Nike SB clothing

SB skate shoes

Since being founded in 2002, Nike SB has become a highly influential sub-label. Led by Sandy Bodecker, it changed the fortunes of Nike’s ailing skate shoe lineup before establishing itself as a vital component of the skateboarding community and the wider fashion and pop culture landscape.

Nike’s first skate shoes, the Schimp, Snak and Choad, came out in 1996, but they lacked authenticity and failed to meet the performance standards of the skating community. To overcome this problem, the brand acquired nascent Portland skate company Savier in 2001, together designing some decent skate shoes before eventually fizzling out. Despite being tough, these experiences laid the foundations for Nike SB.

Under Bodecker’s leadership, the SB sub-label worked closely with skaters and skate stores to better understand the culture. He knew that skaters already wore archival Nike basketball silhouettes like the Dunk, which was tweaked for optimal skating performance and launched as Nike SB’s inaugural skate shoe in 2002. Four editions representing members of SB’s skate team resonated well with the community, while skateboarding lifestyle brand Supreme showed the SB Dunk’s potential as a collaborative canvas with the ‘White Cement’ colourway.

Nike SB gained more credibility when popular skater Paul Rodriguez was signed to its skate team. In 2005, his SB P-Rod was launched as the sub-label’s first signature skate model, and the SB Blazer became the next classic basketball trainer to undergo an official skateboarding redesign. Other greats joined, including Lance Mountain, Eric Koston and Stefan Janoski, whose minimalist 2009 signature shoe is one of the most popular SB silhouettes, and talented skaters Nyjah Huston, Ishod Wair and Leo Baker all came on board in the 2010s. Huston’s SB Nyjah debuted in 2018, its rubberised materials prioritising durability and flexibility, the stylishly retro SB Ishod followed in 2022, and in 2023, the SB Leo became the sub-label’s first gender-neutral shoe.

Alongside these signature designs, the early 2020s brought the dependable SB Chron 2 and the accessible SB Force 58, with its old-school basketball aesthetic, while 2024 delivered the beginner-friendly SB Malor, the durable SB Vertebrae, and the high-performing SB PS8, which pays homage to Sandy Bodecker’s powerful legacy. The Air Max Ishod then evolved Wair’s signature series, and in 2025, the OG SB P-Rod made a triumphant return on its 20th anniversary.

Nike SB’s modern lineup also incorporates fan-favourite archival silhouettes reimagined with skate-ready features, such as 2023’s widely acclaimed SB Jordan 4. In 2025, the SB Air Max 95 marked 30 years of the iconic silhouette, and Bruce Kilgore’s treasured Air Force 1 became the latest sneaker to undergo a skating redesign in 2026.

Led by the visionary Sandy Bodecker, Nike SB built its success upon innovative design and a deep respect for the skateboarding community. Today, those values remain a core part of the sub-label as its high-quality skate shoes continue to be at the heart of skating and sneaker culture.