Paul Rodriguez, also known as Peapod, was one of the first skaters to be sponsored by Nike. For years, it was taboo for skaters to support Nike because it went against skateboarding culture. If you skated in the early 2000s, you probably remember being shocked and maybe even downright angry when Nike SB ATS started popping up in skateboard magazines like Thrasher and Transworld. How did this happen? Why is this recognized as such a big cultural shift by both the sneaker world and skateboard culture?
The truth is, during this era, skateboarding culture was hugely impacting sneaker sales. Skateboarding was finally reaching the mainstream after decades of being an underground outcast subculture. During this boom, iconic brands like DC Shoes, Etnies, America ES, and Osiris began to make a name for themselves in the industry. Nike wanted a piece of the pie and was desperately trying to secure a foothold within the lucrative skateboarding industry. Their first attempt at cracking the industry was a massive failure. Nike signed a young Bam Margera as its sole team skater and launched a collection of poorly designed skate shoes that not only resembled your mom's Skechers but also had three of the worst names Nike has ever cursed its footwear with: the Air Chode, the Air Snack, and the Shemp. I mean, look at these. It's no wonder skaters didn't embrace Nike's first efforts.
Skateboarding culture was unfortunately misunderstood by Nike. Their soulless corporate image failed to resonate with the skateboard community. After multiple attempts and a failed TV ad campaign, it was becoming clear that it wasn't going to be easy for Nike to establish dominance in the rapidly growing skate industry. In 2001, Nike hired Sandy Bodecker to run their skateboarding division. Bodecker would prove crucial to the success of Nike SB. He understood that Nike, in fact, had already been part of skateboarding heritage. Turns out, handfuls of skaters from the late 80s and early 90s were already skating in classic Nike silhouettes. Pro skateboarders like Lance Mountain and the Bones Brigade wore Blazers, and everyone from Mark Gonzalez to Steve Caballero skated in Jordans. The reason skaters wore Nike shoes back then was that Nike basketball sneakers were cheaper to buy than skate shoes. They were super comfortable, durable, and most importantly, had great board feel, something Nike would improve on in the years to come.
Nike's task for Bodecker was to rebuild their crumbling skateboard division. Bodecker's solution was to do the exact opposite of what Nike had done for so many years. Instead of adopting the usual Nike model of trying to completely own the market, Bodecker's approach was to be a grassroots operation. Nike's new skate shoe line was to avoid mass production, generic releases, and would not distribute to corporate sports stores that skaters didn't care about. But what about a solid product that skaters would get behind? What would Nike be selling?
This is where Sandy Bodecker's genius came to the surface. He argued that there was no reason to design a new shoe because influential skaters had already worn Nikes in the past. The design was already there, in the future line in the company's history. Bodecker convinced Nike to overhaul the '80s basketball college sneaker, the Nike Dunk, first released in 1985. The Nike Dunk was designed by legendary Nike designer Peter Moore. The design closely resembled the Air Jordan 1. A lot of people don't know this, but both the Jordan 1 and the Nike Dunk were introduced the same year and designed by the same team.
