Skateboarders of the world will appreciate learning what the most current best skate shoe brands for their sports. Whether you’re a hobbyist or working towards pro-status, or simply enjoy the streetwear style of skate shoes and clothing, the following brands have what you need.
Read on to learn a little more about the history of these brands, their best selling shoes, and other interesting facts you may not have heard of before.
Top 15 Best Skate Shoes Brands (For Skateboard Enthusiasts)
1. Vans
This American shoe brand is more than just one of the best skate shoes brands; it also creates lifestyle, snowboarding, BMX, motocross and skate-style clothing and accessories. The best selling Vans skate shoes on the market are the Cans Sk8-Hi Reissue, and the Old Skool Low-Top trainers.
Founded in 1966, the company was created from Paul Van Doren’s desire to branch out of working for the famous U.S shoe manufacturer Randy’s in the 1940s, to make his own shoe brand. The flagship store opened in Anaheim, California, with Paul and his brothers James and Gordon. They named it ‘The Van Doren Rubber Company.’
The original skateboard logo of Vans was designed by 13-year-old Mark Van Doren, the son of James. The original logo is one of the trademarks of Vans long-standing history.
2. Fallen
Fallen Footwear, more commonly called ‘Fallen’, is an American skateboarding shoe and apparel brand is one of the more recent brands on our list. At the peak of the brand’s production, it had 17 models in more than 50 colours. The best selling styles including ‘The Rival’, the ‘Trooper’ and ‘Forte.’
Founded in 2003 by professional skateboarder Jamie Thomas, it was initially meant to be manufactured and sold by DC Shoes. When DC was acquired by Quicksilver, the agreement was canceled in 2005. Thomas then created the Black Box Distribution company to sell them himself.
Interestingly, the brand was out of the market during 2016 and 2017, and re-entered the industry again in 2018, relaunching old styles and new shoes on the market.
3. Lakai
This California-based American footwear company was created by professional skateboarders, and it’s clear in the design of their products. The Lakai Howard Shoe of 2013 left a special mark on the industry and is their signature shoe model manufactured with a cup-thin sole to create strong grip, durability, and lightweight for performance.
Founded by Mike Carroll and Rick Howard in 1999, the mission was to create their own brand, rather than continue to be sponsored by other brands.
The Lakai footwear range is endorsed by professionals such as Tony Hawk, Vincent Alvarez, Danny Bradt, Yonnie Crix and many more talented skaters all over the world.
4. Emerica
This brand is one of the lesser-known best skate shoes brands globally, though successful in its own right. One of the best selling skate shoes styles of the Emerica brand is the Emrica Romero, known for being super comfortable and grippy.
Emerica is actually a subsidiary company of Sole Technology Inc, an American footwear company that owns many different brands, created by former professional skateboarder Pierre Senizergues.
Since 1996, Emerica has sponsored skateboarding teams, created skateboarding videos, and produced great quality skateboarding shoes.
5. DC Shoes
A list of the world’s best skate shoes brands had to include DC shoes. This skate and snowboarding company also creates accessories and apparel, as well as shoes. The most popular skate shoes for this brand are the Court Graffik and the Wes Kremer 2S.
Founded in 1994, this United States brand is headquartered in California and sells in stores and online all around the world. DC originally stood for ‘Droors Clothing’, though that label is not relevant anymore and DC remained as the name. The parent company is actually the brand Quicksilver, acquiring DC shoes in 2004.
DC shoes sponsor a range of professional skaters, including Cyril Jackson and Mat Miller, who even had a shoe designed and released in 2014.
6. Nike
Nike isn’t just one of the best skate shoes brands, it is also one of the top sportswear and lifestyle clothing brand in the world. The Nike Zoom Stefan Janoski has top reviews online to be a favourite lightweight skate shoe.
Founded in 1964, Nike rose to be a leader in the realm of sports, creating its own products and later owning subsidiary companies such as Converse, Hurley and the Jordan brand. By the end of 2018, Nike was ranked in the top 100 at number 89 in the Fortune 500 list of companies with the largest revenue in the United States.
Nike is a sponsor of high-end athletes and teams in many different sports around the world, including skateboarding.
7. Etnies
Many people will recognise this skate shoe brand with the stylised lower case ‘e’ for the brand name. Based in California, this footwear brand has some top-selling skate shoes on the market today, including the Jameson 2 Eco shoe and the Marana shoe.
Founded in 1986, the retried professional skateboarder Pierre Senizergues sought to create a brand for shoes that any top skateboarder would love. In 2003, the brand created its own skatepark in Lake Forest, California at over 40,000 square feet.
Giving back to the world is part of this brand’s mission, with their concept of ‘Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree’ leading them to celebrate one million trees planted on the 2015 international observance of ‘Earth Day.’
