Tired Topic - Nike Shoes - suck or rule?

[Mullet Man]

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Same here. I just can't support a company that will leave when things get bad in skateboarding. When the money dries up will they stick by us like Vans or Sole Tech?

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hahaha, you might want to retract that statement in regards to vans. vans were very notably absent from skateboarding in the 90's, please believe. when airwalk died vans quietly ducked out of the skate world for a few years. when they made their return there were many a skeptical opinion heard amongst the skate publications of the day.

people have very short memories.

Are you serious? I skated all through the 90's, and Vans NEVER fell off the radar. I remember the early 90's when Chukkas and "Old Skools" were on everyone's feet. Half-Cabs were huge. A couple years later they made that sick Agah shoe, the Camel Toes. Everyone rocked those. A couple years later they came out with the Mike Carrolls, like beefed up Half-Cabs. Every pro without a shoe sponsor rocked Half-Cabs, and many of them still do. Take a look at the old mags and videos. Vans were everywhere.

I honestly do not remember a time when Vans ducked out of the skateboarding world. They are one of the only mainstays, and they always will be because the soles on their shoes are pretty much perfect for skateboarding. Hence, all the copycats.

[Old Knees]

i remember quite clearly a few years where i didn't see an ad of theirs in a mag or a shoe on the shelf. when osiris, axion and companys of that ilk were on the top of the pile vans was noticeably absent

[mbcls]

ive always worn nikes, so when they started sb i was stoked. every company is in it for the money. nike makes really good shit, so i buy. and even if they quit doing sb in the future, ill still buy nike.

[daboss]

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no one ever complains about the vans stores chians in malls, but complain about nike sb

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i dont see the similarities. A skatepark is actually about getting people to skate... of course they make money from it... but people are skating. 

Nike doesn't get people to skate, they make shoes.

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Au contraire, my friend. Nike SB has gotten a huge amount of attention outside of the skate world, and their shoes are probably at this point being worn more at this point by nonskaters than by skaters themselves. That said, their widespread popularity (and the fact that they're skate shoes) have gotten a ton of people interested in skateboarding. The shoes are fashionable, so the activity associated with them is too.

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couldnt agree more! they have soo many colours that people who dont skate cant help but take notice of them. birdo just give up!

Very well put. Good observation. I saw a consolidated board at Sports authority today... birdo gave up...

[j....soy.....]

it's fucked...i've seen full on sb kids learning to skate....i almost want to pull them aside and just tell them to skip it and go buy a track bike....

[L.S]

i've never had a pair of nikes but i'd gladly try em if our local shop carried nike. the shoes look good and im sure they skate good as well. plus trying to pull the corporate card on nike doesn't really work cause pretty much none of the shoe companies are any better. maybe there are a couple exceptions to the rule but not many.

[hargo]

newer vans are trash. i had a pair or rowleys that felt like they came from payless. vans is making a comeback because there old shoes are good. i have some half cabs now and even they dont feel like they used to.

[03harriso]

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no one ever complains about the vans stores chians in malls, but complain about nike sb

[close]

i dont see the similarities. A skatepark is actually about getting people to skate... of course they make money from it... but people are skating. 

Nike doesn't get people to skate, they make shoes.

[close]

Au contraire, my friend. Nike SB has gotten a huge amount of attention outside of the skate world, and their shoes are probably at this point being worn more at this point by nonskaters than by skaters themselves. That said, their widespread popularity (and the fact that they're skate shoes) have gotten a ton of people interested in skateboarding. The shoes are fashionable, so the activity associated with them is too.

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couldnt agree more! they have soo many colours that people who dont skate cant help but take notice of them. birdo just give up!

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Very well put. Good observation. I saw a consolidated board at Sports authority today... birdo gave up...

wouldnt be surprised if he has given up on the whole dont do it campagne. fact is nike sbs are here to stay so there isnt much point him trying now.

[nice weather]

I kind of feel the same way. I don't want to buy nikes on purpose, although they made a couple of shoes that look undeniably awesome and from what I've heard, they also feel good.
Same thing with adidas. They don't seem like a menace to the industry, but more like a quality addition to it.

Birdo should've stopped ages ago, eversince Bratrud and McCallum left they're shit anyways. That drunk shoe was a nice idea, but lso poorely done, that I completely stopped caring about consolidated.

[fuckingvegan]

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They stopped making skate shoes all together or did they just fall prey to the D3 era?

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they ducked out of the skate world for a few years. all of a sudden skating was getting popular on the back of tony hawk and espn and then all of a sudden vans was all in the mags again, and buying it's way back into skateboarding with their mega mall skateparks

Are you insane? Ever heard of Half Cabs those have always been popular since they came out? Vans never ducked out of skating, they popularity waned because of completion from Etnies, and non-skate brands that lots of people skated. But watch a skate video from any era and you will see somebody wearing Vans.

[fuckingvegan]

I cant say I have had a pair of Nikes since the early 90's (I use to wear the all canvas shoes that look sort of like Grasshoppers with ankle strap, terminators lots of people called them).

