From Street to Olympic Sport: Nike's Impact on Breakdancing Culture

You cannot escape dancing today. Once reserved for special occasions such as weddings or nights out, it now invades your commute to work, the already-chaotic city pavement and even while you’re mindlessly scrolling. Whether you like it or not, Tik-Tok challenges and Fortnite emotes means moving your body is more trendy than ever. Nike knows this best, having added many a shoe, ad campaign and dancer to its library of work. As the Nike Jam makes its debut alongside Breakdancing at the Tokyo Olympics, will we finally see the sport get the attention it deserves?

Unless you are personally involved in the dance world, you may have missed the near-twenty year involvement that Nike has had with the sport (four-decades if you count the disco-inspired Tailwind from the late ‘70s). Similar to other street-based activities such as skateboarding, Nike has spent many years trying to break down the barriers to entry, justifying why dance can be both an art form and a sport.

Spanning as far back as the “Keep Up” commercial from 2005, Parisian-based Sofia Boutella can be seen dance-battling a large speaker in a pair of Nike Shox. At the time, the Swoosh was trying to market the silhouette through its Women Sportswear category by using this abstract dance campaign. Commenting on the brand’s involvement was the commercial’s head choreographer Jamie King who said, “for the first time Nike’s decided to say ‘you know what, we’re taking dance seriously. It’s another form of athleticism … and we’re going to recognise that. Being part of that push is very exciting.”

This feature came out during the mid-2000s when breakdancing saw a surge in interest thanks to dance-centric movies such as the Step Up franchise. One 2007 commercial in particular from Nike Russia would take heavy inspiration from the first Step Up film, displaying the conflict in dance styles between a ballerina and breakdancer. This was the brand capturing the dance trend on a global scale, one that had nearly every teenager trying to understand what dance meant to them. However, no matter how successful these campaigns may or may not have been, the shoes were yet another example of footwear technology that didn't cater specifically to dancers. This being said, some might argue that Nike’s top priority was in fact highlighting dance as a sport and not the shoes themselves, laying a foundation for what was yet to come.

Bouetella would go onto feature in a number of Nike Womens adverts following, such as the 2006 “I’m An Athlete” commercial where the shoes seemed to play second fiddle to the athleticism on display. Here you can see what seems to be an early version of the Nike Musique, a dance-centric silhouette from the Y2K period.

After the heavy push of the mid-2000s, the following years were quiet in comparison as its sports-specific options began to dwindle. In the early 2010s Nike continued to develop its Musique silhouette, a flat-soled training shoe suitable for dance fit classes, a sector of the sport that saw a huge increase in demand. You only have to pull out your dusty Wii Fit board or look up how many Davina McCall workout videos exist to figure out how everyone got sucked into the dance workout craze. The Musique itself offered little support for breakers, as stability and toe cover would struggle keeping up with any form of power move, meaning once again the wait was still on.

During the mid-2010s Nike would carry on pushing the theme of dancers as athletes, once again framing the artform as a sport. The Nike Free Run series, and more specifically Nike+ technology in collaboration with Apple, provided an opportunity to highlight the relationship between music and athletes. As runners would sync up their iPhones and iPods to their shoes, the connection between sport and music grew even stronger, creating another argument for dancers. One interesting commercial from Nike Japan communicated this connection, framing the Nike Free Run as both a shoe and an instrument at the same time. Besides it being an entertaining watch, all of this line blurring continued to break down boundaries and was considered progress for dance.

All of the marketing would finally culminate in 2021 when the Portland-based brand released another dance-specific sneaker called the Air Sesh. Designed by none-other than Tinker Hatfield himself, he explained the reasoning behind the creation was that, “historically dancers were appropriating other sneakers which weren’t really designed for them. It was time for me to put pen to paper on how we could help these athletes perform better.” While the shoe may have gone under the radar for most sneakerheads, the current generation of movers seemed excited for its arrival, with the US-based Kinjaz being the most popular dance group to help push the Air Sesh.

Although the Air Sesh was a move in the right direction, it seemed unable to keep up with the modern advancements of Breaking, with its many complex styles proving too demanding for the shoe. Then with the 2024 Olympic Games being only three years away, the Swoosh decided to bring out its most tailored option to date, giving the B-Boys and B-Girls of today a shoe that they could call their own.

Debuting at the Paris 2024 Summer Games, breakdancing hit the world stage like never before. Receiving such a platform was undoubtedly a huge opportunity for the sport, with its effects to unfold for years to come. Not only does a feature on every television in the world bring more money and sponsorships, but it can also inspire an entire generation of potential athletes, which is why the Swoosh brand put its best foot forward with the Nike Jam.

