Vans Shoes

Vans shoes was founded in 1966 by Paul Van Doren who decided to sell his shoes directly to the public through his own store in Anaheim, California. Vans shoes are well known for the waffle soles of their shoes. Originally the sole was designed with a diamond shapes on the soles but lines were added to the sole to give the shoes more strength. This created the waffle style sole that we know and love today.

Vans shoes slowly built on their business and became adopted by the Southern California surf and skate scenes. In 1976 two pro skaters, Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta, got to design their own custom Vans in red and blue called the Era. This helped to increase the profile of the Vans old skool shoes but it wasn't until the early 80's and the release of Fast Times At Ridgemount High that Vans truly made their mark. Sean Penn played an infamous role as Spicoli, a surfer/slacker that wore Vans checkerboard slip ons. Spicoli became a cult hero among film fans and Vans increased in popularity.

Vans had a period of trouble in the late 80's as athletic shoes brands like Nike and Adidas were ruling the market and Vans were loosing money and in 1988 Paul Van Doren sold the company to McCown De Leeuw & Co while still remaining as chairman. This sale helped to steady Vans through the economic recession of the late 80's.

Vans has always had strong ties with the extreme sports industry and after the recession and with increased prosperity among the younger generation so rose the interest in extreme sports. Skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding had become very popular in the 90's and so did Vans as they had always been a part of these sports scenes. Vans began sponsoring and endorsing more skaters, surfers, musicians and other extreme sports stars. They even started their own touring festival called the Vans Warped Tour. The tour has been running since 1995 and has not only helped launch the careers of a number of well known artists but also exposed skateboarders and bmx riders with the help of a half pipe or two.