[dave v-house]

As long as nike sells a quality product and supports skating and the dudes they sponser that's cool. I used to skate with some of the guys who worked at nike. They would come out on their lunch break and hit the vert ramp with me. They said the program was cool and I'll take their word for it. I however wont be buying nikes because it just seems so off to me. I associate the swoosh with the kids who I used to get in fights with because I was a "skater fag". It's always a little weird seeing the swoosh around, but whatever, different strokes for different folks.

[mikefork]

i am going to skate what feels right whether its nike, vans, adidas, ipath, or whatever. i'm not going to listen to some mark that is telling me what to wear, i am going to wear what i want. now that ipath is owned by timberland lets see what birdo does about lee berman skating for for them

[Old Knees]

Are you insane? Ever heard of Half Cabs those have always been popular since they came out? Vans never ducked out of skating, they popularity waned because of completion from Etnies, and non-skate brands that lots of people skated. But watch a skate video from any era and you will see somebody wearing Vans.

i'm not insane, but thanks for the concern.

in 1984 vans went bankrupt.
in 1991 they were acquired by mccown, de leeuw & co who promptley floated them on the stock market.
in 2004 they were then bought out by vf outdoors inc, who you can invest in at the princley sum of US$91.58 a share.


now people are trying to make the argument that somehow vans are better than nike because they've been making skateshoes longer. the main argument of the nike naysayers is usually that they're an evil corporation blah blah blah and are trying to buy into a culture/scene/whatever they have no part being in because they're not skateboarders. or something. it's hard to tell cos most people making the argument are oafs.

but at any rate, it is quite clear that since 1991 vans was no longer under it's original ownership and was actually a part of a (*gasp!) corporation.

all i'm saying is that the nike sucks argument is redundant.

and that i'm wearing a pair of vans right now.

[thumbhead]

 Vans has always been around.  they lost some popularity in the mid to late 90's due to lame designs. though the Half-Cab always stayed good. but once Rowley got on and came out with the 'Rowley' shoe their popularity came back up.

and as for Nike.  wore 'em in the 80's. Jordans.   also wore Reeboks, Adidas and Filas.   then Puma and Adidas. 

but now it's all Half-cabs.  preferably the syndicates. they feel most like the originals.

exciting huh.

[alongway]

Vans is owned by Vouge Magazine if im correct.

[Old Knees]

...in 2004 they were then bought out by vf outdoors inc, who you can invest in at the princley sum of US$91.58 a share.

[skatebored]

Personally I love Nikes team. I dont mind them being a big part of skating, but around here most of the kids wearing Nikes are kooks, either sneaker head non skaters or skaters doing the "hesh to fresh" thing. I wouldnt wear them either way because they are too narrow for my liking. Cant wait for the Nike vid though, Brian Anderson rips!

[art hellman]

the only shoes I own are Nike, Vans, or Adidas........bought a pair of blk/wht Gazelles today at an outlet mall for $13

[Old Knees]

adidas kick ass for skating in.

[Diesel]

I've had plenty of sb's I love the dunks, teams, classics, and blazers but, I had a pair of prod 1's I hated they are too fucking bulky for me and the toe is weird, but I can't get enough of dunks pretty much the only shoes I buy now

[Meth and Hookers]

i used to not buy them on principle but then i  realized that fuck all those damn people in thailand or whatever, i don't give a goddam about them.  your shitty life is producing some tight shoes

just kidding

but seriously



















seriously kidding

[Meth and Hookers]

but yeah i wear em if they're good and relatively cheap

[gub]

it's fucked...i've seen full on sb kids learning to skate....i almost want to pull them aside and just tell them to skip it and go buy a track bike....

jsoy once again treats the entire forum and the human race in general really, excellent work

[daboss]

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it's fucked...i've seen full on sb kids learning to skate....i almost want to pull them aside and just tell them to skip it and go buy a track bike....

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jsoy once again treats the entire forum and the human race in general really, excellent work

[MexicanSpaniard]

I'm wearing some Kenneth Cole's at work right now! They were hand sewn by the finest Chinese workers available at the lowest pay rate possible. I paid at least $100 USD for them even. Would I ever pay $100 for some skate shoes? Hell no! Would I buy Lakai MC4 for $60? Yes and check. Would I take some DVS T-Puds for free? Yes and check. If I could get some Nike SB for free or $60 would I? Yes. Would I buy some Vans? No. I'd consider Half Cabs and that's it. I'm just not a Vans guy just like some people aren't SB guys.

[Mackattack]

Nike>Vans

[imsocool!!!]

temting i would never get them

[Jura]

I like Nike because...

A- they sponsor some of my favorite skaters. A very eclectic team of rippers from all over the place.

B- the blazer sb's are easily the greatest skate shoes ever made. Ive gone through 3 sets of laces and they are still holding up ok. (I think theyre in there last days though)

C- theyre super comfortable.

[Gest]

i got some blazers when they first came out like 2 years ago, one of the best shoes ive ever had. im wanting to get another pair