Sneaker Saturday: Inside the Nike "Jones Beach" AF1 & Extra Butter Partnership

Summer is made for fun in the sun, ice cream and spending time on the beach. Summer is also the season for one of the most iconic summer shoes, the Nike Air Force One Low. In 2009, Nike released a version that combined these interests into a shoe that honored a Long Island mainstay, Jones Beach. This first iteration of the shoe was released in a limited quantity of 516 pairs, which is also Long Island's area code.  

Jones Beach is one of the top NYC summer fun destinations and is located on Long Island. This famous beach can be found in the small hamlet of Wantagh, NY, which is a barrier island connected to Long Island via the Ocean Parkway. About 6 million people visit Jones Beach every year for attractions like a full-size outdoor theater and 2-mile long boardwalk.

Image via Bleacher Report

The Nike Air Force One Low “Jones Beach” features a tan canvas upper that combines "Birch" and "Sail-Stone" to create a beach sand look. The shoe is accented in off-white tan on the Nike "Swoosh" branding and seaweed details on the heel of the shoe. This shoe is detailed with off-white laces, a Jones Beach tongue tag and an icy translucent outsole that features the silhouette of Long Island.

Extra Butter Rep. Daniel blessed B/R Kicks with some insight into what made this re-release of the Nike Air Force One Low “Jones Beach” so special for Extra Butter.

Image via Bleacher Report

Bleacher Report: How did this partnership with Nike come together?

Daniel, Extra Butter: When the shoe originally released, we had a really big response for it at our Long Island location (Rockville Center). Being based and having a lot of our roots in L.I.,  we crushed it. EB really prides itself on our ability to storytell and we did a great blog post and made sure we got a lot of great shots that really focused on the beach-centric theme of the shoe.

When Nike talked about bringing this shoe back, they were really eager to let us do our thing in terms of storytelling again. Taking the shoe to the next level out at our original location on Long Island.

B/R: So Extra Butter is originally from L.I.?

Daniel: Correct, back in 2007 we opened up, so [it’s been] over a decade now at the Rockville Center location. It's cool we are taking it back to our roots, it's about time Long Island got some love in this industry and we thought we were the appropriate ones to do it.

Image via Bleacher Report

B/R: Really like the outsole of this sneaker. How much did the icy translucent “Long Island” outsoles inspire you guys to want to be part of the re-release?

Daniel: Nike did a phenomenal job at recreating stitch for stitch the original “Jones Beach” AF1. This shoe had a lot of great updates to it like the blue iridescent icy sole which is going to keep it looking fresh for longer.

It's funny you [mention] the bottom is your favorite part because at the pop-up shop we have this huge sculpture of the shoe that's rendered to look like a sand castle. It's equipped with the "Long Island" monogram on the bottom of the shoe. It's arguably the biggest AF1 sole I've ever seen. Right behind that, we have the "OG" pair on a display podium that again is made to look like a sand castle with yet another AF1 sole present.

B/R: What do you think is the best feature of this shoe?

Daniel: Being from Long Island, born and raised in Valley Stream, the Jones Beach pencil. It screams Long Island to me. That on the tongue with the "Jones Beach" embroidery, that tongue tag just takes me back to my youth, traveling to Jones Beach. Also, the Long Island mapping on the sole is moving for me. Long Island being my home and where Extra Butter was founded, it's always enjoyable to see that image.

Image via Bleacher Report

B/R: You guys don’t ever seem to do the normal launch event and now you’re doing a beach party pop-up. Who came up with this?

Daniel: It was actually a collaborative effort as Nike really liked the fact that we are known for our storytelling. And when it comes to something like this, yes we can do a nice Instagram post and yes we can take some nice pictures but how do we take it to the next level? We were fortunate enough to team up with Arizona, which is a Long Island staple and found out on the island. We also teamed up with Shake Shack for a custom concrete-custard for this event. It's really been a collaborative effort to represent "What Is Long Island?"

In addition to the pop-up space at the shop itself, we have an off-site location at the Yacht Club in East Rockaway that features an impromptu pool made out of a shipping container to create this clear fish-tank like environment. The thing I'm most excited for is the special food truck hosted by Ghetto Gastro.

The Nike Air Force One Low 'Jones Beach' releases Today, Saturday, July 22nd for $130 USD. In order to purchase this shoe, you must go the Rockville Center Extra Butter location at 266 Merrick Rd, Rockville Centre, NY 11570 to get the full Long Island/Jones Beach experience.