Nicole Hause x Nike Dunk Release

 

What was your biggest challenge when you first got on the board? Now you have to shoot videos or make ads. How do you deal with the pressure and how is it like to grow into the skateboarding scene?

N: I kinda got lucky because I did gymnastics, so my balance was still. 

J: Ahh me too!! ahah

N: Yeah, there’s a couple of skaters I know that did gymnastics before they skated. And it helps a lot with skating because of your balance, obviously. I don’t even remember having a problem like dropping in, it was really easy for me.
It was more like the street side of things, like ollies and figuring out how to get your board to stay under your feet. I think that was the biggest challenge at first. But again, I was so young. I don’t even remember it. At that age, you don’t even have challenges. Things are so new that you’re not even thinking about it as a challenge. But as a kid you just try things a million times, which is what you have to do in skating.

Now a lot of it is mental for me. I’ve been skating for so long that I have the ability to do a lot of things. The question is: will your brain push past the fear? Will you, your body allow you to do something that’s so scary or wants to reject the whole idea?

There’s always ways to progress and learn, and no matter how good you are, you’re always gonna have something to achieve.

Do you have any tip to help me pass my fear?

N: Gosh! Really, I just try to almost not think, you know? You’re going to be fine. 
Just get all four wheels down and then you can jump off if you want. It’s almost easier to land on your board, but our bodies always want to get away from it. That is also very dangerous. It’s kinda of tricking yourself, but honestly, I’m still figuring it out every day. It’s  a different story depending on the track, you know? 

What would you say was the turning point in your career? When did you realize you could take it to the next level? 

N: I was pretty young, I was like 15 and I got invited to my first contest, in California. So, my family and I flew out to California. Because of the way it was set up, I got thrown in the mix with Lizzie and Nora, Alicia and all these girls who were like pros, but for me that was just my first contest.

I ended up making into the finals and getting a sixth place or something, which for me, it was like, whoa! That was the first time I had a measurement of how good I was. I guess because a lot of the time I spent in Minnesota, I was skating by myself. I originally thought I was going to go to college out there in California and get a degree, but the older I got the more I realized I wanted to keep in the skateboarding scene. I got invited to other contests because I did good. People and brands started to notice me. 

What’s the feeling of being in a competition and then also in the street? 

N: Contest. I mean, at first it was scary, the crowds and stuff, but then at certain point you just kind of tune it out. You’re so hyper focused and you kind of have all this adrenaline and anxiety on your mind. I don’t do contests that much anymore. 

Street skating is just such a single trick minded. Kind of, at least for me. Street skating is more scary. You know, just cars, water. Most of the times, just grippy concrete or choked out concrete, just issues everywhere. So there’s a lot more factors and variables to street skating. 

You also get as many tries as you want, usually as long as you don’t get kicked out of a spot. You can come back to the spot 4 or 5 times and it can be like a year long journey or two years. I’ve heard people coming back to spots like 20 times!

So if you had to choose between not contests, but parks or streets, and you could only choose one, which would you choose?

N: I love park skating, I love going in there. Skateboarding when I was attracted to the most, was flying and going fast and long grinds. I love street skating too. It’s definitely a hard toss up, but I feel like I always love to fly in the air. So that’s more of a park style thing. 

 

Nike SB Dunk Low Pro x Nicole Hause White and University Blue © Joana Melo

  

Do you see it hard to find spots in the street where you can fly? 

N:  Yeah, for sure! There are definitely way less transition spots on the street. There are big handrails and stairs. It’s definitely a bit of a challenge, but it’s also cool when you find one!

 

 

What would you say that influences your style? Like the way you skate, the way you dress...

N: Where did the style came from? 

 

 

Your idols too. Skate idols? Yeah, yeah. Something there. 

N: I think a lot of my clothing style is from like ten year old me or nine year old me. I was a really big tomboy. I loved hip hop and I loved 50 Cent... I really wanted my style to be hip hop! I look back on photos of myself when I was younger and I’m dressing like I do no. So it’s kind of funny.

I also think Billie Eilish had a big inspiration on me recently. I feel she made me feel more comfortable to wear that type of cloths. I feel like she’s a big part of that shift, the younger generation of women. So that was cool. In the skateboarding scene I really looked up to Grant Taylor and his smooth style. 

 

 

I have three short questions for you. So the first is skate with or without headphones?

N: Without. I used to skate with them when I was a kid.

