When skateboarding started in 1980s, the community was too small for bigger shoe companies to take notice. The skaters who needed a good pair of shoes that can survive their active play bought their shoes from the small shoe stores that carried skate shoes from smaller shoe companies like Airwalk, DC Shoes, and Osiris.

The Nike Dunks came to the scene in 1985 and the shoe line stirred things up in the basketball shoe arena. Nike came up with bold colors that it targeted at the university leagues. These shoes were well thought off and carefully designed to give the players the best footwear that can provide comfort while still being functional and effective.

Focusing on how the players move as they play, Nike provided great ankle support, wider panels, and low profile soles so that the players can move about freely, making them at their best flexible selves during tricky pivots on the court.

Since skateboarding is just as active as basketball, the qualities that made the Dunks a choice by basketball players easily attracted the skaters. The shoes are also built for skateboarding although that was unexpected.

When Nike saw the growing market in skateboarding, the company created the Nike Dunk SB in 2002. The shoes were patterned after the shape and fun colors of the Nike Dunks but they made a few adjustments to match the skater's profile more accurately.

Nike Dunk SB maintained the shape but added some more cushions since a lot of twisting and flipping could harm the feet if they lay unprotected. More extra padding had to be placed around the ankle area and the tongue. While the ankle padding had to do with better support, the padding at the tongue is purely for aesthetics. The Nike Dunk SBs are equipped with the Zoom Air Insoles to cushion the users fall. The lower the center of gravity, the better support there is for the feet. To address the issue of wear and tear due to harsh usage, Nike has to make sure the shoes are durable enough by employing the standard double and triple stitching and making them stronger.

When skateboarding went mainstream and hit about $2.5 billion around 2004, Nike Inc. found it very challenging to get the majority of the skaters market. Most of the riders, who are still influenced by the underground nature of the sport, still prefer to use the products from the small shops rather than the branded ones.

Although there are really hardcore skaters who knew about the advantages of the Nike Dunks, Nike still received so much controversy. The company then turned their Nike Dunk SB and took on a strategy that will prove to be successful.

Nike Dunk SB only got displayed in the small shops where the skaters frequent. One of these shops, which carried the Dunks was Cals Pharmacy in Oregon. It wasn't surprising to see how the shoes began to get the following it expected. People started buying the Nike Dunks and soon enough became the essential footwear for skateboarding.