Nike *, already holder of a stake in the Savier * skateboard shoe brand and owner of Costa Mesa *-based Hurley *, is trying to instantiate its role as a skateboard shoe company with a series of ads in major skateboard magazines and the launch of a new branch of its website, entitled "Nike Skateboarding *".

At the time of this writing, the Nike Skateboarding website opens with a deeply strange and abstract shockwave animation (by Lew Baldwin of RedSmoke.com) which is apparently intented to represent some of Nike's inspiration in the creation of the website... or something. Even to our jaded, seen-a-thousand-websites eyes, the one-minute animation is actually quite entertaining, in a surreal, what-the-hell-is-going-on, what-was-the-artist-thinking kind of way.

After the optional introduction, the site shifts gears and goes on to use another animation to spoon feed, sentence by sentence and sometimes word-by-word, Nike's value proposition for the skateboard shoe market with all the blunt bravado and cunning its marketing masters could conjure. The following is verbatim from the Nike skateboarding website and bears quoting for its careful alternation across the line between riveting, no-baloney straight talk, and marketing half-truth schmaltz. Witness for yourself:

"You probably don't care that Nike started out in 1972... As a running shoe company. Dedicated to making the most light-weight, high-performance shoes for the sport's elite atheletes. Because applying that same type of thinking towards skating wouldn't make sense. Would it?

"You probably don't want to hear about how we've got scientists and atheletes in our state-of-the art labs studying and testing anything and everything that has to do with any sport. Because how would that relate to skateboarding?"

The pitch goes on to pull into Nike's deep bag of marketing history, making sure to mention the Jordan tie in. (He jumps, right? Skateboarders jump.)

"You probably don't care that the technology in most of today's skate shoes was introduced by Nike over 20 years ago. Or that the features in our new shoes will save your feet and knees. ...But someday you might.

Think about this. Micheal Jordan is 40 years old and still playing basketball. Is it the shoes?"

Then comes the closer:

"You probably were expecting something corny from such a big company. Huh? But if we spend the time making the best shoes for every other sport, why not do the same for skateboarding?"

Of course, now that skateboard fashion is so instantiated, and skateboard shoe companies such as Vans *, Etnies *, and DC Shoes * are so large as well, Nike no longer seems like quite such an encroachment on the skateboard shoe market. But there is no denying that when it comes to shoes, even the biggest skateboard shoe company is playing RC Cola to Nike's Coke. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist or a fashion columnist to realize that not just skateboarders buy "skateboard shoes".

Two of the skateshops we spoke to had interesting and different views on the topic of Nike's foray into skateboard footwear.

Nevett Steele of KCDC * Skate Shop in Brooklyn, New York * said that customers call frequently to check the availability of different models of Nike skateboard shoes, and that "Nike was 70-80% of my sales (this winter) as far as shoes."

Continued Steele: "I was a little nervous and a little skeptical having a big company like Nike come in here, but they approached us and they were very nice, and we basically work with people who are nice and receptive and want to work with a small shop." Concluded Steele, "frankly they (Nike shoes) paid the bills this winter. This winter was very hard."

Steele also appreciated that Nike was addressing the issue of the role of shoes in reducing injuries to skateboarders, and said he wished that "all the other skateboarding shoe companies would do what this company is trying to do-- (make products that help) save your knees and joints."

Roddy Esposito of Bill's Wheels * in Santa Cruz, California * had a different perspective. "Well, right now we're kind of pissed off at them because we don't even carry their shoes and we're on their website (as carrying Nike skateboard shoes), so we get bombarded with like 10-15 calls a day."

Continued Esposito, "I know that we tried to get them at one point, and I've heard they're really good, they have good support for skating. We had them on order almost like two years ago, well it seems like that long, and I don't know what happened. We just got like looked over." Bill's Wheels was obviously willing to carry the shoes: as Esposito puts it, "Nike's been around for ever, and they do make quality shoes."

Esposito summed up his opinion succinctly and diplomatically. "I've been in the industry about six years, and I've been skating about 16, and I think it's (Nike's) a little bit corporate, it's not like the core root of skateboarding. … I don't say I have a good opinion about them, and I don't say I have a bad opinion about them."

Ultimately, Nike addressing skateboarding as a viable (and lucrative enough) sport ratifies the obvious growing acceptance of skateboarding into mainstream American and global culture. One hopes that Nike's presence helps bring skateboard shoes and the sport of skateboarding to a higher level of quality, and not merely to a higher price.

Search this site for more about Nike Skateboarding Steps Up *