Nike Nods To The First-Ever Action Sport With The SB Dunk “Rodeo”

2025-05-09

One can’t truly appreciate the “Rodeo” Dunks without knowing the history that inspires them. In the 1800s, Black ranch owners and hands helped birth the sport of rodeo through ranch-versus-ranch showdowns. Black cowboys then introduced groundbreaking riding and roping techniques throughout the 1900s, helping evolve the sport into what it is today.

As tipped off by @nikesbornothing, the “Rodeo” Dunks take after the poster for silent western movie The Bull-Dogger (1922), one of many lost films of its era. The movie starred Bill Picket, a man of African American and Native American descent credited with inventing bulldogging (now commonly referred to as steer wrestling). Fittingly, Nike SB visited the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo in Memphis, Tennessee to drop of pairs of the “Rodeo” Dunks ahead of their release (see below).

Sparing no punch when it comes to special detailing, the “Rodeo” Dunks feature a “Tourmaline” suede upper and “Monarch” leather piping. Western stitching overtakes the heel, while lasso-inspired “Nike” text appears in red on the backtab. The inner tongue contains a message reading “Made For The Modern Cowboy,” while the outside tags feature brown leather and more red stitching. The sock liner is cut from yellow satin material, the outsoles come in red, and naturally-colored rope laces produce yet another rodeo tie-in. As if all that isn’t enough, these also come with a yellow bandana featuring a cowboy illustration.

Forward from:https://sneakernews.com/2025/05/08/nike-sb-dunk-low-rodeo-hf3058-300/