Nike SB Dunk

SB Dunk

When Nike SB emerged in 2002, many skaters were already using the brand’s shoes. The Nike Dunk was a particular favourite due to its supportive cushioning and impressive traction, so Sandy Bodecker, manager of Nike’s skateboarding division, chose the model as its first release. He developed a new silhouette known as the Nike SB Dunk Low Pro with features from the original alongside a few skating-specific changes. The updated sole gripped the board more firmly, the padding was bulked up and Zoom Air cushioning was inserted into the midsole. These alterations made Nike SB Dunks great skate shoes, and decades later they are as popular as ever.

From the beginning, Bodecker consulted pro skateboarders and skate shops to ensure that the Nike SB Dunk was centred around their needs. This connection to the skating community has continued through sneakers like the Why So Sad model, which was designed by Scottish skater John Rattray to highlight issues around mental health in an uplifting way. Other skaters, such as renowned boarder Paul Rodriguez, have been responsible for a string of signature shoes. His first Nike release came in 2005, and his tenth, the unforgettable Nike SB Dunk Low What The Paul colourway, arrived in 2021. Combining elements from his earlier sneakers, it has a captivating look that is matched by the What The Dunk model, whose outer brings together design features from the most popular SB Dunks.

Ishod Wair is another talented skater with many SB Dunks named after him. In 2022, he was honoured with a signature shoe – the Nike SB Ishod Wair. In 2023, Olympic-medal-winning Japanese skater Yuto Horigome was given his own SB sneaker – a refined piece of streetwear with brown and grey suede overlays. Meanwhile, skater and photographer Sarah Meurle was chosen to bring exposure to 2022’s Polaroid SB Dunk. Her shots showed off its black and white outer and colourful Polaroid-inspired swooshes.

Other SB Dunks have been created in collaboration with skate brands. Skate shop Supreme has been responsible for several classic designs, including one of the earliest to be released in 2002, while in 2004, Keith Hufnagel’s nascent company, Huf, crafted a Nike SB Dunk High influenced by the free-thinking culture of San Francisco. Almost twenty years later, they released two new sneakers – the black and white SF and the white and blue NY. Another skater to work with Nike SB in its early years was Nick Tershay. His brand, Diamond Supply Co., had been making skateboard hardware for seven years by the time it released the Nike SB Dunk Low x Diamond Supply Co. in 2005. Its deluxe upper has a similar aquamarine tone to that of luxury jewellery store Tiffany & Co. alongside black overlays and chrome swooshes.

Meanwhile, skate fashion brand Concepts has grown its collection of SB Dunk Lobster colourways from an original red model in 2008 to blue and yellow versions in 2009, green and purple ones in 2018, and the Orange Lobster in 2022. Iconic skateboarding artists Todd Bratrud and Sean Cliver designed a sneaker for Strangelove Skateboards in 2020, forging a plush SB Dunk with pink overlays and red velvet swooshes. Then, in 2023, Shanghai’s Fly Streetwear worked with Nike SB to produce the Gardenia colourway – an elegant shoe made in the image of its botanical namesake. Another model from that year was a pair of Highs created in partnership with California’s Pawnshop Skate Co. as a tribute to the skate scene of the Covina community it serves. Chicago’s skateboarding collective froSkate and Seattle’s nonprofit organisation Skate Like A Girl also got their own individual shoes in the early 2020s. Both groups support the non-traditional skating community, and their sneakers reflect that in their use of colour and artwork. Quartersnacks magazine has even received its own SB Dunk OG colourway with a zebra-print upper and smooth black leather overlays.

Despite being a skate shoe, the Nike SB Dunk has attracted interest from other communities, proving its broad appeal. Surfer brand Gnarhunters crafted a SB Dunk Low Pro QS combining wetsuit material and towel fabric. Streetwear label Born x Raised made a Dunk Low with eye-catching holographic swooshes and embroidery of the brand’s motto, “One Block at a Time”. Meanwhile, visionary designer Jeff Staple brought about one of the most hyped sneakers in history when he conceived the NYC Pigeon in 2005. Representing New York, it displayed the colours of the city’s most common bird and was followed by models such as the Panda Pigeon.

