PRESENTED BY NIKE SB: FIFTEEN YEARS OF SB DUNK - Stories from the Inside Out

In an era where sneakers change hands between collectors for five and even six-figure sums, it's sometimes hard to remember when kicks weren't a 'grail' item for people worldwide. 15 years ago, sneakerheads were a subculture centered in New York, LA, London, Japan and the Internet. Then, in 2002, the Nike SB Dunk was introduced by Nike's fledgling skateboarding division, and an 80s basketball shoe ignited both the world of skateboarding and sneaker culture.
VICE Magazine had a front-row seat at the time as one of Nike SB's very first partners. So when the 15th anniversary rolled around we had an immediate thought - let's make a Dunk documentary that delves into the history of the SB Dunk, and charts how we got here.
We found the story reflects the unique intersection of sneakerhead collectors with the skate community. Riders like Richard Mulder, Reese Forbes, Gino Iannucci, and Danny Supa helped determined the look, feel, approach and tone of the SB Dunk, in partnership with the Nike SB design team. That group quickly built a grassroots movement with skate retailers like Supreme and Huf, the nascent "hype" press of Freshnessmag.com and NikeTalk, and new Nike team riders like Brian Anderson, Wieger van Wagninen and Paul Rodriguez. Informed by the "gotta have them all" mentality of OG Japanese collector/retailers like Hidefumi Hommyo (of Chapter and Atmos), sneaker-specific boutiques like Undefeated popped up, region-specific releases were developed, and the sneaker culture your hypebeast cousin now talks about incessantly was fully established.
Today the SB Dunk is iconic, but it's easy to forget that it's still a skate shoe first and foremost that guys like Theotis Beasely, Sean Malto and Ishod Wair still rock religiously.
Watch the inside story of the past 15 years hearing from shop owners, collaborators and skateboarders who helped make the SB Dunk a legend.
Subscribe to VICE Sports here: bit.ly/Subscrib...
Check out VICE Sports for more: www.vicesports.com
Follow VICE Sports here:
Facebook: / vicesports
Twitter: / vicesports
Instagram: / vicesports
More videos from the VICE network: www. vic...

[@jeffreymartin3361]

90’s sneakerheads be like “you SKATE in those?” 2020 smeakerheads be like “Damn, you WALK in those?”

[@gooutsideasfollows9105]

😂

[@joshr8705]

Haha.. so true

[@ericwoodard7005]

Nervous to skate in my 2014 dunks. At least for a few sessions, Should I be? Don’t wanna fuck em up too bad

[@rangr2189]

I'm offended but I 100% agree

[@Walevolence]

90’s sneakerheads be like “you SKATE in those?” 2020 sneakerheads be like “you WALK in those?” 2030 sneakerheads be like "you KEEP those on display!?"

[@dyddnjs47]

days when zoo york stussy and supreme were reigning the scene, it was raw days

[@jacoblandman7345]

YEEKEE Kwon supreme still does. Timless brand

[@madcoremedia]

YEEKEE Kwon i miss those era

[@jamiejude]

stussy still goes hard

[@brianbradley1345]

Time to bring back zoo york

[@rikudan5876]

@@jamiejude Facts.

[@chylldownproductionz]

Nike needs to make a tribute dunk mid for Lewis Marnell

[@corbinsmeal7808]

so damn true

[@markoftheyeast2648]

Don't worry they will profit off his death when they feel comfortable knowing a mid nike sb dunk will sell.

[@theosborneidentity6125]

Mark of the Yeast Its crazy they haven't done it yet. Maybe they feel like Lewis wasn't the most marketable skater. That's why they threw him in chronicles 1 so they could get him and Clark hassles lazy ass out of the way. You will NEVER see a Lewis Marnell mid dunk from Nike.

[@big3ye378]

👎

[@KoolCatCurtis]

My very first skateboard was a Lewis marnell almost deck

[@kevinbergen5552]

Neek Lurk be like "I don't care about anything" How bout that shipping tho?

[@w.doornbos844]

3 years later, shipping still shit. Some things never change

[@meltingspot1064]

Dude is cringe

[@filmmakerdimi]

This was such a well crafted video, I feel like a lot of hypebeasts are getting into dunks right now for the hype and that's it. Vice kudos for making such a deep dive into the history of the SB dunks love this

[@duckmroll9079]

This 21 min video is gold in every single minute, makes me want to appreciate more the dunks, and their history behind it.

