Todd Bratrud’s insane ‘Brain Wreck’ Nike SB Dunk High Premium was one of the most creative collaborative visions that made its way to retail this year.  When we first peeped a sample during a June Nike SB showcase, we expected the heels to have their designer’s name, but he flipped the script to reveal a cohesive theme on behalf of Skate Mental.  As for SM, they were to be incorporated in the special ‘NIKE SM’ tag on this variant sample’s tongue, but that was nixed in favour of one with blue accents.

With this in mind, you can start Waldo-ing all the differences: the sample outsole was pink instead of black, sample toe is light grey instead of pink.  Probably the two most significant changes were stitching: the sample only had an outline of the amazingly-detailed quilting found on the released edition, plus its heel is screened on instead of embroidered.  This is the kind of ridiculously rare stuff that truly great collections are made of, and one size 9 pair is available at MentalKicks.

Style: 313171-007
Color: Pavement Grey/Neutral Grey-Vivid Pink

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Adam Goldstein’s loss was not only a shocker in the high-brow celebrity realm, but also hit close to home for many sneakerheads, as he was just as popular to us for his collection of 900+ pairs of serious heat.  As you may know, Deckstar and UNDFTD has started an eBay auction event which will provide all of its winning proceeds to the DJ AM Memorial Fund.

Our initial teaser to you guys gave a small glimpse of what was to be auctioned off to some lucky bidders.  With pairs being added every evening till the first week of December, a number of gems have already been revealed for open bidding.  Take a look below to check out what’s already out, contending for the heaviest hitters.  We think you would be quite surprised at which pair currently holds the highest bid.

>DJ AM Memorial Fund eBay Page

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Dropping this December is GQ Magazine’s “Men of The Year” Issue.  Inside you’ll find some of hip-hop’s heavy hitters in the likes of Wale, Drake and Kid Cudi.  The three of them flossing their own distinctive look, not to mention some heat on their feet.  Wale, whose been the envy of many with his super-early possession of the Dirty Copper Foams, is once again making viewers drool with the Red Supreme Dunk Hi’s, a huge grail for quite a number of sneakerheads.  On the other side, Cudi is wearing a more recent release in the form of the DMP Raptor VII’s.  Drake is wearing something that’s pretty much under the radar to the sneaker world, but undoubtedly steals the photo with his Birdman coat and ear-to-ear grin.  Good looks to NahRight and AllThings-Fresh for the inside look at the spread.

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If you were thinking these should be dubbed ‘Takashi 3′, we totally understand where you were going with that.  While this would be the third ‘Takashi’-nicknamed Nike SBs, the upcoming P-Rod III picured above looks pretty much exactly like the Takashi 2 SB Dunk Low, and since the ‘2′ came from the gold/silver variation, now you can get a good sense of why these will be be refered to in parlance as ‘the Takashi 2 P-Rod 3s’.  These don’t keep any of the tonal brown laser-etched leather from the famous aforementioned Dunk (though a well used ollie area will reveal a brownish ‘middle’ in the suede), instead relying on an entirely nubuck upper.  They’re set for a January ‘10 release, so stick with Sneaker News for updates.  via N-SB.org

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You don’t have to be a sneaker expert to know about the release of the RESN x Nike SB Dunk High ‘Gucci’ which seems to be this year’s most anticipated Nike SB release. The demand for these SB Dunk Highs come mostly from the fact that only 24 pairs of the original model were produced. Although the 2009 version stays very true to the 2005 originals there are a few design differences. The most noticeable difference is the tightly stitched and less frayed denim used to construct the upper, as well as a black heel tab instead of red. These recently sold out on Kix-Files, and are already hitting select U.S. SB accounts like DQM as we speak, so keep an eye out.

Style: 313171-362
Color: Deep Forest/Paprika

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Last month we gave you a little peek at the Nike SB Low Premium orange hemp for the current 2009 season. The Hemp design was made famous in 2004 and became one of the most sought after SB Dunks produced. These updated versions feature some nice design additions that are sure to please SB enthusiasts everywhere. There are a few accents of red that give these Dunk Lows some good contrast, while the main colors are a rich orange suede and off white Hemp. Some brown deatails like the brown outsole and speckled brown liner also give a more depth to what could have been a very simple and minimal design. Although these Nike SB Low Premiums do not bring back the fat tongue everyone seems to be missing they are surely going to sell quick to all of you SB Dunk lovers out there. If you are interested in copping a pair now they are available at KixFiles.

Color: Sail/Black
Style: 313170-101

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Last month we gave you a first look at the Nike SB Dunk Low–black/navy-griptape. These are truly a pair of SB’s, and are the type of shoes that look more like they should be used to skate rather than just sit around and chill. The design elements like the griptape toe box are a feature that gives a nod to skaters everywhere who wear their SB’s to actually hit the pavement and skate. These Nike SB Dunk lows feature a navy blue suede toe and heel, perforated leather side panels and of course the namesake griptape toe box, while sitting on a white midsole and black outsole. If you are interested in copping a pair now they are available at the Korean based shop Choko

Style: 304292-403
Color: Navy/Black

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When you’re talking about hills so steep that driving is hard, much less walking, you just know some crazy guy is out there thinking, “How awesome would it be to skate down this?!”  San Francisco, CA is notorious for its steep inclines and is famously home to Keith Hufnagel’s namesake skateshop.  Huf himself snapped some photos of Nike SB rider Omar Salazar riding from their storefront on Sutter St. and ripping through downtown traffic at high speeds.  Peep the grippy advantage of Huf’s black canvas Nike SB Blazer in photos and video after the jump.  via HB

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