company in the skateboarding shoe industry. On October 2, 2007 Nike released a video called "Nothing but the truth". This video was released in various parts of the world on different dates, primarily in the United States in October. The movie also premierd in various countries.
On Thursday 10th Of January 2008, Lewis Marnell was announced as a Pro Rider on Almost.
Riders
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Ever since the Air Jordan success, Nike has always employed the spokesperson marketing technique to promote its many sports lines. As it is now a common practice for skateboarding organizations to sponsor riders to promote their products and build company's heritage. Nike SB was launched with a strong team of riders. Some include Paul Rodriguez, Chet Childress, Daniel Shimizu.
Controversy
Since the arrival of Nike SB, much controversy has surrounded their priorities and motives. This has led to the founding of a campaign by Consolidated Skateboards called the "Don't Do it Army",[1] which claims that when skateboarding originated (also snowboarding and surfing), Nike had no interest in the business. Now, the Don't Do it Army claims, that skateboarding is gaining much popularity, Nike is simply "cashing in" on the industry by selling shoes.[2]
Professional riders
- Paul Rodriguez
- Brian Anderson
- Daniel Shimizu
- Danny Supa
- Chet Childress
- Gino Iannucci
- Dan Murphy
- Reese Forbes
- Stefan Janoski
- Omar Salazar
- Lance Mountain
- Wieger Van Wageningen
- Todd Jordan
- Lewis Marnell
Amateur riders
Shoes
- Dunk (Low, Mid, High)
- E-CUE (cut in February 2005)
- Air Zoom FC (cut in June 2006)
- ANGUS (cut in May 2006)
- Zoom Team Edition
- SB Classic
- P-Rod (Paul Rodriguez Jr. signature series)
- P-Rod 2
- P-Rod 2 High (set to release early 2008)
- Delta Force
- Blazer SB (Low, High)
- Air Trainer 1 SB
- Regime
- Zoom Tre
- Zoom Tre AD (future 2008 release)
- Zoom Harbor
- URL (Cut in July 2004)
- Abbington
- Zoom Air Veloce (future 2008 release)
- Air Trainer 2 SB
External links
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