In the 2000s, if a skater had a shoe sponsor, they either had signature shoes, were waiting in line to have a pair of signature shoes, or jumped ship to a shoe brand that would give them signed shoes. A successful pair of professional shoes is a ticket to a higher tax rate. But these days, with the exception of a handful of top skaters, consider Ishod Wair, Louie Lopez, Alexis Sablone and others, where signature shoes have largely disappeared from the skateboarding world.
Instead of original shoes, professional skaters of all levels of skateboarding are more likely to get a popular shoe to customize. But why is this happening? It's easy to blame economics for these shifts: the cost and risk of developing a new pair and tying it to a professional skater. Also, consider sports brands like Adidas and Nike, which entered the skateboarding market in the early 2000s and quickly became icons on skateboard shop shelves.
In this issue of [Skateboarding Black History], let's learn about the rise and fall of professional skateboarding shoes~
Beginnings: The first pair of professional signature skateboard shoes
In the late '80s and early '90s, there were only two professional skaters in the industry who had signature shoes: Natas Kaupas and Steve Caballero.
Natas was the first to launch the signature shoe, which was launched by French brand Etnies as it entered the US market. The shoe is a high-top shoe made of leather with heavy rubber padding that looks a lot like Nike's first Air Jordan.
Don Brown (head of brand strategy at Sole Technology, the parent company of Etnies) said: "One of the observations at the time was that people were wearing Jordan 1 to skateboard – the Bones Brigade and some skaters. The question arises: Why do all these people spend all their money on shoes for basketball, and not all of these people spend on skateboards?"
Steve Caballero的滑板鞋
Natas was a pioneer in street skateboarding, and he was very popular, so his skateboarding shoes were clearly a good choice. Meanwhile, Vans is gearing up to launch Steve Caballero's first skateboarding shoe. While both skateboarding shoes were on the market for years, neither prompted other skateboard shoe brands at the time to produce their own professional shoes.
That changed in 1994 with the release of Sal Barbier's Etnies shoe. The suede low-tops are available in several colorways, the most striking of which is the white upper with a black midsole – a big highlight for the time, with the distinctive 23 lettering embroidered on the outside of the heel. Kelly Bird, Global Brand Manager for Nike SB, said, "Sal came up with a very special design perspective for this shoe. What he wants to solve is a problem that he doesn't think exists. Skateboarders didn't have access to it at the time. ”
The rise of professional skateboarding shoes
Almost overnight, Sal Barbier's Etnies Pro shoes were everywhere. "I used to give these shoes to everybody [all the top skaters] back then. ”
Soon, the craze for signature shoes began. Vans has launched a signature shoe from Salman Agah and Airwalk has launched a signature shoe from Tony Hawk and Jason Lee. Around the same time, DC debuted a signature model of Danny Way and promised to launch his signature model for Colin McKay shortly.
Danny Way的签名款滑板鞋
The royalty income from these signed payments allows skaters to earn six figures from a $3,000 monthly check. Of course, this is only on the premise that the shoes are successful and sell well. Examples of unsuccessful situations abound.
Still, the industry has developed a new revenue stream, with a surge in the number of professional skaters with their own signature shoes. At the same time, the product itself becomes predictable: here again a bubble, and there again a confusing system of laces.
By the early 2000s, signature models for professional skaters had become the norm. As more and more professional skaters put their names on their sneakers (many of whom weren't involved in the actual design), the allure of signature shoes began to fade.
The craze subsides: a return to minimalism
Companies like DC and éS have always stuck to sports-inspired signature designs, and around 2000, Vans began to return to minimalist styles like the Rowley XLT.
Sebastian Palmer, Managing Director of New Balance Numeric, said: "It's all back to simplicity. In those days, every company only had these black-and-white, boring skateboard shoes. That's the trend, right? Like, put on simple shoes and throw them away. ”
Reducing skate shoes to rubber and suede also means stripping away the elements that make professional styles stand out from the rest. Previously, a skater might have a unique shoe, but after a few years, the skater will end up with a cheaper, simpler shoe that is harder to personalize and harder to sell.
