New Balance Numeric

New Balance Numeric — NB# for short — is the skate division of New Balance, the Boston running-shoe manufacturer that has been going since 1906. On paper it’s skateboarding’s least likely signing: an athletics brand walking into an industry that usually eats newcomers alive. In practice it has become one of the most respected shoe brands on the street, and it got there by committing to cupsoles while everyone else chased thin vulc.

History

The actual origin story came from Seb Palmer, the brand’s general manager, in a 2025 Free interview. It starts with Mike West of the snowboard brand 686, who was already making snowboard boots for New Balance and told them they should make a skate shoe. West got the licence, but the deal required a skate company to handle distribution: Jamie Thomas and Frank Messman, then at Black Box, saw the vision. The idea dates from 2011, the deal was signed in 2012, and the name “Numeric” came from West as a nod to New Balance’s model numbering.

The licensed era with Black Box and 686 didn’t last — the manufacturing quality wasn’t there. New Balance brought it in-house, Palmer moved in-house in 2014, set up the office and hired designer Kelly Kikuta. The real turn, in Palmer’s own telling, came in 2017–2018 with designer Jeff Mikut and the release of the 440. Then came the signings: Jamie Foy right after his first Skater of the Year, then Tiago Lemos, then Andrew Reynolds in 2022. In 2024 Foy took a second SOTY, this time on NB#, and the brand dropped Intervals, the Westgate–Lemos–Foy video that Thrasher premiered around the world.

The team

The official site lists Tiago Lemos, Jamie Foy, Andrew Reynolds, Brandon Westgate, Tom Knox, Franky Villani, Tom Karangelov, Ronnie Kessner, Jack Curtin, Jake Hayes, Margie Didal, Tyler Surrey, Flo Mirtain, Jordan Trahan, Pedro Biagio and Charlie Birch.

The shoes

Pro models come numbered: the 306 for Jamie Foy (2019, later joined by a Cup version), the 1010 for Tiago Lemos (2020), the 600 for Tom Knox (2023, with a Krooked x NB# version in 2025), the 933 for Andrew Reynolds (2025), the 417 for Franky Villani and the 508 for Brandon Westgate. Team models cover the rest: 440 and 440 v2, 480, 272, 340, 442, 574 Vulc and 770. Collabs have included Bronze 56K on the 480 and Krooked on the 600.

Who it’s for

NB# doesn’t make decks — for those, go to the deck catalog. What it does make, very well, is cupsole shoes with running-brand cushioning. That makes them the obvious call if you skate rails and blow through suede in a fortnight (the 306 has a reputation for being close to indestructible), or if your ankles are wrecked and you want real padding. If you want immediate board feel and a thin shoe, look at the 272 or the vulcanized models before the cupsoles.

Depending on the shop, these shoes are filed as “New Balance Numeric” or just “New Balance”; both spellings are pooled here, so the lowest price you see is the lowest across the whole brand. Compare them against the rest in the shoes section.