Nike SB

Nike SB, Skateboards, Sneakers, etc.

To perfect their tricks or to avoid falling, skateboarders look at their feet a lot. Perhaps it is this habit that makes them demanding when it comes to sneakers. When the American firm decided to create its Nike SB division in 2002, it was to a legendary face of the company that it entrusted this mission: Sandy Bodecker . The story that links Nike and skateboarding begins a little earlier. In 1996, Nike already attempted to break into this complicated market with three models with names that sounded like the soundtrack of a cartoon. Schimp, Snak and Choad do not find their audience in the face of competition from existing brands. Bodecker and his teams have a nice challenge to take on.

The vision behind the project

The creation of its Nike SB division is a turning point for the American equipment manufacturer. The swoosh brand has changed strategy. She decides to understand skateboard culture in depth in order to integrate into it smoothly, without forcing the passage through a big communications campaign and intensive marketing. They interact with riders, team up with professionals in the discipline and look for concepts with the desire to innovate. However, their achievements are not all successes. But the vision put in place by Sandy Bodecker behind the Nike SB label is clear, meeting the expectations of skateboarders, working with the community around a common culture to offer them the perfect shoe adapted to their passion. The collaborations with numerous professionals from Team SB (Paul Rodriguez, Eric Koston or the New Yorker Brian Anderson) establish this legitimacy.

Nike SB's secret weapon

And Bodecker relaunched the Nike Dunk . We could almost stop there. The return of the Dunk was indeed a game-changer for Nike SB, which retained the classic silhouette of the iconic model and revisited certain technical characteristics of the shoe. These innovations make it possible to better adhere to the practice of skateboarding and to satisfy riders' requirements in terms of grip, protection and support. The Nike Dunk SB then experienced exponential success, even causing a riot in the streets of New York during the winter of 2005. On the ramps of California or on the sidewalks of New York, London or Paris, the Dunk SB was today a must-have in streetwear fashion that comes in dozens of colorful versions.

Creative examples from Nike SB