Familia Skateshop's Nike Collaboration Celebrates Local Lore

Familia Skateshop Nike collaboration celebrates Babe, Paul Bunyon's Blue Ox.

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Image via Complex Original
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Familia Skate Shop in Minneapolis Minnesota is celebrating their 10th Anniversary and they went all out. Collaborating with Nike’s SB program, they’ve put together a pair of SB Dunk High Pros that celebrates local mythology.

Although the mythology of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox is hard to pin down, like most mythology, a lot of stories put Bunyan’s birthplace in Minnesota. Perhaps the most famous likeness of the logger and his big blue bovine is in Bemidji, Minnesota, assertively taking responsibility for the pair’s provenance.

The Blue Ox Dunks feature a remarkable set of details. Blue and white suede make up a significant portion of the upper, with a black and red flannel liner reminiscent of Bunyon’s shirt. Bunyon’s axes make a sort of embroidered Jolly Roger with Babe’s skull at the heel. Whorled textured leather hits the quarter for some variation. The sneakers’ swoosh is yellow, perhaps in reference to Babe’s septum ring, but the exact inspiration remains unclear.

The Blue Ox Dunks are set to release on June 27.

[via gc911 on Instagram, and familiask8shop on Twitter]

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