From the technicality of motion capture suits to observing the energy of events, four years of production was a positive sign that the Swoosh covered all the bases. According to the Nike website, “the Jam maximises breakers’ ability to slide across smooth competition surfaces as well as concrete and asphalt. Its foam drop-in midsole construction provides breakers ample protective cushioning. And its rubber cupsole offers the close-to-ground feel breakers need to perform at their peak."

That’s not all, as the considered design goes deeper than just the upside-down Swoosh, a nice easter egg for those who dedicate a lot of time to power moves. Mark Wilson, editor for Fast Company, beautifully details these new features saying, "The Jam may be traditional on the inside, but innovations are hiding in plain sight, right on the outsole. Those design details include a subtly curved bottom, which allows the ankle to roll (hereasy in most sports!). Braille-like nibs help a breaker know where they’re touching when grabbing their foot during a move. And most subtly of all, around the toe knuckle, just in front of those nibs, lives a slightly different rubber compound that’s slicker than the rest of the shoe: It features “a lower friction coefficient,” to enable the foot to slide across the floor.”

The semi-gusseted tongue takes inspiration from the brand’s running series, allowing it to stay centred while on-feet so you can focus on your moves. Extra 3M detailing catches the city lights as day turns to night, giving the upper another side as you hit the darker practice hours. Reinforced suede panelling around the eyestay and toe provide much-needed durability, protecting from scuffs and scrapes against the surface as you switch between moves. Even the colourways are a nod to key components of the sport, the “Black Gum” edition referencing the turntable and microphone equipment, versus the “Brown” edition which plays on the piece of cardboard breakers used to protect themselves from the ground.

Similar to the Nike Basketball performance range, the Nike Jam does fit snug, so we advise going up by at least half a size. This might just be the case for the women’s specific “Black Gum” release as they can often cater to a more narrow foot, so the wide footers out there are better off going up a whole size.

Of course we had to ask The Sole Supplier community on its thoughts and got some interesting feedback. One person said, “I think it’s a refreshing silhouette. Nike leans too hard into retros and we need new models like this to keep the hobby fresh. I’m excited to see what comes of this model, I just hope they beef up the tongue.” Another person said, “I have a lot of friends and family that break… I feel like these will get a lot of love and collabs after they start to sponsor breakers.” Of course with it being the internet, someone had a slightly more negative take on the new silhouette, saying “not my jam tbh but you do you.”, kudos on the wordplay though.

Looking at what was on-feet during the final, it was a homerun for Nike with both male and female athletes rocking the Swoosh as they became the first ever Breaking Olympic Champions (and possibly the only). Unfortunately it wasn’t the Jam that was laced up on-feet, as Ami Yuasa from Japan earnt first place in a pair of Nike Zoom Blazer Low, and the men’s winner from Canada Phil Wizard reaching the top spot in the Nike Air Pegasus 2K5. Why these two were not wearing the Nike Jam is anyone’s guess, although it would have been the perfect victory all-round if they achieved gold in the new silhouette.

Now the Games are over and Australian Breakdancer Raygun (Rachel Gunn) has taken the spotlight thanks to her controversial performance, the art of breaking may just live on via her memes alone. Currently there are no plans to bring back breaking for Los Angeles 2028, so that may have been the only time we get to see the sport at an Olympic level, but we’ve got our fingers crossed.

Questions remain around the post-Olympic roll out of the Nike Jam and rightly so. Having invested so much into the silhouette already, it is highly likely that the Swoosh will continue adding to its library of colourways, giving breakers more options to pick from. The Futura edition is a positive sign for things to come, indicating that the brand’s powerhouse collaborators are keen to put their own spin on the Jam.

A Michigan-inspired make-up is already touted for a December 2024 release in the US, indicating that the model might just get a slew of Collegiate-inspired editions. This is a tactic many sneakerheads will now be familiar with thanks to the recent retros of the Nike Dunk “Be True To Your School” collection from the ‘80s. This will be great for creating a sense of ownership within varsity-level breaking teams or giving students another pair of Nikes to represent their college in. However this is just speculation for now, although it is a move that could pay dividends in years to come.

As for the UK, Europe and Asia, only time will tell as more colourways start to hit the shelves. Of course breaking as a sport will continue as usual, with its many participants and supporters unbothered by its inclusion at Paris 2024. Having existed since the ‘70s, the culture is firmly rooted, with newcomers and brands welcome to join the over-fifty year ride... as long as they come with the right intentions. What we can be sure of is that the sport now has a shoe it can call its own and we’re excited to see what becomes of the Nike Jam.