Nike has confirmed that their skateboarding imprint Nike SB will produce a special line of Grateful Dead-inspired sneakers this summer.
Images of the Dancing Bear kicks have been floating around the Internet for months, but with this confirmation comes an official release date of July 18 for for the orange colorway and July 24 for green and yellow editions.
“Set in three colorways, the shoe playfully features bear-inspired detailing, such as a faux-fur and suede upper, a frayed Nike Swoosh mimicking the bears’ collars and an image of the bear on the tongue. (Another iconic Grateful Dead logo, the Steal Your Face skull, is printed on the underside of the sockliner.),” reads an official description.
GD archivist/legacy manager David Lemieux also weighed in on the collaboration, noting its nod to Dead audio engineer Bear (whom the Dancing Bears were modeled after): “As the band’s benefactor, Bear was an incredibly huge part of the Grateful Dead’s ability to become who they were. They were talented musicians, but they would not have had the financial freedom to forgo jobs, move to Los Angeles and practice for 14 hours a day. The band wouldn’t become what it is today without Bear’s innovations and contributions.”
Click here for more information.
Check out images of the green and yellow colorways below:
68 Comments comments associated with this post
Dan
September 1, 2020 at 9:56 amWith Bob in charge what would you expect ? The old kid is running the asylum now. And yes those sneakers are horrible. Let me know if ya see Bob taking a jog in those.
Jam Econo
July 20, 2020 at 6:05 pmWhat is plural for “Judas”? This makes me ashamed to be a Deadhead; will need to start using “qualifiers” when describing myself as such. Also, don’t be preposterous by suggesting Jerry might have been OK with this travesty.
D of KC
July 16, 2020 at 1:22 pmI say we should Boycott all cheap Chinese sweat shop made products! That would be a great start at helping the oppressed Communist folks who are “Dissapeared” if they don’t comply with the Commie “Wuhan Red Death Virus” rules in China…. Bow and Repeat says Nike!!!
MarZaPhiGar
July 16, 2020 at 12:54 pmWHAT ARE THOSE
A Jew
July 16, 2020 at 12:30 pmI am deeply offended that these “Bears” are not dancing but “high stepping” or “goose stepping” like the Nazi’s did in the 1930s and 40’s. How many of you social justice warriors are with me? Lets go loot an Apple store in protest, my iPhone 6 is on its last legs. Jerry would be proud…
D of KC
July 16, 2020 at 10:10 amSo it’s bad to put out a USA Flag shoe by Nike but these puke green “GD Shoes” made by slave labor are cool right? Nike sucks balls and we all know it, next topic….Meanwhile- China is “re-educating” 2 million Muslims as we speak, wanna go check that out? Commies SUCK!!!!
Dancing Dad Bear Old School! 🤘
July 16, 2020 at 1:39 amLove the Dead! Best band ev-AH! Deadheads 1st month! Totally want to pick these kicks up. Gotta love the dancing bears. Just like at the shows!
JK
July 15, 2020 at 6:13 pmShut your whiny Jerry Roll holes. They are ugly ass sneakers. Buy them or don’t it’s your choice. And quit speculating and speaking for Jerry as if you knew his mind.
Ernest Blankenship
July 15, 2020 at 6:12 pmCant wait to get several pairs for the grand kids. Then when they ask about the logo and such, that’ll be the perfect opportunity to tell them the adventures of their grandpa truckin’ from California to North Carolina and what a groovy scene it was. It truly is a beautiful world with a host of beautiful people. Strange days we are living in. Hard to keep the karma positive but trying. Rock on you beautiful people and may the message always remain peace and love through the music that we play.
Gray
July 15, 2020 at 5:34 pmWhat is so bad with Nike paying Homage to the band and the cultural movement. They are ugly, but cool. I’m sure all of you have only USA made nonprofit material possessions. It’s just a shoe.
The one thing that bugs me is the branding of the band. I dislike the Stealie with a Football Team or whatever on it instead of the bolt. That makes zero sense. The shoes are just a limited release thing so you won’t get them. Go make some sandals out of Banana Leafs and shut up. It’s 2020.!!!
