And the 2009 ugliest skate shoe goes to....

The Omar Salazar signiture Nike SB! Please tell me this is a joke and Nike is not really producing this shoe. Surprising to me that Omar would even get his own signature shoe from Nike being he was just an AM for Nike not too long ago! (It's just my opinion). I don't care for his skateboarding and I definately do not care for this new signature shoe. Out of many models of shoes that can possibly be produced by nike, how is it possible to conjure up such a hidious shoe? Beets me! The Janoski was borderline bad, this is an all time low. Nike, do you remember what happened in 1998? Looks like you're headed in that direction now. Down.

Ridiculous

It's been a quick minute since the last entry. Been out of it for a second but now I'm back. With the skateboard shoe industry where its at right now in this economy and the un-popularity of skateboarding in general, it seems to me that the big corporate giants ie, Adidas, Nike, Cons, etc are the only companies in the skateboarding shoe industry that can stand a chance and stay up in business.

A few days back I was at the Apple store in the Brea Mall and saw a popular sneaker chain disply a few models of Lakai's in the store front. Back in the day it was cool that they only sold skate shoes at skate shops. There was a sense of exclusiveness and belonging that skaters had but I guess that doesn't exist anymore. But you know what, It's okay. I can't imagine that its probably hard as fuck to sell anything anymore with the economy like this. Lakai probably had to do what they had to do, which is sell their shoes in the mall. I ain't mad atcha. I know that if Lakai wasn't forced into selling at the malls that they wouldn't. Remember L-R-G? That's a whole other entry.

Since we're on the issue of skate shoes and the industry, some ground breaking news. The rumors that have been circulating over which shoe company pro Girl rider and The Berrics co-owner, Eric Koston will end up on. After leaving Lakai a few months back, speculations were made of which shoe company had the $$$$ to pick him up. Eric Koston is officially on NIKE SB. As if the ridiculous prices of Nike were'nt high enough,in comes one the industries most prestigious skateboarder.

Nike sb now uses words such as "Premium" and "Elite" to bump up the prices on such shoes as the blazer or dunk. The cost of a Nike Dunk is $35, the blazer, even less. The box price of a dunk sb is now $80, add the "premium" label and you're up to $99.99. No nice material or special box or anything. Only popular colorway. One word. Riduculous.

Box Price $$$$

End are the days of paying MSRP "box price" for Nike. We all know that Nike sb saved the skateboard shops at a time when the industry was not doing all that great in the sales department (I will do an entry on that another time). Thank you Nike. However, that was a few years back and the popularity of Nike has grown tremendously throughout these few years. As I was browsing a few online shops, I couldn't help but notice the existing prices on Nike sb's. I mean, a couple years ago when Nike was pumping out some heavy ish might have been okay to put such a lavish price on the shoes out now, in this day and time in the middle of a recession? Not only that but when their design team isn't always there.
I personally have been fortunate enough to obtain mucho pairs of their earlier works without paying more than "box price" ($65) on such pairs such as the Diamonds, Heinekens, etc, etc. (Thank you, Nick H). With the prices that some shops are charging, I can't afford a pair of dunks nowadays. $80 for a GR pair of black and white dunks! For two weeks of skating?
My wish for Nike sb is to not forget what they did for skateboarding and not to taint this sub-culture, the industry and of course the skaters. We have accepted you with open arms into our world and are thankful for what you've done for local shops, but please don't stray from your objective to preserve skateboarding, its integrity and its future. As big as Nike is, a worldwide leader in sports aparel, footwear, etc. It is very difficult for the kid mowing the neighbors lawn to get a new deck and a pair of fresh kicks when you're charging what you're charging now. Imagine when you were a kid and you wanted a fresh pair of skate shoes and your parents replied, "Are you crazy, those are nearly a hundred bucks"!