Lucky 13, the Nike SB Dunk Low Pro “Supa”

It’s hard to believe but Nike SB is celebrating its 13th year of existence. Nike may have had earlier attempts at skate-catered shoes but the success of the “Pro” line and a deep field of team riders helped build Nike SB into the powerhouse it is was. One of the big names to represent the Swoosh early on was Danny Supa who designed the sneaker you see here, regarded as the first official release under Nike SB. Appropriately nicknamed “Supas” after the man who chose the colors and materials, those early years of Nike SB featured simple colorways and good materials we miss nowadays.

For those that don’t know the Dunk Low Pro model differs from the standard Dunk in a few ways. Most important addition cushioning is added in the form of Zoom Air added onto the heel of the insoles. More cushioning was added to the collar along with the tongue. The “fat tongue” was held in place with elastic straps. Also included with the sneakers are two or more pairs of rounded “skate” laces.

Being one of the first sneakers under Nike SB, the “Supas” is one of the releases during the famed “orange box” period. Coming in a normal Nike box and missing the “SB” tag on the tongue also indicates that these are from the initial SB launch 13 years ago this month. In 2002 no one, including Danny Supa, Reese Forbes, Gino Iannucci, Richard Mulder and others, could have imagined the growth Nike SB would experience. Although Supa is no longer a member of team Nike these will always be sought after. If you want a pair of these eBay is probably your best choice, or you can get jwdanklefs to make you some well executed customs.