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The history of Nike SB is being celebrated this year thanks to the 15th anniversary of the Nike SB Dunk. Nike SB’s origin is really a story of Nike meeting customer demand while changing the public perception of the brand. Being one of the biggest corporations in the world opens you up to open rejection from a rebellious culture. The realm of skateboarding has it’s own cherished brands, and Nike’s original forays into the skate shoe market were not widely accepted by skaters.

Pre-SB

History of Nike SB – Orange Box

One thing skaters HAD been doing was wearing standard dunks or Air Jordan 1s while skating. Taking notice of this, Nike began producing the pro and pro b dunk lines which had some skate elements while not necessarily being sold as a skate shoe. Shoes like the Lightning and Olive Pro B’s showcased fat tongues, tongue straps and fat oval laces, while pairs like the Plum Pro B’s exemplified premium suede and flashy colorways.

In 2002, Nike officially beefed up the dunk silhouette with additional padding (especially in the tongue), zoom air, tongue straps and fat oval SB laces and released Nike SB’s to the world. These came out in an orange box.

Nike SB Gains Traction

One thing that saved them from immediate rejection in the skater community was their skate team, which brought together some well known skaters. Some of these skaters helped design some of the original SB Dunk colorways. This provided the link between the skate scene and the Swoosh. Team members such as Richard Mulder Reese Forbes , Danny Supa and Gino Iannucci all had their own colorway(s).

Thanks to the quality of the first series of dunks, Nike SB would grow in popularity. Many high profile collabs also helped to make the brand widespread. To learn a little more about the next phase of Nike SB – Silver Box era – check out this article! Stay tuned to my blog for more Nike SB history articles to come!

Where To Cop Some SB Dunks?

As of the writing of this article, eBay is probably your best bet for finding the first SB's.

The First SB’s (2002 Orange Box)

. Watch out for fakes! If you want something more recent, try checking out the selection of newer Nike SB’s on Nike.com or Amazon

Supas

Gino 1

Gino 2

Paul Brown

Chocolate

Zoo York

Supreme Black

Supreme White

Wheat High

Flash

Loden

Sharks

Denim Reese Forbes