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Nike SB Dunk Low Grateful Dead

Source: Nike / Nike

The Nike SB Dunk craze you missed out on back ’04 is raring yet again.

In the early aughts, Nike was known for paying homage to the stars of yesteryear by theming SB’s around them, like the MF Dooms, UNKLE Dunks, and the Wu-Tang Dunks. Now, the Swoosh is throwing it back again with a dunk dedicated to the Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead is a Palo Alto-based rock group formed in the mid-60s with notable members like Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Mickey Hart. The band hasn’t been too active since 1995, but the dedicated fan base still goes so hard for them that they’ve been dubbed Dead Heads.

And now those very same fans will have a chance to cop the Dunks that were designed after the dancing bears, which first appear on the back cover of the group’s 1973 LP “History of the Grateful Dead.”

Nike SB Dunk Low Grateful Dead

Source: Nike / Nike

The furry animals were green with blue trim and yellow with turquoise trim, so that’s precisely how Nike designed the low top kicks, which include faux-fur and a suede upper. The swoosh is even frayed to mimic the bear’s collar. An orange pair with green detailing rounds out the trio, and though we’ve seen leaked image, they weren’t pictured in Nike’s official photos.

“As the band’s benefactor, Bear was an incredibly huge part of the Grateful Dead’s ability to become who they were,” says David Lemieux, the band’s archivist, and legacy manager. “They were talented musicians, but they would not have had the financial freedom to forgo jobs, move to Los Angeles, and practice for 14 hours a day. The band wouldn’t become what it is today without Bear’s innovations and contributions. The same fiercely independent spirit from Bodecker helped create that authenticity within the skate community.”

The orange colorway releases on July 18 exclusively at San Francisco’s FTC while the yellow colorway drops on SNKRS and at select skate shops on July 24 and green colorways at select skate shops on the same day.

Peep more detailed shots of the Grateful Dead pack below.

Nike SB Dunk Low Grateful Dead [Details Photos]
Nike SB Dunk Low Grateful Dead
9 photos