[@BlackZynfyndel]

Fuck a trend. Still rocking some now.

[@joshcannonball]

i find it weird they didn't highlight the tiffany dunks. when those dropped thats when i felt the sneaker scene went from this underground thing to being super hyped up.

[@ILeapZHD]

I have a pair sitting in my closet :) still has all its stars

[@wroth_]

naw they were already mainstream the tiffany came out during the SB explosion.

[@essbe8937]

If you ever watch the how to become a hypebeast video lmao, you will see they use the Tiff dunk

[@iHD01]

BRING BACK THE OLD SB's!

[@Theeezfoo77]

iHD™ hah, gaaaaaaaaayyy

[@SneakerHeadInTheBay]

This was dope guys! Nike SB love

[@triniboy05]

I first started getting into kicks in 2006 and SB Dunks were my go-to because I love the styling, they were mad comfortable, and pretty uncommon. Like Ishod’s comment at the end though, it’s the only shoe that the athletes attempt to gatekeep. I’ve never heard a runner or basketball player question how someone was using their shoe. I don’t understand Ishod’s confusion. You wear the shoe and walk around in it or do whatever, it’s not like all you can do is skate in them.

[@morganbishop1052]

Sb’s are the shoe that got so many people into collecting. Big ups

[@aldoshakur]

Nike, if you're reading this message. Please start retro'n the SB's!!

[@jimreuss]

They have been. Not a straight up retro but example, the diamond dunks releasing as a high.

[@crysisbai]

@@jimreuss viotech will be retroed

[@Neil-qg9cw]

@@crysisbai It's not an SB

[@crysisbai]

@@Neil-qg9cw idk why I would comment this but yea I know they're just dunk lows

[@platanodash]

And then they will die like Jordan’s

[@SnyderMusik]

My favorite shoe, loved them before I even knew what they were called. The De la Soul high brown's definitely caught my eye back in the day.

[@00010075]

the original nike sb team was the dopest

[@donthorn1906]

The dunks I’ve ruined over the years 🤦🏼‍♂️ God bless Skateboarding

[@justinbuice]

Same. There's an IG page @skateyourdunks that features ruined SB's

[@flowersofdecember]

@@justinbuice love that page

[@xFaMoUzxKR3Wx]

Dunks were still accessible at this point and time

[@xFaMoUzxKR3Wx]

Now it’s near impossible

[@corentinho29]

@@xFaMoUzxKR3Wx good thing it changed now. Just copped some atmos elephants for 120 pretty hyped

[@sparkb8135]

shoulda been longer but freakin awesome doc! thanks Vice!

[@kobenoyashi531]

Dunks honestly are some of the best shoes to skate in, no one can deny that. But sneaker culture has blown it for us skaters. Their popularity has inflated their price so much that it's impractical to skate them since most skaters can't afford $90+ shoes every other month.

[@fatmac8480]

kobenoyashi yah true. but i hit nike outlets all the time and i see the uglier sb dunks around $50 and regular dunks which i buy all the time around $30

[@PlanetJigobotTV]

I rock my SB-z when I do shows. The fit and the color waves are so crazy!

[@Magicman10111213]

This was dope. Memories for days.

[@jcpnike]

Been waiting for something like this, anything like this about the SB Dunk

[@ap_produxtions]

P.Rod 1 still my favorite shoes of all time

[@aloot4772]

Damn we ain't never gonna see this day again.

[@killinqz]

they stopped adding subtitles for Hommyo when he said “you know” lmfao

[@wrodx5]

You know

[@RBunting]

My first pair was a purple safari I got at a skateshop on sale in 2011, I skated the soles smooth! I loved them.. I only recently found out how much dunks are worth. I've stopped skating them. Recently I got two new pairs for way below msrp and the nostalgia has been reignited.

[@illocon]

Would be interesting if vice sports did a docu on the casual scene in 70s/80s English football, with European away days promoting the wearing of adidas trainers. There's a reason why trainers/sneakers are still called trabs in Liverpool ("boss trabs there, lid") and it's all down to the adidas trimm trab shoes brought back from the continent. Transalpino would be a good start for any research.

[@alexphillips7544]

Brilliant documentary those new Ishods are brilliant just wish we could get all the old colour ways in the low pro!!

[@headon434]

Id take nike sb dunks and blazers all day before any jordan !

