Skate Boarding Shoes - Historical Review

Skate boarding shoes go back many years, although they may not have been manufactured that way in the beginning. The way skaters handle their feet and their board, and all of the various contact of the shoe with pavement and board caused mass destruction on regular shoes and laces, basically ripping them into pieces and skaters were basically forced to use duct tape to hold them together, unless they wanted to buy a new pair of shoes every two days.


In the mid-80s when the Air Jordans came out, skaters found that using those as their skate boarding shoes were really good for absorbing shock and they had good lateral support. They were made to withstand the slashing and cutting of pro basketball players, so they would certainly be a good match for skaters. However, the Jordans were nowhere near the ideal shoe, although it was definitely a step in the right direction for shoe companies to start designing something specific for skaters.

Even though some say that Converse officially became the first skate shoe in the 60s, they were not designed specifically for the sport and were easily trashed by skaters doing their Ollies and knee sliding. The shoe development pioneers often carried extra supplies of shoe laces because of the way they shredded so quickly. Thus, the frequent use of Shoo Goo and duct tape to bring those dead trashed shoes back to life.

As these shoes developed, they became better and better in design. Vans have been around for quite some time. Even though they opened their first shoe store in 1966, it wasn't until March 19, 1976 that the Vans made their first skate boarding shoe. Then of course in 1982 came the classic movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" where Jeff Spicoli wore the checkered Vans skate shoes and that brought those shoes into the mainstream and everyone had to have a pair.

It wasn't until the sport became mainstream and was really seen as an extreme sport, that skate boarding shoes came to dominate footwear. Companies such as DC, es, DVS, Etnies, Osiris, Adio and Ipath to name a few then came out to compete for the youths' attention and created even more styles, grips and various color schemes.

For more information on the latest skate boarding shoes innovations, check out: Skate Boarding Etnies Shoes Jassica Rich is a fashion enthusiast who loves writing about the history of fashion and apparel. For more information on Skate Boarding Shoes, check out: http://www.treds.co.uk/manufacturer/etnies/34/1