Story Behind the Nike SB Dunk Low ‘Newcastle Brown Ale’

To run through the entire history of every Nike Dunk and SB Dunk colourway of all time is enough to make even the hardest core fan’s head spin with so many colourways, designs and collaborations; not to mention the slue of different colour shoeboxes.

The difference between Dunks and SB Dunks, while few, are important with the SB Dunk usually being the canvas for some of Nike’s most intriguing, and in turn most limited, projects. 

While the Newcastle Brown Ale Nike SB Dunk isn’t on the list of all-time greats, standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of the Freddy Kruger’s, Jedi’s or Paris’, they hold a special place in the hearts of people from the UK. 

Similar to the ‘London’ colourway, which features the River Themes running down the heel, the Newcastle Brown Ale Dunk takes inspiration from one of the iconic features of the UK city.

Released in the Gold Box era of Nike SB, the same year as the aforementioned Kruger’s, the Newcastle-inspired pair has seemingly gone under the radar, which is somewhat understandable when looking at the other releases from that era. Nevertheless, this pair is one that, if released today, may well find itself in a lot of people's collections. 

Featuring a clean design inspired by the Newcastle Brown Ale bottle label with simple brown and light orange colour-blocking style broken apart by a navy blue Swoosh placed on the medial and lateral sides similar to the star on the side of the bottle.

While releasing a sneaker design that takes its inspiration from beer might seem like a left-field idea, the Newcastle Brown Ale lives within a small group of other designs that follow a similar design language including the 2003 Heineken SB Dunk Low and the 2010 Tecate SB Dunk High.

As with all sneakers, most pertinently with the Nike SB Dunk, at the time they were released, or shortly after, the attention they garnered appeared to diminish. That was until Travis Scott found them. On the 30th of July 2020, the Houston rapper uploaded an image on Instagram which saw him adorning a pair of the Newcastle-inspired Nike SB Dunk Low. It was reported by StockX that just 3 hours after the image was posted, the price of the shoe shot up by 40% with some prices still sitting in the thousands. 

This trend has played a huge role in the popularity of the Nike Dunk and SB Dunk, with Scott being a key pillar in the flash-in-the-pan moment the silhouette held. 

Despite the Newcastle Brown Ale Nike SB Dunk seemingly becoming a lesser-known colourway, it still stands as a robust release, representing a UK city that has a deep affinity for sneaker and streetwear culture. 

Our biggest store yet based in Newcastle is opening this Friday! Stay tuned into our socials for further updates and information and keep it Kick Game for everything else.