Bob Riz
July 15, 2020 at 5:08 pmEveryone’s bitching about them selling out or that Nike is evil, but let’s be clear… The sneakers are hideous. Could they have selected a worse color combo or design?
Steve
July 15, 2020 at 3:50 pmSo lame. Way lame. beyond lame. I’m officially embarrassed for our tribe. How’ bout the other competitor for most lame. The Grateful Dead deodorant. Seriously??? When are the Grateful Dead shower douces set for release?
Thewheel
July 15, 2020 at 3:48 pmTo most of the posters here:
“If all you’ve got to live for,
is what you left behind,
get yourself a powder charge
and seal that silver mine.”
Davie
July 15, 2020 at 4:58 pmIt was always about the music for me. Not the counterculture, not the deadheads, not the Nike shoes, not the tie-dyed shirts, not the hippies, not the deodorant, not the limited Edition this and that. Just the music and the lyrics.
You can keep the rest my North American friends
william bond
July 15, 2020 at 3:30 pmpersonally I would not wear ugly ass design
sneaker if was shoeless and they were free
Sideshow Bob
July 15, 2020 at 3:11 pmShark don’t know shit.
Kreutzman used to beat the shit out of his girlfriends/wife
John Mayer saves the Grateful Dead from obscurity.
These shoes better not sell out before I get a pair of each, you hear that CUSTIES?
I only wish I could have had them in1995 when Garcia was at his peak
Open Road Jesse
July 15, 2020 at 5:41 pmSaying Garcia was at his peak in ’95 eliminates any credibility you might have had .Sad to say , but ’94 and ’95 were Jerry’s worst years .I started touring in ’73 and heard my share of ups and downs , but the end was clearly in sight before it arrived .
Dick
July 15, 2020 at 3:04 pm“The Dead incorporated in 1976 and, with the band members as the board of directors, became a serious business venture.”
The deoderant and sneakers is nothing new for this bunch of businessmen. Too bad so many people bought into the organic, grassroots B.S.
tracy
July 15, 2020 at 4:59 pmThanks Dick
SHARK EYES OF THE WORLD
July 15, 2020 at 2:54 pmCue the young D & C Mayersplainers, that LOVE to lecture everyone at shows/festivals about being kind and “real,” sitting on the web relentlessly defending the band’s inclusion of a womanizing racist dbag (google his comments and behavior, and for those saying “he changed” dude still sings those songs and says empty vain BS).
I mean anyone with a functional brain should recognize Mayer is only there because Bob likes fellow creepers and wanted to be cool again in his old age (+fears of dying and leaving GD legacy to go on without his handstamp of approval). This dude being added as a formally accepted Dead fam member…a band that made it famous by being a COUNTERculture, is as much a sellout move as those same dudes up there I’m talking about who will go and buy these money-grab monstrosities (if they can even get a pair, ha!).
Guess Jerry and Hunter’s eyes of the world got poked out in the 21st century, replaced with lifeless shark eyes.
anton
July 15, 2020 at 2:39 pmThe dam bears represent a hit of acid…but only true Dead Freaks would know…if you call yourself a Deadhead then you weren’t there…
Randie Walton
July 15, 2020 at 2:27 pmI was never a Grateful Dead fan so my comment probably is irrelevant. If I had music I would destroy every last thing that relates to them. Nike sold out America.
rich tangolics
July 15, 2020 at 2:27 pmD and C are not The Dead, and i’m ok with that.
Mayer will carry on the tunes when Weir drops.
Things change, move on.
Zman
July 15, 2020 at 2:26 pmIt’s not that GDP should be criticized for making money it’s just why choose NIKE when they are the worse of the worse for exploitation! If you gotta make these shoes there are lots of better companies they could’ve used!
Sneaky Pete
July 15, 2020 at 2:19 pmAND there you have it.
SideShow Bob
July 15, 2020 at 2:16 pmI am ALL OVER these.
Every color.
Bad Ass sneaks
nunnayerbidness
July 15, 2020 at 2:12 pmGDP are money grabbing sellouts. Just look at this garbage. More crap pollution, slave labor, blahblahblah. Jerry’s rolling in his grave. GDP should be embarrassed and ashamed for putting out this disgusting garbage.
d. gold
July 15, 2020 at 12:04 pmmill valley gettin pricey daddy need new pair of shoes…..
