Skate Shoes Rule, Even Among Nonparticipants

Every decade has an athletic shoe that transcends the sport. Everyone owned jogging sneakers in the ‘70s. Few left the office for lunch during the ‘80s without their aerobicizing cross-trainers. And in the ‘90s, whether you ever risked standing on four wheels or not, it’s been the skateboard shoe.

Almost 30 skateboard-specific brands now saturate the marketplace, including models by not-so-skate-specific behemoths Nike and Puma. The modern skate shoe has more support and cushioning. And it’s more durable than those old-school canvas Vans and Converse styles of

yesteryear that required a roll of duct tape (to cover the top) and two layers of Dr. Scholl’s (to cover the heel).

Not that those features really matter to the thousands of consumers who wear them with no intention of putting them to the test. Board sports influence the fashion and music choices of half the teen population, whether they participate in these sports or not, according to Angelo Ponzi of Board Trac, an action sports industry tracking service.

Among core skaters (and a few not so core), the Es brand rules high above the rest. About a quarter of skaters surveyed by Board Trac call Es the “coolest.” And retailers, attendees and even a few competitors at the recent Action Sports Retailer trade show had to agree that it rules the pack.