Vans Shoes Co-Founder Die’s

Another creative founder passes away. Vans Co-Founder James Van Doren died at the age of 72, after his battle with Cancer. James and his brother created the first shoe back in 1960, which originally attracted the skateboarding industry in California. A Vans shoe was known for it’s almost perfect fit and slip-resistant design. James’ background in chemistry and mechanics, contributed to the unique design of the Vans shoe.

Van Doren and his older brother, Paul, were working for a sports shoe company in the 1960s when Paul suggested they and two friends form their own business. They would name it Vans and create an instantly recognizable logo with a capital V whose elongated tail covered the rest of the word.

They decided to keep their prices low by cutting out the middle man, choosing to manufacture the shoes themselves and sell them at their own retail store in Anaheim.

Initially, the company was so small that its first store carried only display samples. A customer would order a pair of shoes and the brothers would go next door to the family rubber factory to make them. Often they would use patterns and designs the customers had brought in themselves.

Van’s The Story