20 Years of the Nike SB Dunk
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By Stadium Goods |20 Years of the Nike SB Dunk
A look back at the early years of the Nike SB Dunk and some of its greatest colorways ever in celebration of the 20th anniversary of its first release in March 2002.
Matt DeSciora
The old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try again” must have weighed heavily on Sandy Boedecker in 2001.
After a successful run as Nike’s Vice President of Special Projects, he had recently been appointed the General Manager of the brand’s new skate division, Nike SB. His task was simple but improbable at the time: win over a skate community that had grown leery of the brand once and for all.
It wasn’t going to be easy.
Nike’s ill-fated attempts to break into skateboarding with footwear like the Choad, the Scream, and the Schimp in 1998 were met with cynicism by skaters, perhaps not undeserved. But Nike was desperate to plant its flag in the one sport it hadn’t yet reached, and felt confident it had found the answer to its problems in Boedecker, who had been a key figure in revitalizing its soccer division.
While sneakers like the Choad and ads like “What If We Treated All Athletes Like Skateboarders” were overlooked by skaters who saw Nike as a big corporation looking to cash in on the sport’s growing popularity, they hadn’t completely written off the Swoosh just yet.
The community still held something from the brand in reverence: the Dunk.
Introduced in 1985 as the first-ever team shoe in college basketball, the Nike Dunk was almost immediately adopted by skaters who saw the shoe’s grippy rubber outsole, durable leather construction, and extra thick padded collar as advantageous. Even after flaming out as a basketball shoe, the Dunk was adored in the skate scene throughout the ‘80s and into the early ‘90s, especially when it washed up at discount stores. In other words, the Dunk was cheap, accessible, and dependable—the qualities of a perfect skate shoe.
The shoe’s popularity would waver throughout the ‘90s, but pick up again when models like the Dunk Low Pro B and Dunk Co.Jp surfaced in California and Japan, respectively. The regional silhouettes were part of the brand’s efforts in experimenting with new concepts, including unique materials and colors, and inadvertently—or advertently, depending on who to ask—created hype in sneaker culture, which was, back then and still to this day, obsessed with exclusivity.
The Nike Dunk Pro B “Putty” from 1999—a predecessor to the Nike SB Dunk
More than their flashy colors and exotic materials, the Pro B and Co.Jp were the first Dunks styles to modify the retro basketball shoe’s design. The Pro B introduced a “fat” padded mesh tongue and extra padding for comfort. Skaters noticed these changes and began to seek out the Dunk. As did sneaker collectors. Suddenly everyone wanted in on the Dunk.
So, how does this all circle back to Boedecker? And when does the Nike SB Dunk that we know and love today actually figure into the story?
Taking notice of the reaction to the new modified Dunks, Boedecker decided that in order for Nike SB to win over skaters, it should go with the best—and probably only—shoe the skate scene deemed “authentic” from Nike.
Boedecker and his team hit the pavement and visited skate shops all over the country to gauge interest in a Dunk Low Pro B created specifically for skateboarding. Feedback was positive, and after some modifications before final production, Nike SB officially launched the SB Dunk in March 2002.
This is only the beginning of the Nike SB Dunk’s story. Read on as we dive into who helped market the shoe in its early years, some of its best collaborations and memorable moments, it’s impact in sneaker culture, and much, much more.
Nike SB Dunk Low “Reese Forbes - Wheat” From 2002
The Early Years - Original Nike SB Team Riders Design the First SB Dunk Colorways
The Nike SB Dunk Low was officially released in March 2002. It was based on the Pro B model, but with several skate-specific modifications, including a drop in Zoom Air unit in the heel, and more padding all around. The brand recognized it needed skaters that were respected within the industry to wear and promote the shoe, so it signed the likes of Danny Supa, Reese Forbes, Richard Mulder, and Gino Ianucci as the first members of the new Nike SB skate team. The group also designed their own colorways of the new SB Dunk, which are now known as the “Orange Box” collection—named after the color of the shoe box they were packaged and released in.
Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Low “White Cement” - First Nike SB Dunk Collab
The Collaborations - Revered Skate Shops, Artists, and More Co-Sign the SB Dunk
Once respected pros co-signed the SB Dunk, Boedecker and Nike SB’s next order of business was to get the shops that would be selling the shoe on board by having them design exclusive colorways. In 2002, a then-underground New York City skate shop called Supreme released a version of the SB Dunk that combined elements of Michael Jordan’s Air Jordan 3 onto the skate shoe. Supreme’s “Black Cement” and “White Cement” makeups were quickly followed by Zoo York’s metropolitan take on the sneaker. In time, artists like Futura and Pushhead, classic rock bands such as Iron Maiden, and more skate and streetwear brands, including Keith Hufnagel’s Huf, Jeff Staple’s Staple Design, Stussy, Supreme again, and more, would all collaborate on the SB Dunk throughout the mid 2000s.
Diamond Supply Co. x Nike SB Dunk Low “Tiffany”
The Materials - What Went on the SB Dunk Separated It From Its Peers
SB Dunks were worn by the world’s best skateboarders, designed by the coolest skate and streetwear shops and most talented artists, but it was how the shoes were constructed that made the shoes so special. Continuing where the Pro B and Co.Jp Dunks left off in the ‘90s and early 2000s, the versions of the skate shoe from the mid-aughts featured some of the most exotic and premium materials ever found on sneakers.
Supreme’s two elephant print colorways were just the tip of the iceberg in regards to unique fabrics appearing on the SB Dunk. The Reese Forbes “Denim” and “Hunter” colorways championed a rugged look that could withstand the rigors of skating; the same could be said for the “Hemp Pack” and the “Medicom” releases. Diamond Supply Co.’s infamous “Tiffany” Dunk was skate luxury with faux croc leather panels and metallic silver Swooshes. And then there were the hairy suede panels on the “Skunk Dunk” that were inspired by marijuana.
The SB Dunk Goes Pop
Whether Nike SB had clearance or not, the brand was going to honor icons in popular culture on the Dunk throughout its run in the 2000s and 2010s, and there was little doubt that these were some of the shoe’s most desirable colorways. It started with the “Heineken” Dunk in 2004, and continued with the “Roswell Rayguns,” “Freddy Krueger,” “De La Soul,” and culminated with 2020’s Ben & Jerry’s co-designed “Chunky Dunky” Dunks.
Brian Anderson wearing the Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Low “Black Cement”
The Nike SB Dunk as a Skate Shoe
At the end of the day, the Nike SB Dunk was made for skateboarding. It wouldn’t feel right if we closed this celebration of its beginnings without looking at some of its most legendary colorways actually being skated in.
Richard Mulder Bluntsiding the Nike SB Dunk Low “Danny Supa” at the Burger Banks
Reese Forbes makes an ollie over a patch of grass look easy in his own Nike SB Dunk Low “Wheat”
California native Paul Rodriguez wearing the Nike SB Dunk Low “Cali”
Wieger Van Wageningen in the Nike SB Dunk Low “Pigeon” in its natural environment, an abandoned warehouse
Omar Salazar ollie-to-bank in the Nike SB Dunk Low “Tiffany”