I became a fan of Dallas Rockvam after his 2011 Antiz part. A unique style. An American, skating cool looking European spots to the guitar grumblings of Neil Young. I knew a little about his stateside history. Had skated for Element. Now this dude was presumably couch surfing foreign lands with nary a care in the world. Eating bratwurst for breakfast. Pancakes. Coffee probably.
I noticed he favored Nike SB Dunk Mid Pros in varying colors. Something about it looked cool. I bought a pair with what felt like my subconscious a couple years later.
I know there is a lot of chatter about Nike and their chokehold on the skate shoe industry. Seemingly buying as many professional, amateur, and unknown skaters as possible with no regard for mankind.
Sure, there were kids and the Bones Brigade skating in Air Jordans back in the days . Airwalks in Air Jordans.
These shoes have a very snug feel. Snug from the first day I put them on until today, and maybe beyond?
It took some time to break them in. I needed to wear them in different environments to get a feel of whatever, and I also needed to gauge how long it would take to feel like I wanted to step on a skateboard with them. It took a while. And then it took a while more of skating in them until something clicked. You know that special something.
The suede on the ollie area and toe cap is appreciated. It catches the board and you still have the durability of the patent leather overall. This shoe is hot in the summertime. Doesn't breathe that well. I needed ankle support at the time I was skating these shoes most, and I feel like they provided a bit of stability. What's up with Nike soles? Like everlasting gobstoppers?
The cupsole starts out pretty rigid, then finds its way to an eventual softening with seemingly no loss of rubber.
All that being said, I've skated plenty of other skate shoe brand's cupsoles that felt just as good in form and function. This is the only pair of Nike SB's I've had so I can't speak for the Janoski's or the Anderson's or the lows or the highs. Just the mids. Pro: durability, Con: breathability.
Is Nike looking to eradicate all brands other than their own? Is it another jump towards an Orwellian future? The Olympics?
Could be.
Are they enablers for another set of jumpers, grinders and tweaks looking to extend their sole life so they can live to tweak another day? Or maybe it's the crepes, butter'd and syrup'd.... covered with lemon juice and sugar.... nutella w/ bananas.
