vintage VANS yellow on blue SK8-MID cut JEFF GROSSO made in usa old skool sk8-hi rare skateboard marine sunflower

 

 take route (19)66 to vans california & the birth of the sk8 family. #style36 low-cut sk8➡#style37(c)? sk8-mid➡#style38 sk8-hi

 

 

the history of the sk8-mid is somewhat blurry. with perhaps only 3 years of made in us production at best, we are yet to confirm the style number however this was at a time circa 1993 when style numbers were becoming superfluous. jeff grosso spearheaded the long anticipated re-release & even modern incarnations are hard to find. there is so much finesse to the original however which is lost on todays mid. as such, these are staying in the vault..... however we do have another strong mens pair available in the coming weeks. don't sleep

vintage vans style #37c(?) sk8-mid
yellow on blue
made in usa circa 1993
used
size N/A

STYLE PROFILE; vans style #38 sk8-hi ¬

 not sure of the exact date of this ad which we have posted b4, however being so loaded with significance it deserves greater attention. dogtown era was in full swing as the blue/red/blue army flooded the streets & pools of california & the mouse went off the wall in the 'dog bowl' (zoom required)! style #36 were literally rolling out the door & style #37 mid skool was poised somewhere in between the 2, made fresh by hand, with 1 foot already in the grave so to speak. hopefully someone with the original ad or maybe knowledge of the tunes young 'red' is listening to could enlighten us to the exact date of issue, however our educated guess (with the help of the calender on/off the wall) is january 1977.

the lesser known 2nd installment in what we call the S.C series reveals a changing landscape. vans are still handmade by the same sweating craftsman, the dogtown #95s are still prevalent however skate has taken a back seat to the domineering world of bmx. style #36 retains its position on the podium meanwhile the advance in helmet development & the arrival of knee pads accompany the replacement of the #37 mid skool with the style #38 sk8-hi & the new lines of flight it now necessitates. printed scenes & canvas have now also become available & carbon date this ad from perhaps october 1982?

this essentially says it all about the evolution of the style #36 into the style #38 via style #37. late 70's pool & vert skating necessitated the extra cushioning & ankle support provided by the highest hi-top to be added to the off-the-wall collection. the suede eyestay & heelstay were extended across the 3 rolls of padded collar while new toe ventiliation helps keep you cool. speaking of cool, the new trajectory of bmx unfolding in the late 70's & beyond, offered a new landscape for vans dependability of traction, fit & snappy styling with new advances in comfort, protection & durability. the vinyl jazz stripe also made the transition however now flowing on a different wavelength. until recently we had not noticed the stripe of a #38 exhibits more the dip or trough of a wave than an old skool peak or crest. this was accentuated further by the eventual modification of the style #38 as it was adopted as the vehicle of choice through the paradigm shift in core sports the next decade end would bring.

introduced in 1978, style #38 was there at the high water mark of vertical skating, helped bmx make fresh tracks in the 80's & underwent its first change in form only after 10 years of solid thrashing. the advent of street skating in the late 80's & the ripple effect of ollie-based tricks dictated a new threshold for action footwear. in confrontation with frequent blow-outs from ollie & flip-based tricks the style #38, much like the style #37 around the same time, underwent a few modifications. the suede heel stay was widenened to protect & reinforce the ankle while the suede eyestay was expanded to form an ollie patch of sorts for greater durability. although these changes were for the greater good of construction & did reduce the high turnover of skate shoes, we think the overall aesthetic was impaired as the trend towards this 1st generation look re-release may indicate. the integrity of the flowing jazz stripe had now been compromised like a musicain cut short amid improv. 

we also have evidence of a few more manifestations of style #38 including what was known as #138 with an extanded rubber toe box. this is a rare style perhaps re-designed to combat destructive knee slides on vert although was also prominent in bmx circles. just as we featured our solid suede style #36 recently we also found evidence of a full suede sk8-hi known as style #338. the style number #438 was also used interchangeably with #38 & did become redundant around the same time as the 1st generation sk8-hi although not exclusively. the last manifestation was in response to the kids on the street cutting down the padded collar of their #38 to a sk8-mid & as such it was thus coined. 