Nike’s SB Dunk collaborations even extend to brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, the two coming together in 2020 to release the Chunky Dunky in the well-known patterns of the ice cream company’s packaging. The eBay x Sandy Bodecker came along in the same year, paying homage to the online auction house and the illustrious former head of Nike SB, while 2023 saw Nike launch a design with the green and orange hues of Mexican drinks producer Jarritos.

The model has also had a strong kinship with musicians over the years. Hip hop artists Run The Jewels have designed both a low-top and a high-top, each featuring bold details such as vibrant pink swooshes. Rapper Travis Scott’s ever-growing collection of Nike collaborations includes a SB Dunk covered in paisley canvas and plaid flannel, while the three eccentric Nike SB Dunk Lows made with psychedelic rockers Grateful Dead are all themed upon the dancing bears seen on the band’s album artwork.

Many of these shoes were released in the early 2020s as the SB Dunk experienced another surge in popularity. Others from this decade include 2020’s Chicago colourway, whose red, black and white tones emulate those of the OG Air Jordan 1 version. A year later, several sneakers with a Halloween theme emerged, including the Mummy, whose grey upper looks like it is wrapped in bandages, and the Night of Mischief, which has purple spider’s web graphics through the midfoot. 2021 also produced the Court Purple, with its dynamic mix of black, white and purple hues, the Chlorophyll, whose green highlights reference designs like 1987’s Air Trainer 1, and the lively Street Hawker, which is decorated in graphics representing Chinese cuisine. The floral Hawaii high-top was created in 2021 as well, following in the footsteps of much earlier designs named after places, such as 2002’s Paris colourway, whose canvas overlays contain unique images of paintings by French artist Bernard Buffet.

2022 signalled two decades of Nike SB, and the division released more sneakers to celebrate. There was a low-top in the colours of animated character Bart Simpson, and the St. Patrick’s Day colourway, whose all-green suede upper is embroidered with a four-leaf clover. Nike also added a SB Dunk to its Paisley Pack during this time, as well as starting a new collection called the Fruity Pack, which consists of models based on different fruit. The Blue Raspberry features three shades of blue, the Green Apple has a deep green swoosh and apple green overlays, the Pineapple is a high-top with orange suede overlays on a pale yellow base and the Cherry is covered in various shades of red.

Sporting influences have also been common amongst SB Dunks, with 2018’s all-blue NBA collaboration just one example. In 2022, Nike put out a series of colourways for Major League Baseball teams, including the blue and white Los Angeles Dodgers and the orange and black San Francisco Giants Nike SB Dunk High Pro Premium. There was a New York Mets sneaker in the team’s blue and orange tones, and a pale blue Philadelphia Phillies model with maroon swooshes. The SB Dunk honoured its skating roots once more in 2022 by extending its 2019 Orange Label series. Both Low and Mid SB Dunks were in the original set, and a high-top was added in 2021. Special orange branding unites newer members of the series like the SB Dunk Low Pro ISO Light Cognac, which was only available in certain skate shops, and the pinky purple Sweet Beet. The Grey Gum is in the series as well, and the White Gum colourway has similar branding in black. 2022 also saw the release of the Be True model, whose elegant white upper is decorated with rainbow-coloured accents. This prolific run of SB Dunks continued into 2023 through popular releases like the Adobe, whose insole is printed with a how-to guide for skaters.

As the launch model for Nike’s skateboarding division, the Nike SB Dunk had a great weight to carry. It did so with style and grace, giving the department the best possible start. Following this, the silhouette continued to go from strength to strength, empowering not only the Dunk name, but also those within the skating community and beyond. The rich stories told through its myriad designs have endeared it to people all around the world, meaning that every release is as highly anticipated as the first.