Vans

On March 16, 1966, Paul Van Doren, his brother Jim, Serge D'Elia, and Gordy Lee opened a 400-square-foot store and factory at 704 East Broadway in Anaheim, California, under the name Van Doren Rubber Co. The idea was simple: make shoes and sell them directly to customers, cutting out the middleman. The first day, twelve people bought shoes, and the business was off and running. Paul Van Doren, who had spent years in the East Coast shoe industry, bet that Southern California's surf and skate scene would embrace a durable, affordable shoe with a vulcanized rubber sole.

That bet paid off in 1974 when the Zephyr Competition Team, better known as the Z-Boys, started wearing Vans Authentic shoes. The thin, flat sole gave them unmatched board feel and grip on their skateboards. The brand became synonymous with skateboarding almost overnight. The checkerboard Slip-On, introduced in 1977, became a cultural touchstone after Sean Penn wore a pair in the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Vans weathered near-bankruptcy in the early 1980s after overexpanding into other sports, then came back strong under new leadership. VF Corporation acquired Vans in 2004 for about $396 million, and the brand has since grown into a global powerhouse with over $4 billion in annual sales.

Today Vans sells footwear, apparel, and accessories in more than 97 countries through over 2,000 retail locations. The headquarters in Costa Mesa, California, is a LEED Platinum-certified 182,000-square-foot space with an on-site skate park, a music jam room, and art installations that reflect the brand's four cultural pillars: action sports, music, art, and street culture. Vans sponsors athletes in skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross, and for years it was the title sponsor of the Warped Tour, connecting the brand to punk, ska, and alternative music fans worldwide. [edit]