8. Supra
This Californian skate shoe brand is one of the more recent brands part of this list of the best skate shoe brands of the world. The Supra Vaider Skate Shoe is one model that is praised for it’s flexible and durable nature, making it a best seller.
Founded in 2006 by Angel Cabada, the brand also partnered with professional boarders such as Jim Greco, Chad Muska and Erik Ellington for Supra’s creation. The parent company One Distribution, which also owns the clothing brand KR3W, started to handle the distribution of Supra’s products in 2014.
Some of the more unique design elements of Supra’s shoes include suede heels, rubber toes and a vulcanized outside with dual-layered herringbone tread.
9. Adidas
Most people would know this brand by name as one of the leading sportswear brands in the world. Adidas is also top in the market of skate shoes, with two bestsellers being the Men’s Seeley and Matchcourt High RX2.
Founded in 1949, this German company has a long history, with the founder Adolf Dassler being the brother of the owner of rival company Puma. Adidas creates shoes, clothing, and accessories for a wide range of sports globally.
The number of global employees for this company is well in the 10s of thousands, as stores and factories are in many different countries around the world. The website, of course, gets incredibly high traffic as online shopping continues to increase in popularity among consumers.
10. Circa
Stylised as C1RCA, this brand is a little less known, though many skaters will most likely recognise the name if they’ve tried a range of shoes on the market. The C1RCA AL50 model is said to be a great choice for kickflips with the grip-strength being high-quality.
Founded in 1999, the brand’s headquarters are in California in the United States. Professional skateboarder Chad Muska worked with the Four Star Distribution company to create the brand.
Divisions of the C1RCA brand include the skate shop line ‘Circa Combat’ and the boutique line of apparel known as ‘Circa Select.’
11. New Balance
This American sportswear brand is based in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. Though they are not known exclusively for skateboarding shoes, they do make some quality designs for skate shoes, especially their New balance 331v1 model that’s known for its great mobility.
Founded in 1906, more than a century ago by William J. Riley, it was previously named ‘The New Balance Arch Support Company.’ Its official name is now New Balance Athletics, Inc., though it is more commonly referred to as New Balance or NB.
As of 2019, New Balance has approximately 5,500 employees worldwide and enjoyed a revenue of $4.5 billion USD 2018. Their mission is simple, as stated on their site: “our products are the perfect blend of function and fashion, giving you the performance technology you need and the style you want.”
12. Globe
Another one of the more widely known best skate shoes brands is Globe. The two skate shoes that people love currently are The Eagle and the Sprout Skate models.
Founded in 1985, this brand has Australian origins. Their offices are located in Melbourne, Sydney, the Gold Coast, Los Angeles, San Diego, London, Hossegor, and Shenzhen.
In 2015, Globe launched a book for their 30th anniversary called ‘Unemployable: 30 years of Hardcore Skate and Street.’ This book celebrated the history of their brand and its evolution over the years.
13. Osiris
This American skate shoe brand is one of the lesser-known names in the industry, though that doesn’t take away from the quality of their designs. Their best selling breathable Clone Skate shoe range is a favourite among skateboarders.
Created in 1996, the brand is headquartered in Oceanside in California. The founders are a team made up of Brian Reid, Tony Chen, Tony Magnusson, Doug Weston, and Laura Kim.
Since 2014, the brand has been sponsoring pros in skateboarding, BMX, surfing, and echelon. Osiris also creates skate videos, with their 1999 video ‘The Storm) running the Transworld magazine’s best video by a reader poll.
14. Converse
Most people would know this brand by name, as Converse is one of the best skate shoe brands in the world, and has been for some time. Their Chuck Taylor All Star Canvas Sneakers are loved by people around the globe, being used as streetwear or skate shoes.
This American shoe company focuses mainly on skating shoes but is also widely loved as streetwear fashion. Founded way back in 1908, the brand has been a subsidiary of the Nike Inc. Company since 2003. The main behind the name is the creator Marquis Mills Converse.
Converse launched a skateboarding program in 2009 under the name ‘Cons’, to bring a team of ambassadors on board, sponsoring pros like Kenny Anderson, Nick Trapasso Jake Johnson, and many more.
15. HUF
As stated on the HUF official website, this brand was ‘made by skateboarders, for skateboarders.’ The American vintage craftsmanship of this brand gives an edge to the designs with the Cromer Skate Shoe range being one of their best-sellers.
Founded in 1992 by pro-skater Keither Hufnagel, this New York born skater started off with a storefront in the Bay Area of San Fransisco, offering the most respected brands of skatewear. As his store grew in popularity, he decided to create his own line of skate-wear, street clothing, and sneakers for leisure and practical skating.
Hufnagel remains as a strong influencer of his brand, with overseeing designs, new models and being actively involved in the greater skating community of hobbyists and pros alike.
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