[@slaterdeflow]

What about the Jordan 1

[@sebastianryes7378]

They started off j one's same shoe with srtraps

[@sebastianryes7378]

@Mango thy got fancy ones

[@dragorocky]

Thx Vice. That was dope

[@baware9087]

Vice, you missed the opportunity to use the title " from the INSOLE out "

[@rexralphiello]

I am happy to have completed my SB Dunk Collection. Keep it old school!

[@StereoSoundAgent]

@20:51 I love Ishod. I started both collecting dunks and skating them probably in 2005. Only this year have I got back into collecting after 5 years and started keeping them DS and in the box condition haha.. Ive just been collecting them. Idk its fun. But its been difficult. I plan on skating these KB Blazer highs though as soon as they arrive in the mail

[@SkullyScream]

Ishod Wair's QS is one of my favorite dunks I own

[@tid1687]

VICE - your pieces or so much better without a host. Good, Solid Doc approach.

[@vwgolfer1873]

Nothing but the truth still one of the best skate vids of all time IMO

[@mahilo3550]

Theotis Beasley skated the Donatello Mid in his Debacle part.

[@LotharOfTheHillPeople]

I started rocking Dunks when I moved up into a size 15. Until then I was with all the core skate brands, but almost no one was making 15s and the Dunk looked familiarly skate-like. 12 years and I haven't skated anything else since.

[@juanpalermo4247]

damn i wonder what boardsize you ride with them feet

[@LotharOfTheHillPeople]

haha 8.5" since '03, although I recently got a couple of 8.63" Flip decks that are pretty rad.

[@QUAKECITYROCKER]

The good ol' days.

[@wmcroy3306]

THE STEADFAST CO No lie haha haha my first Nike SB was the Vanilla Ice Blazers bought em again on Ebay recently can't wait to get em

[@lukekindred1999]

Awesome to learn the story.

[@sleepytwiggaming]

so refreshing to see these shoes get skated in.

[@maccjay8974]

Best shoe ever made

[@doniawonjohnson4047]

Had a friend who got the new drops delivered. He had thousands of sb's, wonder if he still has em What an investment. Traded bud with a skate shop employee..

[@ProdByClockwerk]

Agreed with Theotis 100%. No one will ever wear dunks as good as Lewis.

[@Cashcrop91]

glasssOfOJ the reason why I skated dunks

[@RoflCopper69]

waiting on that dunk elite high. shits going to be fire

[@essbe8937]

Top 3 sB dunks of all time 1.what the dunks 2.supreme dunks lows blue cement 3.NYC pigeon Dunk 4.de la souls high 5.paris 6.londons 7.heineken 8.zoo yorks 9.all 3 dunk high star supremes 10.stussy cherry 11.iron maiden 12. Send help 13.sea crystals 14.reese forbes Hunter 15.black cement low supremes 16.danny supas 17.peewee hermans 18.MF dooms 19.ray gun low black 20.oompa loompas 21.tweed 22.vapour minerals 22.boca Jrs 23.bucks 23.jedis 23.huff 23.homers 23.sobatage 23.unluckys 23.melvins 23.luckys 23.dia de los muertos 23.iron 23.OG halloweens 23.hemp 23.3 bears 23.wheat Forbes 23.slam city 23.reese denims 23.ghost 23.damn I got to many to keep going but you get the idea. If u was born after 95 most likely u don’t know but for those who do we can agree Oh and another SB that killed the game was the supreme blazers.

[@rage508cardsngrails]

Agree and many more I have an og pair of purple pigeons

[@dumbod1805]

For me Nike Dunk was the crazy sneakers when I was young.I don't even know what is Air Jordan.I google Nike and I saw Gold SB and my mom told me she will buy new shoes for me then I go to the Outlets to find that Gold SB but they have only small size and that was my first sneakers heartbreak of me so Nike please retro all of the Dunk and SB please!We got to much of retro Jordan now.

[@sennsir]

Ishod is definitely correct 👌👌

[@ThatMF_Doom]

That Zoo York show on Fuel TV, Skate Maps, got me into SB Dunks

[@NoRestForTheWeary]

I've only had like 3 or 4 pairs but I skated every single one. favorite was the aqua chalk

[@chrisingram3771]

fave shoe all time. this shoe led to the demise of my paychecks since 2004.

