Sneaker News 
Nearly thirty years after Michael Jordan turned pro, over a decade after the establishment of Nike Skateboarding and a bit more than three years after the rumor initially surfaced, the Air Jordan 1 x Nike SB was finally officially confirmed on Wednesday. This was a move that in addition to the saga of the last few years, has a bunch of history behind it. In fact, the connections between skateboarding and the Air Jordan 1 go back even further, before MJ’s first NBA game.
So now that the Air Jordan 1 SB is just over two weeks away from becoming a reality, we have the perfect occasion to go back and examine the historical context for this division-crossing project. With insights from the progression in skateboarding and sneakers over these past three decades, we’ll be able to understand exactly why this shoe is so important, why so many people will be interested in its release and why it was worth the wait.
BASKETBALL HIGH-TOP APPROPRIATION (1970s-80s)
The trend of wearing basketball shoes for skating existed for a number of years before the Air Jordan ever existed. Original skateboards were made to mimic surfing without needing to be at the beach, so many of the first skaters preferred a barefoot ride. The advent of griptape and the tricks it allowed necessitated shoes at all times, and the ankle protection and general availability of basketball shoes made them an attractive alternative to the burgeoning skate-specific brands of the day.
COUSINS IN REBELLION (1985)
Skateboarding is the sporting expression of the nexus of mid-century counter-cultures. It has taken years in the public eye thanks to events like X-Games for the sport to be legitimized for the stuffy status quo, many of whom who didn’t initially understand its merits. The rebellious energy skating embodied was a natural match for a shoe so iconoclastic at the time, Michael Jordan was fined $5000 for each game he wore them.
ACCESSIBILITY (1986)
Because of the polarizing looks and relatively expensive price tag of $65 at that time, after the initial run of early adopters copped their pairs, many retailers started offering Air Jordan 1s on sale. The combination of a lower price with the added padding as compared to something like Chucks or Blazers made the AJ1 a go-to for mid-80s skaters, who also resonated with Jordan’s ‘Banned’ reputation.
THE SEARCH FOR ANIMAL CHIN (1987)
Powell Peralta’s “The Search for Animal Chin” is widely regarded the first skate video to use any kind of plot device. The story for the footwear in this flick goes that the Bones Brigade wanted new shoes for its riders but couldn’t get the logistics in order with any of the skate brands of that era. They were able to get in touch with someone at Nike, and the resulting shipment of AJ1s sent over meant the video is filled with OGs, both the skaters and their shoes.
FURTHER SKATE ADS (Late 1980s)
‘Animal Chin’ was just the start of Jordan 1s showing up in skateboarding promo materials. The shoes popped up in other memorable adds from Powell Peralta, as well as other brands like the iconic skate fashion label Jimmy’z, a brand coincidentally founded the same year Michael Jordan was drafted by the Chicago Bulls.
GENESIS OF NIKE SB (early 2000s)
Even as Nike Skateboarding began in the early 2000s, riders like Danny Supa still turned to the Air Jordan 1 for serious skate purposes. Supa is pictured here in the 2001 ‘Midnight Navy’ Air Jordan 1, which released just months before his own Nike SB Dunks among that shoe’s first run.
JORDAN BRAND’S TAKE ON SB (2008)
In the same way that it took Nike a pushes to knock the vending machine that is skateboarding over on its side, Jordan Brand has made a couple of pushes into the skate market. Most notably, the Jordan Flipsyde paired the bulky tech shoe style of the early-mid 2000s with aesthetics borrowed from the iconic Air Jordan III. The Air Jordan 1 Phat also connected with skaters by way of an overstuffed tongue borrowed from the Nike SB Dunk line.
AIR JORDAN 1 x NIKE SB RUMORS BEGIN (2011-12)
After rumors in early 2011, Brooklyn Projects founder Dom DeLuca confirmed the Air Jordan 1 x Nike SB project in January 2012. The occasion of Nike SB’s 10th anniversary along with Stacy Peralta’s film Bones Brigade: An Autobiography releasing for Powell’s 25th anniversary made perfect sense, and given the timing of the upcoming release, even the predicted season was right. But for whatever reason, the AJ1 SB was shelved during the birthday convergence in favor of a later release . . .
HERE AT LAST (2014)
At long last, the Air Jordan 1 x Nike SB was confirmed in early 2014. Promo images depict longtime Nike SB rider Paul Rodriguez wearing the AJ1 SB, which is a fitting choice that demonstrates how the world of professional skateboarding has evolved over these past three decades. Will they release OG colorways, new SB exclusives, a mix of new and old? Stick with Sneaker News to find out.
