As Seen in Sneaker Freaker Issue 45

When Dean Met Steven: A Tale of New Balance's First Skate Shoe

Back in 1987, a precocious 14-year-old by the name of Dean Futrell sketched out a few ideas for a ‘robust’ skate shoe and sent it off by snail mail to New Balance in Boston. That letter was intercepted by Steven, a talented young member of the design team who decided to poke around the warehouse and build a pair of New Balance ‘Pride’ with bleached stripes and custom ollie patches. By the time the shoes arrived at Dean’s residence in 1988, his feet had grown two sizes and the booty was duly stored away in pristine condition. From here the story goes cold for 33 years.