Skate Shoes: 00s, The Present – Vol. 1

We’ve seen plenty of iconic trends echo back into notoriety over the years, and now it’s time for early 00s chunked-up skate shoes to earn an honoured call-back into their rightful place in the limelight.

You’ve seen them boxing their way up and down the high streets by now, or leaning up against the grimy brick wall in the smoking area at the back of the local pub. You might even be thinking of picking yourself up a pair – we feel you on that one. But before you do, here’s the historic facts that chronicle the where the why and the how.

The height of the chunky shoe era is well underway. Skateboarding becomes cool – less outcast – with many casuals beginning to adopt the style. Nike strategically launch its SB subdivision after previous not-so-well-received attempts, with the Dunk Low being its point of focus – and Paul Rodriguez gets added to the Nike roster which hugely bolsters its position in the skate scene.

Brands such as Zoo York, DGK, and enjoi are starting to attract a lot of attention – companies that challenge the conventional skateboarding stereotypes, which signifies another clear shift in the skateboarding community that is finding its feet in diverse circles around the world.

Chunked-up skate shoes begin to fade into obscurity, heavily impacted from the release of the slim yet layered Nike Stefan Janoski, and the even slimmer Gravis Dylan Rieder pro models, both of which ignite a clear change of direction towards a skate shoe that can look the part on-and-off the board. Palace Skateboards launches in 2009; a strong end to the decade in which skateboarding culture is constantly reinventing itself.

Now though, over a decade later, the thick-padded revival is in full swing – mostly due to an eclectic mix of high-fashion influences and Y2K popularity. As a result of this, reputable brands are revisiting their archives in an unspoken effort to out-bulk one another. But there was to be no out-bulking of this first silhouette.