[@chrisingram3771]

and I love seeing them skating in my grails. silver box !!!!! I got married in my unlucky's. true love

[@jefffranklin6054]

Love dunks! I got a pair of Jordans that look exactly like dunks and feel like them and skate just like the older dunks did. They are all I'll skate except maybe the newer accels because I can't get the old ones

[@MaybeAnt]

I remember seeing the mulder dunks at the outlets for weeks. Multiple size 9's for $20. I bought 1 pair and I hate that I didn't pull the trigger on all the pairs that were there.

[@rainbowthegod]

some of my favs 1 barfs 2 cincos 3 jpacks 4 ghost highs 5 bisons 6 hawaiis and many many more but those my favs

[@postbrohomes2382]

God I love dunks since high school even till this day it's what I mostly wear

[@the6ig6adwolf]

Can we get a Cory Kennedy inmate colorway?

[@fahmialfian4160]

he got cut.

[@heelturnsface]

+Fahmi Alfian dude killed somebody

[@stokkejanraggio9091]

@@heelturnsface not somebody. rip P-stone.

[@slaterdeflow]

That nollie was fuckin dope

[@chunkyrexx]

Where's Omar Salazar 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@UzzieGee]

Chunky Rexx he was more of a blazer wearer and then he got his own signature shoes

[@crazyasspatersonskaters]

This is too sick I use to cop tons of quickstrikes from my local Skateshop underground and now I'm really into skating it's sick to see the history behind it all atleast what I didn't already know about sb

[@00010075]

Ishod's real ass message in the end though lol

[@essbe8937]

I’m happy to say I was camping and skating in front of the stussy store, when recon and clientele was still around. Most of y’all don’t even know about world. Shot out to my dude Dallas

[@rockoutkids]

paris dunk will always be my favorite looking dunk. something about that one, damn.

[@harrisd2940]

Nike sb dunks are my favorite shoes

[@postbrohomes2382]

I fuckin love dunks so much all time favorite show ever been a dunk head since 04 and funny this dude at the end got the sea crystals low and I just got mine last week for the super low

[@sebastianryes7378]

Dunks my favorite shoes ever made

[@Trashbagcarwindows]

Bruh Prod fried ASFFFF😭😭😭😭

[@b00biemain00]

always been a hardcore skater owned skate shoe companies..but after seeing theotis on dunks in baker videos, and reynolds not having a problem with that, im ok with it too..but took me a while to fully accept nike sb..the early p rods was sick..n still is..now i own one sb dunks low and a few other team shoes (btw still kept my half cab's n emerica's n dvs's)..the board feel is unexpectedly good..but theyre hella expensive..but hey, thats what u get for fucking around with nike

[@joelopezjr3237]

I'm glad these dudes actually used their dunks, everyone should wear their kicks cause life too short. Plus ya flex :D

[@halo32133]

super dope vid!

[@3serio]

That jacket Robbie has on if FIRE!!!!!!

[@checkoutthebigbrainonbrad7668]

"Pretty soon he had a crew that wadn't no punk, With their Spitfire shirts and their SB Dunks"

[@ShadowedSoundsRecords]

Drake Marshall kick push coast...

[@andrewilliams6866]

2006, Nike talk, Myspace, before the mainstream hopped on... before my time

[@dannymartinez2249]

Nobody: Reese Forbes: a dunk guy? A dunk guy? Alright so what makes a dunk guy.

[@jonathanfrushour3928]

RIP Keith Hufnagel

[@sorcerydiamonds]

bruhhhh the diamond supply ones

[@spanishkev4749]

loved this.

[@moonmanmigz]

I love Nike SB they are the only shoes I skate and I hope one day to be sponsored by they so NIke SB what's up

[@NoDDinOuTMeLoDy]

Remember when qias went on sneaker shopping and didn’t know a thing about dunks or sb

[@essbe8937]

He’s hated by people who truly appreciate sneakers

[@prettyymanee]

qias just straight up an og hype beast but still a hype beast

[@balazs7235]

I wish Nike Dunk and Dunk SBs were lowkey and unwanted by hypebeasts. No gatekeeping, but I just genuinely want a pair of them without having to pay resell. If I could buy for retail? Hell yeah! Would skate Travis Scotts and The Chunky Dunkies. With $1000+ resell? Not so much. Rather wear them casually.

[@drank_connoisseur_3236]

Everyone that’s hopping on the dunk wave.. they need to come right here and do some homework about the shoe they got on there foot!

