Nike SB Tokyo Rawthentic
With skateboarding set to make its Olympic debut at the now-postponed 2020 Tokyo Games, skatewear front-runners Nike SB teamed up with Dutch artist Pieter Jannsen for the USA, Brazil and France team kits and introduced a trio of new skate-specific profiles to match its highly-anticipated ‘Rawthentic’ Tokyo colour palette. The Bruin React, a new style for this summer which sees the Nike SB Bruin updated with React Foam technology, and two new pro models from this year, the Nyjah Free 2 and Shane.
Delayed due to the pandemic, skateboardings addition into the Olympics has unfortunately been postponed yet again. Originally shortlisted in 2015 alongside other sports such as karate, surfing and sport-climbing, skateboarding as an Olympic sport was finally approved in 2016 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is now a division governed by World Skate. Both street and park disciplines were ear-marked to take place out of Tokyo’s Ariake Urban Sports Park, a step up from the sport’s previous warrants of fast-paced gigs such as the X-Games, Dew Tour and Vans Park Series, with the likes of USA Skateboarding National Team riders Leo Baker, Louie Lopez, Alexis Sablone and ‘Rawthentic’ collection collaborator Nyjah Huston all poised with a chance of claiming gold.
New for 2020, the Nike SB Bruin React offers the best in precision-engineered skate styling through the creative reprofiling of the classic Bruin profile to include Nike’s home-grown React cushion technology within its midsole. A contemporary re-write that joins other React-revised profiles such as the AF1 and Pegasus 37, the Nike SB Bruin React puts comfort and competitive function before all else. Uplifted with splashes of USA team-flag reflective colourings, the summit white, racer blue and pink blast Bruin Reacts are styled with both smooth suede and padded fabric uppers for more comfortable wear, whilst the Nike React foam insole creates a brand new profile exclusively crafted for skate with its well-cushioned resiliency and performance-minded structure. Mix-match Swooshes in shadowing racer blue or block pink decorate the interior and exterior side walls for a dash of definitive depth, whilst the playful spray-paint inspired ankle collars in shades of graffiti pink, purple and blue are joined by crisp white ‘Nike’ debossed detailing. Commemorative blue-script wording marks the inner-facing midsole, whilst a singular mini-pink Swoosh across the exposed-foam tongue actively honours the Bruin’s traditional aesthetic.
Adding the ‘Rawthentic’ colourway to National team-rider Nyjah Huston’s next generation of Nyjah Free 2 shoes actively honours the influential skater’s energised character and his high-stake Olympic-medal winning eligibility. Inspired by the 1997 Zoom Spiridon with its revised 360-degree rubberised profile, these upgraded Nyjah Free 2s are fit for skate-specific purpose with their expanding and contracting rubber outsole, full-length foam sockliner and the practically minded ghillie-loop fastenings. Pops of colour match the Piet Parra designed USA team kit yet again, with pink blast block coloured Swooshes on the inside side walls and the blue trimmed Swooshes across the outside complementing the abstract creativity of the kit. Custom ‘11’ printed heel-pull tabs, ‘Nyjah’ printed tongue trims and the ‘Nyjah Free’ etched midsole all effortlessly commemorate its release, whilst blue scripture on the inner midsole honours its assignment to Nike SB’s latest Olympic-grade release.
After the release of his collaborative Zoom Janoski in 2017 and the highly-anticipated release of his own pro model, the Nike SB Shane earlier this year, Aussie team-rider Shane O’Neil joins fellow skater Nyjah Huston as creative contributor for this monumental collection. Fully embracing the ‘Rawthentic’ colourway with the same kit reflective colourings seen on the Bruin React and Nyjah Free 2, these smooth suede and cotton canvas Nike SB Shane shoes offer a streamlined sense of character with their fuss-free overlays and ornately decorated perforations. Block-canvas coloured heel panels in a shade of washed pink sit directly above Shane’s iconic semi-translucent sunray crest across the base of the Zoom Air Unit fitted heel, whilst the debossed racer blue and pink Swooshes across the jagged-edged extended ghillie-loop eyestays welcome the carry-over of the sought-after Rawthentic colourway onto yet another timeless skate profile.
Despite being delayed alongside the Tokyo 2020 Games, skateboarding is provisionally set to make an appearance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris - a true lifetime achievement that sets about celebrating the sports colourful curb-surfing past from the early ‘50s and its highly promising, medal-winning future.
The Nike SB Tokyo Rawthentic collection will be available on Wednesday 29th July 2020 at 08:00AM (BST).
*The Nike SB Shane has been delayed and is coming soon.
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