Nike is probably one of the biggest athletic shoe companies in the world. As a major player, it has battled it out with other players for a share of the basketball shoes market. The traditional white basketball shoes got spruced up when the Nike Dunks came to the scene through select university and college basketball teams. It wasn’t too long before these shoes got discovered by enthusiasts of yet another growing sports culture that time – skateboarding.
Skateboarding traces its roots as far back as the 1980s. Since the following was relatively still small that time, major shoe companies weren’t too interested. This paved the way for the smaller players so they took the chance to serve this niche.
Nike at that time focused its Nike Dunks on the basketball court but because of the technology used in the shoes to address basketball requirements, the riders were attracted. The shoes were designed for strong grips, durability where ankle support is, and for comfort during flips and pivots. These were the same shoe requirements for skateboarding but that time, it wasn’t too desirable for the underground nature of the sport. Riders preferred to buy from the smaller shops rather than the big shoe companies.
When the skateboard industry grew to more than $2.5 by the early 2000s , so many brands like DC, Etnies, and Osiris got half of this growth.
The shoes made by Nike still had attracted hardcore skaters because of the shoes’ lower profile and wider paneling. To cater to the new market, the Nike SB line was launched in 2002 during the time when skateboarding was peaking. The Nike SB line had everything a skateboarder ever needs for an active pair.