Dunk

The Nike Dunk model saw the light of day in 1985. It was a fusion of four shoe models: the Air Force 1, Terminator, Air Jordan 1 and Legend. These shoes were designed for basketball and were geared for maneuvering in the sport. However, the Nike Dunk model became famous for its Be True To Your School campaign, which offered basketball teams in the first college division Nike Dunk in the colors of the respective team.

Beginning of the iconic Nike Dunk

Nike then signed a contract with the universities of Kentucky, Lowa, Michigan, Syracuse, Gergetown, UNLV and St’John’s. Then the Nike Dunk became the official shoe model of these teams. This helped Nike promote the Nike Dunk model to basketball players and the community that was brought together by basketball games.

Over time, the skateboarding community began to thrive and Nike joined this market. However, the community saw Nike as just another big brand looking to sell its shoes to a new market. The community did not want to see new brands and was firmly entrenched with companies that specialized in making board shoes, for example eS, DC, Vans, and Globe.

The modification of the Nike Dunk Mid was warmly received by consumers. It allowed Nike shoes to give new life to the skateboarding scene. It turned out that the shoe’s design was perfect for the sport. In addition, they were very durable.

Nike’s new initiative that popularized the Dunk series

In 1990, the Nike SB (Skateborading) Pro B and Dunk Low CO.JP sub division was created. This was the result of an experiment that combined a variety of materials, colors and design. The Pro B shoes were the first Dunks to use a thick tongue and thicker lining to increase comfort, which appealed not only to skateboarders, but also to shoe collectors from purely aesthetic aspects.

The best period for Nike Dunk shoes was the 2000s, when Sandy Bodecker became CEO of Nike and the Nike Dunk low SB model aimed typically at skaters conquered the market through various collaborations.

The Dunk SB model was personalized by brands such as Supreme, Levi’s, Stussy and many others.Today the most popular colorway is the Nike Dunk Low Panda, which of course you can get at Sneakers Joint! Feel free to check out the rest of our NIKE Dunk Low and Nike Dunk High colorways.