This past weekend, Nike held their Flyknit Collective Workshop No. 2 in NYC (you can check the recap of Workshop 1 here), and I was able to sit down and talk to the Creative Director at Nike's Innovation Kitchen, Ben Shaffer. I asked him several different questions about Flyknit, one of them being If we would ever see a Flyknit SB. He hinted at the possibility, so I next sat down with photographer/pro skater Todd Jordan to see how he felt about Flyknit, and how he would feel it was used in skateboarding.
What do you think of the Flyknit technology?
I think Flyknit technology is pretty amazing—such a seemingly no-brainer, fabric has finally become the exterior of our shoes as opposed to the interior like the sock. I think the brains behind it and the real technology and creativity that's behind it is pretty astounding. I have them on my feet right now, and I don't think I've ever had on a more comfortable sneaker, so I'm a fan and supporter of Flyknit.
How do they feel on your feet as you're skating them?
Well, they feel great on my feet. Skateboarding is a much different kind of way of using your feet and it requires a lot more support especially for ankles, they felt great but I was certainly limiting myself to what I was trying to do because I'm aware of what can happen when you are not wearing the right support. I must say that they held up surprisingly well being that its just a fabric exterior and I'm actually blown away that there's not a hole where I ollie.
Do you see Flyknit technology coming to the Nike SB line?
Yeah, I do. The Lunarlon technology is already being used in the SB line, the Kostons and P-Rods already have a Lunarlon sole. They have so many capabilities with this technology, with the different threads, thread count, thread thickness and materials that can be used to reinforce each individual thread, that I'm sure its only a matter of time before there's a Flyknit SB—or at least i hope its only a matter of time. This thing feels great and I think that if it was just on a different outsole or a slightly different silhouette that I would love to skate this thing.
