History

In the 1980s, skateboard companies started to pop up around the globe. However, skateboarding still had a relatively small community—not enough to attract serious interests from major shoe companies, who were battling it out for precious basketball shoe territory. This gave smaller companies a chance to gain ground in the skateboarding market. Skateboarders mainly used Converse and other types of basketball shoes such as original Nike Blazer. Although Nike never officially entered the skateboarding market in the 1980s, many of its shoes gained a following in the skateboarding community because skateboarding shoes and basketball shoes share many similarities.