SB Dunk

Nike smartly positioned the Nike SB Dunk as a shoe with street cred in the skateboarding community. Skater-friendly upgrades to the original Nike Dunk silhouette included a fat tongue, additional padding, elastic straps and Zoom Air soles, to name a few. The company was also strategic in its collaborative choices, working with individuals and brands that embodied the skate culture ethos, and dropping releases through local skate shops. The first Nike SB Dunks were released in partnership with the company’s inaugural skate team–Danny Supa, Gino Ianucci, Richard Mulder and Reese Forbes–each with their own signature colorway. Later that same year, the legendary first Nike SB Dunk collab with streetwear brand Supreme dropped, marking the first appearance of the Jordan 3 elephant print on another shoe. A string of buzzy releases followed throughout the aughts, including collabs with Futura, Diamond Supply Co., Chocolate, Zoo York and more. In 2005, the release of the Jeff Staple ‘Pigeon’ Nike Dunk SB catapulted sneakerhead culture into the mainstream. The iconic Nike Dunk Low was so hotly anticipated that police were called to manage the crowd outside Staple’s NYC storefront.