"With cupsole, you can put a lot more personality into it," says Palmer. ”
Sports brands enter the skateboarding market
According to Palmer, the entry of sports brands into skateboarding is also a reason for the disappearance of signature shoes. In the heyday of professional footwear, companies like DC, DVS, and Circa occupied skate shop shelves. As Nike, Adidas, and other brands squeezed them out of the market, professional footwear began to disappear. He explained: "Nike has stated that it will not provide everybody with signed shoes. ”
Nike launched the SB line to provide a colorway for the skaters it originally worked for, but it wasn't until four years later that the signature pro shoe was launched – the first was for Paul Rodriguez, which was introduced in 2005. Palmer, who worked for Nike SB in the 2000s, said, "It's a big deal for Boss P to get a pair of shoes. ”
With Nike and Adidas restricting the release of pro skateboarding shoes, pro skaters themselves are less eager to chase skateboarding shoes, as these sports companies can pay competitive prices without having to gamble on signature designs.
"Now, professional skaters can live in a fairly comfortable range without having to gamble on signature shoes," Bird said. The prospect of signed shoes will not make or break a contract. It is likely that the person who qualifies for the signed shoes has already signed a contract that allows them to live a fairly comfortable life as a professional athlete. ”
Cost reduction, the rise of team skateboarding shoes
Signature shoes are never a petty gamble. According to Alphonzo Rawls, who designed sneakers for DC in the early 2000s, a pair of professional skateboard shoes can cost up to $500,000 to produce. And, if the professional skater who endorses the sneaker leaves the sponsor or withdraws due to injury, the company is saddled with inventory that cannot be transferred.
Team mode provides them with a safer option. "If it's well designed, it sells well with or without a signature," Palmer said. ”
As sales of professional skateboarding shoes continue to slow, major sports companies are starting to introduce more team models and custom colorways. Nike has been using this strategy for decades, co-building the Dunk brand with collaborators inside and outside the skateboarding industry. The company also utilizes professional color matching to test people's needs for formal signature designs.
After releasing enough 440 colorways to convince skaters that this was his style, New Balance gave Tom Knox a true pair of professional shoes last year. Andrew Reynolds put his stamp on the 480 shortly after joining the team last year, which helped introduce the shoe to the public. Now, his professional skateboarding shoes are also on the way. Palmer said New Balance's color royalties are comparable to the royalties that skaters receive from their signatures. "So they're really like athletes, pros. ”
Are pro skateboarding shoes still attractive in the market?
Regardless of how it is associated with skaters, some believe that the names of the top professional skaters may not sell as well as they once did.
"I could be wrong, but I feel like the '90s were the last living legend because everything hadn't developed at the time, it wasn't that over-the-top, and magazines were the main medium for real communication, and then team video," Brown said. But it doesn't feel like anyone is on the same level as Muska, Koston and Jamie Thomas. ”
Currently, Brown and Sole Tech are considering launching a pair of éS shoes for TJ Rogers. Rogers has already released critically acclaimed video clips, and he also has several colorways, but a company can only launch so many pairs of shoes a year, and there is always a risk in a new style. "It's been challenging because we've had some shoes out in the past where people say, 'Hey, if you take this pro name off, it's actually going to sell better'. It's kind of scary. ”
Look at sales from a skateboard shop perspective
Data on skateboarders' buying patterns at skateboard shops doesn't exist, but Ken Keistler, who has worked in-store and behind the scenes at Uprise Chicago for more than 20 years, has seen customers react to the names on their shoes.
"I think it works well for some people," he said. Ishod Wair is a safe bet because it combines a major skater with an innovative shoe design, but it's unlikely that even the most influential pros will sell a lackluster pair of shoes. I mean, there are some shoes on the wall that don't sell at all because they don't look perfect, or look clumsy. ”
At the end of the day, it's easier to manufacture and sell established designs, so Keistler understands why brands are more inclined to revisit classics than develop new styles. In his opinion, what has been tried and tested must have its security.
But Keistler, like others interviewed, agreed that there was still room for the signature shoe. While signature shoes may never become standard for professional skaters again, they are a clear benchmark for success for the few who own them.
"I still think it's one of the hallmarks of a skateboarder's success," Bird said. Maybe my ideas are more old-school. Maybe people don't think that way anymore, but I think they still think that way. ”
文字：Lucas Wisenthal翻译&编辑：小怪兽来源：Jenkem Mag