 

 

Favourite song? 

N: Favourite song? Oh, my gosh. It’s my favourite song right now.
Pink Pony Club, yeah!

 

 

What about your role models?

N:  I guess I got role models from meeting people and being in the right place at the right time. I’m a  little bit jealous of the girls growing up now because they have so many girl skater friends! They just go to the skatepark all together! I wish I would have grew up like that, you know, just having all of your friends skate, I think it’s cool.

You know that you are a role model, right? 

N: No. Like, I mean. Yeah. It’s cool, I hope that I’m a good role model. 

Oh, you are! Do you think it’s important for you to be recognized on a global level?

N:  I really love traveling to other countries and meeting people. I think it’s important. I think it’s important for the whole world to be connected through whatever however it is. We’re all humans at the end of the day. We all love this one thing and I think it’s really cool to be connected with people from all over. I have friends in so many countries, which is so cool. And I love learning about their cultures, their struggles and their country.

I think skateboarding is one of the first sports to really break that gap in between sports and culture. Because a lot of sports, you just play in the U.S or you play in Brazil and you don’t really travel to other countries. 

So, where was your favourite trip so far? And your dream trip? 

N: My favourite trip so far is probably, You know, I love Paris. Like, I love skating in Paris, but Australia was really cool too. I’ve heard Lisbon’s is also super nice, a lot of people telling me I would love Lisbon.

I’ve never been, but maybe soon?

 

J: You should come. 

 

N: That’s definitely on the list! My dream trip is Bilbao, it was supposed to be my trip for my Nike’s Dunk release. 

 

 

How this skating abroad influences your style and approach to skateboarding? 

N: The culture and the energy that I feel really can influence your skating. I mean, each place has its own sort of energy. I feel like. And you can really pick up onto that while you’re skating. When you go to a different country, it’s refreshing to see kids who are still stoked on the littlest things, you know? California is kind of like a melting pot of a lot of people having everything at their fingertips. We got the perfect weather, the biggest skate industry, so I think that a lot of people here can take it for granted. You don’t see that in other countries. 

I wanted to know how important is for you to have the support of brands like NIKE?

N: It’s definitely super important. You have to connect with the team. And it’s kind of your foundation for support. As I’ve been sponsored by Nike since 2018, but I didn’t really feel like I was part of the industry. There was until I got really on it that a lot more opportunities came up. And because I’m supported by Nike, people now recognize me and my efforts. There are so many women skateboarders nowadays and they are so good! I’m looking on Instagram like, who is she? What’s happening? That’s so cool to see, but it’s definitely still on the cusp of the industry still growing into it. It’s still new. 

I think the more that women get into positions like what you guys are doing with the mag, the more the industry grows. You’re helping facilitate this, giving space for women to be more featured and more looked at!

In terms of brand supports, the question of many is: how to get in their? Do I call them? Do I DM them?

I’ve just learned that if you want something, you see something for yourself. If you’re good enough, just believe in yourself and just say what you want! The worst thing that can happen is to get a no or sometimes it’s a no for a period of time. I think people don’t want to bother the others with their dreams, but I think it’s really important to go after what you believe!

As you told us, you had a surgery and I wanted to know if any of those partnerships can get in risk because of it.

N: I feel pretty lucky because I’ve established myself at this point. People know who I am and how hardworking I am. They know that I’m going to come back from this and it’s going to be okay. It’s just going to be like bumps in the road. I’m lucky that they still believe in me, I guess.
It’s not the first time I’ve been injured, obviously, but this is definitely the longest one. I think the scariest part for me in all of it is less about feeling like, oh no, I’m going to get dropped, and more about just all the plans I had and my shoe coming...

I had plans for trips and now I don’t have any footage in my shoe. Nothing. So I think that’s the hardest part. All the ideas, the culture, everything collides with this other sneakerhead culture, all these other people’s opinions and stuff. 

It’s kind of sad to not have footage of myself and it gives me an identity crisis. You feel lost a little bit, but I also know that the injuries happen for a reason and that at the end of the day, it usually come back stronger. 

I think these are the last questions, but has you talked about that, do you thought about postponed the release of the shoe?

N: I kind of thought about it, but for me, I mean, I designed this shoe in a way that I had always visualized. If I ever got a shoe, it would be white with blue. And then I came up with the plan idea because I was in love with these plaid pants. And I felt like plaids would come back in style. I started to wear chains and I was really into that and I realised there had never been this chain shoe Dunk. So yeah, why not doing that?