Clifton Hangar
July 15, 2020 at 1:37 amNailed a retread to my feet and prayed for better weather….
Good to know you got shoes to wear when you find the floor…
Once we grew into our shoes…
We told them where to go…
Meet me at the bottom, bring me my running shoes….
She had rings on her fingers and bells on her shoes…
Uncle Sam
July 15, 2020 at 12:06 amI’d buy the shoes. The rest of you moral high horse virtue signaling holier than thous can eat my shorts.
Getbent @$$hole
July 15, 2020 at 2:15 pmThey’re ugly AF. Nike can fuhkoff and GDP are $h1tbag sellout a-holes. Take those shoes and shove em up yer @$$ when you get them.
Bewildered
July 14, 2020 at 11:48 pmI thought Grateful Dead deodorant was patchouli?! My God, next thing you’ll say is Grateful Dead wine is actually Boone’s Farm. Just print me up some GD TP so I can wipe my ass and I’ll be happy, on bio-degradable cardboard…of course.
Butt Head
July 14, 2020 at 8:21 pmFor What I Hearing In San Francisco
And All Over The Globe They Come With
A Hit Of Acid
I’m Just Keep Trucking
Jay
July 15, 2020 at 11:31 am~I miss a good hit of clear dot
Lyndsey R.
July 15, 2020 at 4:45 pmLOL Funny! #AndIWish
Phipper
July 14, 2020 at 7:48 pmBoo. Well they’ve finally jumped the shark. Shameless money grab.
True Dat
July 14, 2020 at 7:53 pmThey jumped the shark with Mayer… this is blasphemy.
Jim
July 15, 2020 at 9:55 amJerry is dead. Anybody keeping the music going and new interpretations is OK with me. D & C not my favorites, various Phil bands along with Russo top my list but so what. Mayer and DEAD & Co seem to be filling the needs of a few.
user123
July 14, 2020 at 6:45 pmgross
Trash
July 14, 2020 at 6:38 pmDick Latvala was the man. He rips Lemieux to shreds. RIP
Walt
July 15, 2020 at 1:04 pmI concur , Dicks Picks 32 is blasting here in CT. 🙂
Echo everything above and...
July 14, 2020 at 3:43 pmI gotta say, after having watched several of the pre-Shakedown Streams (minus this last week, which had me vomiting in my soup when I saw it was Mayer), this Lemieux guy is really starting to give me the blues. He reminds of all those dickhead bootleg hoarding Heads that I went to high school with. The guy is fucking soft, and we all know the real legend was Dick Latvala.
Loose Lucy
July 15, 2020 at 11:13 amHaha…i had bootleg hoarding guys at my school too!!! They wouldnt share soundboards…just audience tapes
Doug and I'm outta hereeeee
July 14, 2020 at 3:35 pmI believe it’s a kneeling skeleton and it says US Blues.
Doug and I'm outta hereeeee
July 14, 2020 at 3:38 pmMe1: Maybe you should read the article.
Me2: Yeah, no
Jeff Adelman
July 14, 2020 at 2:45 pmIt’s called capitalism 101 and the remaining members are looking out for their families over HUMANITY and GREED. The bus has stopped and if you continue to support a company then you are dead morally and not so grateful after all. Capitalism is cancer!
Jim
July 15, 2020 at 9:50 amNobody forces YOU to buy anything. Isn’t America and the idea of choice GREAT Sneakers sell quite well and I am sure these will. NIKE is quite successful. Jerry designed ties. Ever see a picture of him with a tie?
Kate
July 15, 2020 at 2:37 pm@Jim, a gentleman that I used to work with had a Jerry Garcia tie on one day and my eyes lit up, as that was the first time I learned about the collection. They are beautiful ties and you’re absolutely correct, I’ve never seen a photo of Jerry wearing a tie.
gratefuldingus
July 15, 2020 at 3:44 pmI’m not saying people shouldn’t be allowed to make or purchase any GD schwag. I’m just saying that this is so contrary to everything the Dead is about. (Or was) I won’t participate but others may do as they will of course.
P.S. Jer didn’t design ties. His art was appropriated after he died and used on ties. That may have been the beginning of the GD switching their focus from music to money.
