The story of the Vans Half Cab
The Vans Half Cab is one of the most iconic silhouettes in skateboarding and has been for the past 30 years. This is no easy accomplishment, let's face it, how many other skate shoes have endured the ever-rotating wheel of fashion, fads and function for over 3 decades? Aside from other Vans classics such as the Old Skool, Authentic or Era, no other out-and-out skate shoe comes to mind. Perhaps the Etnies Lo-Cut? Either way, most skate shoes from the '90s have struggled to stay relevant over that time. So, how has the Half Cab pulled it off? Let's have a look...
Firstly, the Half Cab was designed with help from Thrasher's Skater of the (20th) Century, Steve Caballero and released in 1992 as his second pro-shoe with Vans. By this time, Steve Cab was already one of the most well-known names in skateboarding, thus making anything with his name on it absolute gold. Cab became such a massive name by not only being a generational talent on his skateboard but also by helping shape skateboarding into what it is today and being an incredibly aspirational character both on and off the board.
Steve Caballero's legacy
Early years 1979-85
Cab found himself enamoured with skateboarding by the age of 12, and by 15 was discovered by Stacey Peralta whilst tearing up a contest at Escondido Skatepark in 1979. This resulted in Cab being an OG member of the legendary Bones Brigade while skating for Powell Peralta and rubbing shoulders with teammates such as Mike McGill, Tony Hawk and Lance Mountain. A heavy roster to say the least.
From here Cab's fame and ability on his board snowballed at an insane pace. By 1980 Powell turned Cab pro and he went on to place highly in most competitions he entered across the globe. By 1985 Cab had, of course, established himself as one of the toughest names to beat in the comp circuit, but he had also featured heavily in two of the most legendary skate videos of all time – Powell Peralta's 'The Bones Brigade Video Show' and 'Future Primitive'. These videos inspired a whole generation of young skateboarders, with fashion choices, trick selections and the general ethos of the video being replicated by kids across the world.
The Caballerial
Not just satisfied with being in videos and winning competitions, Steve Caballero is also credited with inventing skateboard tricks, the most well-known of which is called the Caballerial (now commonly known as the Full Cab). This involves the skater doing a full 360-degree span turning with the board but popping off their tail whilst travelling "fakie" (backwards).
The Full Cab is easily one of the most utilised tricks to this day, both in transitional skating and street skating. Just look at the 2024 Olympics, most skaters were doing tricks that involved a Caballerial in some way shape or form. Even BMX riders use the term Half Cab or Full Cab for their equivalent trick on a bike, although I would not recommend trying to talk to any of them about it as this is a very sore subject. I don't know why or how but apparently it's not named after Steve Cab in the BMX world... anyway, I digress.
Similar to Rodney Mullen who was famous for inventing tricks that are now fundamental to modern skating, Steve Cab has his own little claim on creating something that is absolutely vital to skating nowadays.
Skateboarding and musical achievements
A few years after the release of 'Future Primitive', Cab achieved one of the most impressive comp results ever whilst skating at the 1987 World Championships in Munster, Germany. Not only did he win the vert title, but he also won the street comp! Even today, it is rare you come across skaters that have mastered both street and vert skating. I will confess that the street comps of the '80s were quite different to the ones we have today, but the point still stands, skaters usually master a specific area of the art, be it vert, street or freestyle, and it just proves how much of a natural talent someone has to be to become one of the very best at multiple disciplines. Oh and in the same year, he broke the world record for the highest air ever done on a vert ramp, with a bs air of 11ft. Something that took around ten years to beat...
Alongside his skate career, Cab was also a massive fan of music, mainly punk bands such as The Adolescents during his earlier years. This led to Cab and three other skaters that would skate the vert ramp in Cab's garden to form their band, The Faction. The Faction were a huge driving force behind the creation of the genre 'Skate Punk' with fast and aggressive guitar-led punk songs, perfect for getting your mind into that ready-to-hurt-yourself skating mindset. Most skaters would know The Faction song 'Skate and Destroy' as it was featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, a game that would shape many young skater's musical tastes for the rest of their lives.
Creating the Half Cab
Earlier on when I said Steve Cab helped design the Half Cab, this was perhaps a slight lie. The Half Cab is actually Steve Cab's second pro-shoe and is aesthetically incredibly similar to his first shoe, The Caballero, aka the Full Cab. When the Caballero was released in 1989, it sold well, but a slight issue was identified by the skaters who wore them. They were too high and skaters seemed to struggle with the height of the shoe when flipping their boards, so they started chopping off the top and wrapping the new mid-height collar with tape to stop the foam from coming out the exposed top. (Images can be found when searching the internet for “vans caballero high top cut down”)
Steve noticed this and after doing it himself a couple of times, he found himself on the phone with the big dogs at Vans stating:
"Can we make a shoe that's half the size, 'cause everyone's cutting my shoe down and duct taping it. I've seen some people sew it, people putting stickers... Let's cut my shoe down, let's call it the Half Cab. Let's make it like the Jordan and have it like he has the Jumpman, so let's get a silhouette of me doing a Half Cab and let's call it the Half Cab, and put it out in a bunch of different colors."
That phone call inadvertently created one of the most famous skate shoe silhouettes ever. So, when I say it was a slight lie to say Steve Cab helped design the Half Cab, it's mainly because it was the kids on the streets skating the Full Cabs that truly shaped the design of the Half Cab. Obviously, Steve was involved a lot with the design of his first shoe and was the main catalyst for the Half Cab going into production, but without the kids utilising that DIY spirit skaters seem to just exude, the Half Cab probably wouldn't have been created in 1992, let alone nowadays.
Today's Vans Half Cab design and technology used
Although the silhouette of the Half Cab has virtually remained the same for the past 30 or so years, there have been some massive strides in technology that lay beneath the suede and canvas panelling of the shoe. Starting with the infamous Vans waffle sole unit, at first glance you would think Vans haven't bothered updating the already incredibly popular design. You would be wrong.
Although the pattern used remains similar, the rubber compound has been upgraded to Vans' very own SICKSTICK technology, giving the compound a much more durable make-up as well as increasing the grip and general board feel. Above the sole unit sits the much-loved Vans POPCUSH insole, designed and refined over the past few years to ensure your feet are as protected as possible from large drops, reducing the chances of a nasty heel bruise or hot pocket heading your way after a heavy session. Inside the shoe itself, the tongue now has elasticated straps attached to either side, ensuring the tongue is stable and in position during the whole time you have the shoes on, improving both the fit and function of the shoe. Around the heel, the addition of the internal heel stiffeners and moulded heel-cup result in the shoe fitting brilliantly, keeping it locked to your foot and improving stability and support, thus improving the board feel of the shoe further. Lastly, the addition of the DURACAP underneath the toe gives the shoe an additional layer of protection between the grip tape of your skateboard and your little toe. Something both your wallet and little toes will be happy about.
The Vans Half Cab is the undisputed king of all pro-shoes. Some out there have tried to compete, but none so far have been able to keep the longevity of the Half Cab going. Perhaps the Adidas Busentiz or Nike Janoski will one day take over, but before then the Half Cab needs to have production halted, something that is not going to happen anytime soon. The Half Cab just works, it is individual as well as timeless, both functional and fashionable but most importantly it's got that classic logo of Steve Caballero popping a beautiful Half Cab on the side of it.
