Nike SB Dresses Ishod Wair's Air Max Ishod in Grand Purple

Ishod Wair’s Air Max Ishod just got the kind of colorway that makes a signature skate shoe feel more useful than flashy. Nike SB dressed the model in Grand Purple, a layered mix of Grand Purple, Noble Purple, Gravity Purple and black, with blacked-out branding, a white mesh tongue and the familiar visible Air sitting right where the sidewall catches the light. It landed May 1, 2026 through Nike and select skate retailers at $115, which is exactly the sweet spot for a pro signature that wants real circulation, not just collector oxygen.

That price matters. At $115, this is still a skate shoe you can actually wear, beat up and replace without treating it like a display piece. The Grand Purple treatment is the opposite of a blockbuster redesign; it is a tonal recalibration that lets the shape do the work. The shoe keeps the same clean read from across the street, but up close it has enough depth in the purple stack to look considered rather than basic.

Nike SB built the Air Max Ishod as an evolution of Wair’s first signature model, the Ishod, which debuted in January 2022. The sequel formula is smart: it borrows from the original Ishod’s tread pattern, then folds in running and hardcourt heritage, plus Air Max cushioning, into a new silhouette that feels more athletic without losing its skate purpose. Nike describes the construction with updated mesh, exposed Nike Air and a cupsole that breaks in easily, which is the kind of spec sheet that actually matters when you are putting in sessions instead of just posting a clean pair on feed.

Wair’s name still carries weight because the résumé is absurd in the best way. Nike SB says he won Thrasher Magazine Skater of the Year in 2013, just two years into his pro career, and became the first African American to take the award. That kind of credibility is why a muted purple update lands so well here: it does not need to shout to feel official. The shoe already has the story baked in.

Grand Purple is the move because it reads like a pro model that knows its job. It is bold enough to feel current, restrained enough to rotate with baggy denim, cargo pants or washed black sweats, and cheap enough to stay in the conversation after the first wear marks show up. That is how a skate signature stays alive: not by getting louder, but by getting easier to live with.