I saw that everyone was wearing chains, and I felt that if I pushed the shoe back, it wouldn’t be trending anymore. I definitely thought about it. But I had to postpone like a whole year. I probably wouldn’t even be into that shoe anymore. I want people to skate them, but I also feel that they are a streetwear shoes. I feel that’s part of me too. I’m a skater, but I’m also really into fashion and streetwear. I am a sneakerhead myself. 

I’m just trying to make the most of it and I want to see all kinds of people with them.

How did you came up with the idea? Because the chain comes off, right? And you can use it has a bracelet? 

N: Yes, yes. So I just love this bracelet and I was wearing it a lot. I just thought that it would be so cool to have it on. I showed my bracelet to Nike’s team, I wanted the chain to be exactly like the one I had. And then, they were like, yeah, we should put like a little tag on it with your name. And then, you know, people take it off, they can wear it as a bracelet that still connected to the shoe. The idea is kind of a combination of me and the footwear team. 

You released a photo dump of your shoes on Instagram, before the official release. Why?

N: Yeah. It all started because somebody else leaked it and then it got picked up by like every other Instagram account that leaks stuff. So it was already leaked, which was pretty annoying to me. I know it happens with everyone’s Dunk. So all these other Instagram accounts were getting attention for your Dunk and taking what’s kinda yours. I took a look at their photos and they were not a good representation of the Dunk. 

I realised I needed to do this. Post my own and good photos of them. But I was on a trip, so I couldn’t do it immediately. Then I tore my ACL on that trip. I got home and I knew that I needed to make a leak post before all the hype was gone. I posted it after my surgery, and everyone was like, you can bend your knee already. But no, I was still in bed with a brace on, the pictures had actually been taken before surgery. 

But yeah, it’s just about taking your power back from the people who leaked it first.

When did you start, preparing the shoe? 

N: I think, March 2023. So almost a year and nine months ago... smth like that.

About the invitation, I kind of had a feeling, so I already had everything prepared. I had drawn the graphic on my iPad and I already had renderings. So then we just started working right away. They did exactly what I wanted. The first sample was off. It was not what I was going for. I mean, it was close, but the details were not ok. It was really bulky looking. Looked kind of cheap to me. I want the swoosh to be fabric. 

The design team helped me so much,  it was really cool. The second sample of it was pretty good. And then I think the third sample was perfect and yeah! They listened, which is everything you could want from a brand, you know?

 

Last question! How does it feel knowing you’ll have a shoe that people all over the world will be wearing? 

N: Yeah. So crazy. I feel like it’s really insane! I definitely kind of dreamed about it! I definitely wished for this moment since I was younger. But now that’s actually happening, it feels so surreal. I don’t even really know how I feel yet. I know it’s something so special and something that will probably be one of the biggest moments in my life! I think it’s just really special that I got to design it, like fully design it and, I’ll see it on other people.

I think it’ll be weird, but also special. 

Are you going to put, all your family with your shoes? 

N: Yeah, like Christmas presents? Yeah. I already got everyone’s sizes. I think I have, like, 42 people on the list of friends and family. Already asked Nike to put them aside for me. I mean, everyone’s so excited! My family is like, isn’t it crazy that you have a Nike shoe? Their brains are exploding. How did this happen?  They’ve always believed in me, but I think this is another level. You know, Nike is such a big brand. So when you say you have a shoe with Nike, it just crazy. 

Any last words? You can end with a beautiful sentence or you can say: just go get my shoe, ahahaha. 

N: Yeah, yeah, that’s what I’m gonna say. I hope everyone who wants to  get my shoe gets that chance, and that they love it and enjoy it. And if they skate it, they skate it. And if they don’t want to skate, they don’t have to. 

J: I hope I get one pair! And to let you know, when you when you said  I’m here, I was screaming inside. I can’t even explain. But for us, it’s really important to have the opportunity to talk with you. Just seeing you on Instagram is crazy, having the opportunity to talk with you and having you on our magazine is crazy! It’s a really, really big pleasure. And yeah, we are stoked and I’m stoked for your shoes!

So yeah. That’s it. Thank you so much. Really, really, really, really! Thank you. I’ll be screaming for the next week. What what can I say? I Hope to see them in December!

 

N: Yes. Thank you! Have a good night!