Eric Koston is the Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan of skateboarding; he gets a featured commercial from Nike when he releases a new shoe.

Koston's new commericial highlights the new and improved Lunarlon cushioning system from Nike. The video features cameos by Nike SB riders Justin Brock, Grant Taylor, Daryl Angel, and Ishod Wair.

You decide who has the better shoe commercial?

Koston's


Jordan's


Kobe's


In reality it's probably not even Koston's best appearance in a Nike commercial when he made a cameo in P Rod's "Today was a good day" commercial.

Ever wondered what allows Scott Stevens to jib stuff you never imagined jibbable or Bode Merrill to double cork into powder? Maybe it was what their mom fed them for breakfast as a kid, maybe it is natural talent, or it could just be the gear they are riding. That is why SNOWBOARDER Magazine is catching up with some of the top pros to see what's in their arsenal of product for this video series we like to call, "Shred to Toe".

In this sixth episode Austin Smith gives us tour around his place in Bend Oregon. Click the pic to check out what Austin's got in his bag baby.

For the past few months Paul Rodriguez and Plan B had been filming for a video section. They've had to deal with the schedule of one of the busiest skateboarders in the game: Street League contest, Nike tours, Dew Tour contests, Mountain Dew art projects, Maloof Money Cups, etc.

In between all that P-Rod and filmer/editor, Nigel Alexander, were able to put together a banger of a part featuring what the LA raised skateboarder does best; skates the street. No judges, portable bank ramps, instant scoring, hip-hop hype men, or anything like that. Just Paul and what he grew up doing and still loves to do more than anything...Skate The Streets.

"Me, Myself & I" is available on iTunes for a minor charge (to make sure the creative minds behind it can pay their rent this month, just cough up a couple bucks). Below is a trailer, so check out the tease then cruise over to Steve Jobs' music store buy a copy.

Nike SB has just released the Zoom FP skate shoe. Now, the skate community has accepted Nike from the start with the Dunks and the first Jordans, and all those other classic shoes that were good to skate in as well as steezy. That said, every time Nike tries to bring in the technology that they've acquired from research in their other sports, technology that looks a bit odd in terms of skateboarding shoes, the skate community is like, "Um..."

Street skateboarding happens on the streets. Duh, but the thing is when you're on the streets is it's all about style. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant may wear some crazy, furturistic kicks on the court, but when they're out on the town you can be guaranteed their feet scream steez. And for the most part technology-forward, space-aged footwear isn't very stylish when it comes to casually cruising the town.

Get it. Skateboarding's community thinks of itself in terms of style and art more so than that of sport. If a few minor features of a shoe are going help out only marginally, it isn't worth it if it's going to affect how the skater looks on film and in pictures.

OK, so back to the Nike SB Zoom FP. The boys up in Oregon have tried once again to give skateboarding footwear some new modern "sport" features. This time keeping it as subtle and fashion friendly as they could. And maybe more importantly, endorsed by a skateboard god, Mr. Eric Koston.

This is a guy who has always encouraged progression in the design of his shoes. A few of his shoes on eS were light- years ahead of anything seen at the time in skateboarding, and, he, if anyone can get away with it. "Froston" is one of the most respected people in skateboarding, and can single handily get people to buy things buy simply saying, "these are cool."

Nike SB has set up a mini-site to get across everything that is the Zoom FP. They have the technological benefits, colors and testimonials on display. There's a video of Koston explaining what went into the shoe, and a funny commercial featuring him, Daryl Angel and Ishod Wair going though airport security with their new shoes. There's even a cameo by Chet Childress as airport security. Click here to check it out.

The Nike SB skate team was recently in New York City cruising the streets and putting on a demo for the kids. And yes the big names did show up. And when talking of Nike SB the big names are Eric Koston and Paul Rodriguez. The reason was the launch of P.Rod's new shoe the Paul Rodriguez Zoom IV. To coincide with the release Nike has set up mini-site with high quality photos and video, cruise over by clicking here.