VANS
The first skateboarding sneaker was created a decade after the invention of skateboarding . The 1950s surfers from Hermosa and Manhattan Beach were the first to embrace the art of “ sidewalk surfing ,” by attaching roller skate wheels and trucks to planks of wood . When there were no waves , it was a way to practice their maneuvers out of the water . Because surfboards and skateboards were both made from wood and shared a similar riding style , it was natural to go barefoot .
Some skaters wore Converse Chuck Taylors by the early 1960s , and in 1965 , the Randolph Rubber Company created the first skateboarding sneaker , the Randy 720 . It looked similar to any other standard boat shoe from this era . Skateboards were still years away from using grip tape , so the outsoles needed to provide traction on a wood deck . The Randolph Rubber Company didn ’ t last very long in the skate business , but the name of one of its employees is still synonymous with skateboarding : Paul Van Doren .
Later that year , Paul and his brother , Jim Van Doren left Randolph and moved to Anaheim , California to create the Van Doren Rubber Company . They spent the remainder of 1965 buying the machinery to create a vulcanized shoe factory , and within a year they started manufacturing shoes under the “ Vans ” name .
The factory was located at 704 East Broadway in Anaheim , with the first Vans retail
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