Did Converse Kill Its Skate Program?

When big brands like Nike, adidas, Converse, and New Balance first entered the skateboard industry, there was a chorus of voices from inside the core skate community that worried the major labels would chew up and spit out skate culture, chopping the programs and flashy budgets first, as soon as skating wasn’t profitable enough. The unholy union of counter-culture and conglomerates hasn’t gone exactly to that plan, with Nike SB still going strong, adidas Skateboarding still in the mix, and New Balance Numeric carving out a real lane in the culture, but at Converse, it looks like the ride might be over.

18 Years in the Skate Industry

Created and marketed under the sub-label CONS, the Converse skate program debuted in 2009 with a beefed-up low-top Chuck and the ERX 300, a suede and leather mid-top with a strap over the tongue. Like SB, adidas, and the rest, CONS entered the scene with a legit team of core skaters, initially headlined by reclusive cult favorite Anthony Pappalardo. At the turn of the 2010s, an obsession with high-water Dickies pants and Chuck Taylors started by the late, great Dylan Reider turned CONS into one of the most popular brands in skateboarding, helping to expand the catalog of shoes, videos, local events, and global rider sponsorships.

Over the 2010s and first half of the 2020s, CONS continued to hold its place in the skate industry, sponsoring beloved signature pros like Louie Lopez and Alexis Sablone, and finding success with shoes like the Fastbreak and never-ending pairs of suede Chucks. Now, over the past year or so, the CONS program has seemingly fallen off a cliff, with sales reps disappearing, the former team manager now booking trips and planning videos for the DVS team, and all but a handful of riders having their contracts cut or not renewed.

Gone in a Flash

Rumors have been swirling across skate sessions and message boards about the demise of CONS for months now, but those murmurs have turned to shouts lately, with skate blog Boil the Ocean and skate podcast Mostly Skateboarding both touching on the subject. Most notably, though, the true indicator lies in the number of former CONS riders who have been wearing new shoe brands and dumping all of their footage in Converse shoes.

In a recent Instagram post 2019 Thrasher Skater of the Year Milton Martinez wrote a long caption expressing gratitude for his years on the brand and frustration with how things ended. “It sucks to see how things are going down right now and to see almost the whole team let go.. the skate industry can be brutal like that. But we do this shit because we fucking love it, and thats never going to change.”

In the comment section of the post, Krooked pro and former CONS rider Mike Anderson reiterated the sentiment. “Grateful to have gotten to travel the world with you on their dime. Unbelievable how they went about this.”

Sources we talked to inside the skate industry noted that CONS sales reps were dismissed months ago and never replaced, stopping the skate shop events and flow seeding sponsorships that help anchor local scenes. From what we hear and see from shop shelves, skate shops can still purchase CONS shoes at wholesale, but with no sales reps or pro team management, the brand exists as a zombie entity that doesn’t fit into the cultural structure that makes skateboard brands work.

What’s Next?

CONS’ two signature skaters, Louie Lopez and Alexis Sablone, are still rumored to be with the company, but from Zion Effs wearing Nikes, Chris Athans wearing Asics, Brad Cromer rocking Last Resort AB, Sage Elsesser doing campaigns for UGGs, and more. With Effs in Nike SB, it is possible that we see some riders making the same lateral transition that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is making on the NBA side.

CONS is still moving pairs of the Louie Lopez 2, AS-1, skate Chucks, and more, but news travels fast in the skate community, and massive team and personnel layoffs affect fans and friends, with sentiment starting to sound sour when the CONS topic comes up at skate shops and parks.

Is this another sign of the long-rumored Converse departure from Nike altogether, or just another cost-cutting measure to scale back the sneaker OGs? For now, it mostly means more skate talent for other shoe brands to snatch up.

Zach Harris

Zach Harris is a writer based in Philadelphia. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vice, Complex, High Times, and more. He is obsessed with skateboarding and bowling. He is still looking for his first 300. For tips, reviews, and anything in size 10.5 - zach.h@soleretriever.com