Introducing the Nike SB Dunk:
A New Culture Emerges
The Nike SB Dunk officially launched in 2002 with the creation of the Nike Skateboarding division. The SB Dunk offered a flagship running shoe that coincided with the original Nike Dunk's launch, but the spirit of the Nike SB Dunk was conceived decades earlier. The original Dunk launched as a high-top basketball shoe in 1985. It was a team-oriented performance shoe, but its bold colour blocking caught the skateboard community's attention; as did the similarly designed Air Jordan 1;and skaters immediately gravitated toward the Dunk.
When Nike began creating low-top versions of the Dunk, skateboarders hoarded them. When it came time to launch the Nike Skateboarding line, it seemed a natural fit to merely tweak the original Nike Dunk by crafting an official Nike SB Dunk. It started with four designs and has since spawned one of the widest arrays of collaborations in Nike's history.
Nike SB Dunk Mixes Things up With Colours, Collabs and a Yellow Lobster
The SB Dunk has come a long way since Nike appointed four professional skateboarders to take a crack at their own colourway for the skate shoe's initial 2002 launch. Reese Forbes, Gino Iannucci, Richard Mulder and Danny Supa created personalised versions, all of which are rare and highly sought-after by running shoe enthusiasts today:
Gino Dunk SB
black suede overlays grey perforated leather for sleek style
Supa Dunk SB
the brightest of the bunch, in a safety orange-hyperblue-white inspired by the NY Mets
Forbes Dunk SB
features a wheat-dune coloured suede upper with a gum sole
Mulder Dunk SB
clean blue-on-white colourway inspired by the LA Dodgers
Later that same year, Nike teamed up with Supreme, a mega-popular skate streetwear brand in New York. Their collaboration resulted in the first non-Air Jordan running shoe to dress up in the famed elephant print first seen on the Air Jordan 3. They released two colourways, White Cement and Black Cement, both in a low-top silhouette. This collab put the Nike SB Dunk on every running shoe enthusiast's radar. In 2003, Supreme also launched Pro SB high-tops in Red Stars and Blue Stars colourways.
More collaborations followed over the next few years, including:
Futura
Designed in partnership with iconic NYC graffiti artist Futura, the low-top mixes tumbled leather in Nightshade accented with grey suede and black mesh.
U.N.K.L.E.
This collab with Mo' Wax artist U.N.K.L.E. is a work of art—the black, pink and white high-top upper is splashed with a cool design by graffiti artist Futura.
More colourways followed, like Jedi and Heineken, but nothing prepared fans for the 2005 City Series, with limited releases from designers in Paris, Tokyo, London and New York City. The Paris iteration was highly sought-after, and while all colourways in the series became collector favourites, none caused more of a stir than the Jeff Staple-designed NYC version, dubbed the Nike SB Dunk Pigeon.
Nike SB Dunk: Skater-Friendly Features and Design
Skateboarders were fans of the original Nike Dunk for its low-profile midsole, court-style traction, ample cushioning and support–plus it was similar in fit and styling to the Air Jordan 1, which was released the same year. When the SB Dunk versions launched in 2002, they featured additional skate-specific details:
- Extra padding around the collar and tongue
- Full-length EVA midsole
- Zoom Air unit in the heel
- Perforations in the toe box
- Rubber outsole with pivot circle for multi-directional traction
- Low, mid and high-top options
Nike SB Dunk: Additional Collabs
- Slam City Skates: The legendary London skate shop Slam City Skates created a light taupe-black suede low-top that features a scratch-off colour on the Swoosh.
- What The Dunk?: Part of a campaign for a feature-length skate film featuring the Nike SB Team Riders, this funky style is created from 31 different SB Dunks.
- MF Doom: Nike joined forces with the acclaimed underground rapper MF Doom to craft this high-top in black suede with grey leather overlays, reflective striping and faux ostrich skin on the toe wrap.
- De La Soul: Teaming up with hip-hop group De La Soul, Nike released both low and high silhouettes featuring eclectic blends of textiles and colours inspired by their albums' cover art.
- Red Lobster: Boston-based Concepts worked with Nike to create a pink clay-red suede upper inspired by the ruddy crustacean. The style's success led to Blue Lobster and Yellow Lobster colourways—the latter being an extremely limited release, given to Concepts employees.
Cultural Significance of the Nike SB Dunk
Nike's conscious decision to jump feet first into collaborations speaks directly to the strong connection between the skate world and running shoe culture–one rooted in collaboration, community, and unique personality. Releasing an eclectic mix of special-edition collabs to skate shops early in the Nike SB Dunk run helped Nike cement a spot in skate culture.
The Nike SB Dunk reached a fever pitch in 2005. Avid fans of the upcoming Pigeon release camped out for days during a blizzard in New York, hoping to land a pair. Things escalated when police arrived to break up the line. A riot ensued, and arrests were made in a story that made national news. That event illustrates how far people will go to get a coveted pair of their favourite kicks.
Collectability and Value of the Nike SB Dunk
There are plenty of general release options that running shoe enthusiasts can grab. Serious collectors can dole out big bucks for rare versions like these:
- Nike Dunk SB Paris
- Yellow Lobster
- What The Dunk?
- Travis Scott
- Chunky Dunky
Other styles running shoe enthusiasts seek out are Stussy Cherry, Grateful Dead, Red Stars, 2012 Red Cement and 2002 Black Cement .