out of all the models released by vans over the years it is the sk8-hi which embodies the most spirit & is loaded with attitude. its origin was skate, to where it remains loyal. an unofficial member of original bones brigade team it had & still has vert, freestyle & street credibility. it traversed the helltrack of bmx through the 80's & 90's & maintains a place in flatland & race history. the crossover appeal into underground subcultures such as punk & hardcore speak volumes for its longevity & authenticity. it is a statement of intent. the most versatile, sought after & pre-eminent core shoe of all time.

style profile; vans style #37 cont'd (mid-skool '77/native american/skate-mid)

just like fellow connoisseurs online (chris @artifact bags, classic kicks nyc) i too was perplexed by the mysterious 'style #37' appearing on early vans ads in the 70's. my original #37 style profile touched on it however further developments now leave it incomplete. as such, sitting numerically & aesthetically somewhere between a #36 old-skool & #38 sk8-hi, little was known about this elusive model. the original #37 we now know however was prominent during the the late 70's & was utilised on various acs/vans collabs (more details coming soon) & apparently favoured by cab & alva. it has since re-surfaced in various modern re-issues as the mid-skool '77 & indeed sits as a mid-cut hybrid between an old-skool & sk8-hi, with a vinyl heel logo at the top ankle. 

as we know the style number #37 was later assigned to the native american, but not before it went through 2 further incarnations. style #238 was the 1st generation native american of the mid 80's featuring the small ollie patch & slim back-stay heel panel. several rare 'street style' natives were later produced when street skating was still in its infancy. legend has it the legend himself steve van doren organised the 1st street skate contest in '87 utilising obstacles such pool tables & parking blocks. in the 5 years to follow street skate officially boomed as vert skating fell by the curbside. 

at this time it didn't take vans long to realise their shoes required further reinforcement to prevent blow-outs in this ollie based arena. as such, the early 90's saw the style #238 become the more highly evolved style #538 with wider heelstay & extended eyestay in place of the ollie patch. aesthetically we prefer the og look of the #238 (especially on 2-tone examples) but the changes did add shelf-life to what finally became the style #37. sitting somewhere between a #38 sk8-hi, with side logo patch replacing the jazz stripe & the rubber toe cap of a style #24 high top, it was perhaps an all-leather prelude to the iconic shoe of 90's street skate ¬ the half cab.

possibly pre-half-cab in 1992 a young gromit by the name of geoff rowley scored his 1st magazine cover for 'sakteboard!' mag uk, upon & inside of which he wore both incarnations of the native american.... on either foot!! even into his official vans sponsorship in 1999, rowley was known to dig for made in usa originals as that was all he could skate. on this occasion he scored a £5 pair of odd natives consisting of a right foot #238 & left foot #538, both in different sizes! now thats committment to the og cause! i just wish i could find such opposing relics these days for a fiver.

 style #37 was a mainstay of core 90's street wear & became a popular option for custom colourways. (thanx 2 yam atso for the custom ad from '89).  2-tone colourways in flavours such as mint, pink & blue heralded the evolution of the use of 'native american' to the more wholesome & politically correct 'california native' line of apparel & accessories.

so if a mid-skool '77 sits between a #36 & a #38 but is no longer a #37, where the hell does the following pair sit? the sk8-mid as it is unoffically called is the forgotten middle child between the #36 & #38 however cannot be a #37. the numerology is academic however & despite existing as a limited mid 90's production of a #38 with 1 set of collar padding instead of 3, lives a hurried existence amidst the label of middle child syndrome. just as any good middle child aims to please at any cost, i'm guessing this wont be the last we hear of young sk8-mid.