[@rage508cardsngrails]

Facccccccts I been here since 05 with the black and purple box and pink box I bought the og Brian Andersons from concrete wave here in MA. In 05 and still have the milli Vanille's , Bic pens, weager, 4 pairs of sb team editions, and many more I was rocking em heavy then when people we screaming "WHAT AREEEE THOSE" while five dudes & two chicks at the house party all got the same pair of J's on I was different never a follower as a young Bull an never as a grown man #salute to all the #leaders an #youngtrendsetters out there way ahead of there time! Now #nikesb are damn near the top wanted an worn shoe on the planet amongst the in crowd🎯💯🔥 smh 🤦...... #goodone #maybenexttime #lastlaugher lol #salute 😆 😂 🤣

[@jdsrafanan264]

Love it!

[@legitballin1986]

I started skateboarding in high school. Early 2000’s. Nike SB wasn’t out yet. They were still on Savior. So as a young sneakerhead I hated not being able to buy nikes. That is all I ever wore. Once NikeSB dropped I was in love again. I can’t skate anymore because of my hip but I still rock SB’s.

[@kooskoos8181]

6:30 i have that magazine. BA is sick.

[@simonyadig]

Damn, I had so many pairs of Rayguns and I skated all of them til they had holes in them. Should have saved a pair, those are so dope!

[@NoDDinOuTMeLoDy]

Nike the next documentary should be about the Air Force one and how they were from 1996 until 2006 ish even more popping then Jordan’s. Nike was killing it with the sb line and the Air Force line they had pixies , tuxedos, x mas , 06 Super Bowl , the linen , air forces was running the game then they killed them around the time they fused them with Jordan’s

[@wagnerrr23]

The Choad came out in like 95 or 96, The Choppy Omega pro model. First skate shoe by nike.

[@KeetyPooh]

Really interesting marketing as they did go for the underground greats and not the Tony Hawks and Shecklers of the X Games highlight. Nike could of just abused all power but they really did take the underground route. This needs to be in a textbook.

[@timothyhill1149]

before the internet trying to find yellow and blacks all day before reissues dreaming of reissue wanted the impossible. standing out. why i dont know to be different. good video

[@simplistek]

If only I kept my collection from 2006. Tiffs, unkles, vamps, pigeons. The list goes on.

[@simplistek]

@Call me Vii sold alot of my shoes back in 2008 or 2009 to fund another hobby of mine.

[@boogiedownbronx73]

Fuck me 2002 seems like yesterday. I always though SB was from the 90s...damn didn't knew they were so young.

[@voyager7971]

Lol I'm not a huge skater fan or anything but I'm a fan of the sb dunk lows, I love how they look and I just want to know the story behind them,

[@amnesiafallsGameplay]

i hate the fact that nike knows what they’re doing w the big comeback of dunks. labeling them as a skateboard/basketball type shoe that revolutionized sneaker culture, and make them almost completely unavailable. even the most basic silhouette w basic colorways the minimum price is $150-$200. ive skated in dunks and can say, they are a decent shoe to skate in, but not groundbreaking. no need to pay upwards of $500 or more for a pair of shoes. And the fact that there are people that deadass buy the shoe to resell is just ass. I understand flipping the $100 spent on SNKRS into $1200 brings in mad profit, and is tbh one of the smartest way to make money, but ONLY seeing $$$ in material things is low and scummy.

[@secondchanceskateshop]

lowkey why was richard milder not wearing socks in those hi's

[@dominiqueosorio-davis6781]

17:49 I'm too old for this brand but if I was old enough I wouldn't rock his shit knowing he looked like that.

[@skaterdudeprodutions]

Seriously the fuck even is this dude.. like that sweaty nerdy kid in school somehow came across a few million

[@organicthug5220]

Dominique Osorio-Davis goofy ass guy for sure hahaha I won’t but his stuff

[@chrishartley6411]

Dam! I can't even imagine how meany color ways there are of SBs out there

[@marios23apoel]

11:45 of course. I do that if I have to, no way i'm gonna miss out on something great for 1-2 sizes lol. and i'm a 11.5/12!

[@Mattieb_23]

Richard mulder got that fat check from Nike bro eating real good...

[@candleankle1805]

Matthew Bailey he's been fat before any Nike money.

[@lilfuego6613]

I wanna collect the Sb dunks lows.i want ALL of them!!!

[@Billiamkimber]

Nah he took the wheat colorway from the éS accel don browns lol

[@Das_rich]

ive looked all over the internet & i can’t find the anatomy of the sb dunk video from 2010/11

[@novascotiasog]

Brian Anderson out here getting his hair done during the vid.