Sean
July 15, 2020 at 5:09 pmThe ties were around while Jer was still alive. I wore one to a funeral in 94.
GRATEFULDOFUS
July 15, 2020 at 6:46 pmThe ties were great, I bought about 10 different of them circa 2011 at Kolh’s on clearance for about $10 each. The were at big hit at Board Meetings and Weddings and I wear them exclusively when needing a tie. This was a GREAT application for his artwork that otherwise might never been seen (I do have the book too). Slapping a few (tired) GD “logos” on sneakers does not make it art and is simply a cash grab to appeal to the Dead & Slow audience.
casey kasem
July 14, 2020 at 2:15 pmPonderous, man, this is just fucking ponderous…
Dave the Slave
July 14, 2020 at 1:59 pmThis is starting to get out of hand. Enough already. Also do we really need Grateful Dead deodorant? For fucks sake just stop.
True Dat
July 14, 2020 at 1:49 pmseriously, WTF. Nike uses sweatshops and child labor to make sneakers… abuse. GD are slimy sellouts/hypocrites for allowing this. If you buy this, you are complicit as well as an asshole.
Jack Jones
July 14, 2020 at 6:10 pmThey are not dancing bears. According to Owsley Stanley, Bear, the creator of the iconic image, they are highstepping.
Do some homework, Nike. And shame on the Grateful Dead for this nonsense.
#onthebusin87
Steve Kahtya
July 14, 2020 at 10:49 pm“… the bears on the album cover are not really ‘dancing’. I don’t know why people think they are, their positions are quite obviously those of a high-stepping march.” Bear
New school heads have no idea what the Grateful Dead traditions are. I blame Dead and Co. If you didn’t see Jerry, then you missed the magic.
Steven Schlueb
July 14, 2020 at 9:15 pmTakes slime to know slime there Slimey.You dont know what goes on in China. Youve never been. Hate on hater especially that ugly reflection of your soul you see in the mirror
Hugh E. Brennan
July 16, 2020 at 10:41 pmSo, you support sweatshops and the exploitation of “cheap” labor?
Jim
July 15, 2020 at 9:45 amYOUR cell phone electronics and much of YOUR clothing is made where? If YOU managed to get a virus test, some of the things used like swabs, gloves gowns, masks were made in China. YOU slimy sellout/hypocrite. M sells more vehicles in China than the US. They sellouts also? Those American farmers sure miss their former Chinese customers.
Jim
July 15, 2020 at 9:57 amJerry is dead. Anybody keeping the music going and new interpretations is OK with me. D & C not my favorites, various Phil bands along with Russo top my list but so what. Mayer and DEAD & Co seem to be filling the needs of a few.
tracy
July 15, 2020 at 4:57 pmmayer is awesome and i saw jerry bunches. i think mayer, oteil and jeff all get it. listen to the Playin’ opener at Dodger Stadium, its gets really great at 3:50!
Eat Well
July 17, 2020 at 8:44 amstfu you soulless cunt. that show blows to anyone with ears. you and yours can go to hell. yeah, things have gotten that bad.
Jim
July 15, 2020 at 10:00 amshould be GM sells more vehicles in China
Liz
July 15, 2020 at 12:33 pmNowadays grateful Dead it’s just another corporation just like Nike.they even got deodorant that shows you there’s no hippies around. The new Gdf family are just a bunch of hypocrites. Greedy like the rest of the world
Tim Kelly
July 15, 2020 at 2:47 pmI totally agree, Jerry is turning over in his grave over this crap!!!
gratefuldingus
July 15, 2020 at 3:33 pmIt’s sickening. It’s just turned into a massive merch machine. Gets worse and worse every year. Now with these RIDICULOUS shoes and the recent debut of $20 deodorant I’m just broken. It hurts my heart. This is not my Grateful Dead.
Dave Muststain
July 16, 2020 at 10:03 amChinese slave labor at full force! Way to do Mike and the Dead. These “hippiecrites” only hate capitalism unless it benefits them.
Hugh Brennan
July 16, 2020 at 10:40 pmI thought we all agreed slavery was bad. Why are we encouraging modern-day slavery? Nike is evil. They have horrible conditions in their sweatshops. Have been cited numerous times.