CULTURE

In Wake of Founder’s Death, The N.Y.T. Tells Vans’ Story

Published

2 years ago

May 21, 2021

Skate Newswire

We may have been a bit remiss in not throwing up a post about Paul Van Doren’s death earlier this month. The Vans founder passed away on May 6 at age 90. The New York Times published a piece yesterday that puts Van Doren’s contribution to the culture into perspective nicely. While skateboarding has done as much for Vans as it has for skateboarding, you have to credit the brand as being the archetype for the skate shoe business. Sponsoring skateboarders? They invented that. The vulcanized sole? That was them, too. Consulting with pros on product design? They’ve been doing it since the ‘60s. You get the point.

The idea was straightforward: sell high-quality but inexpensive sneakers from a store adjacent to a factory in Anaheim. The company handled production on-site, making it easy to fill orders of different sizes and allowing buyers to customize their shoes in a rainbow of colors and patterns.

The first Vans sneaker adopted by skateboarders was a canvas boat shoe, now called the Authentic. It was set apart by its unusual sole, a diamond waffle pattern that gave way to star shapes on the ball of the foot. A vulcanization process made the rubber especially grippy, helping skateboarders stay on their boards and control them better as they whipped down a sidewalk or an embankment.

Mr. Van Doren recognized an opportunity in the burgeoning sport, and skateboarding became Vans’ focus.

“Until the skateboarders came along, Vans had no real direction, no specific purpose as a business other than to make the best shoes possible,” he said in his memoir, “Authentic,” published this year. “When skateboarders adopted Vans, ultimately, they gave us an outward culture and an inward purpose.”

This article is definitely worth checking out.

https://www.instagram.com/p/COlMFzWBg93/

Image Via Vans

Related Topics:Archive Paul Van Doren Vans

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CULTURE

Vans Presents: Sunday Summaries

Published

18 hours ago

May 20, 2023

Skate Newswire

The Vans Turkey Skateboarding team explored skate spots in Istanbul, including Taksim Square, Moda, and more, every Sunday for six months. They stacked enough footage to come up with this latest edit aptly entitled “Sunday Summaries.”

The video provides an authentic glimpse into the vibrant skateboarding culture in the city.

It features Vans riders Ali Osman Ensar, Cenk Kulioğlu, Furkan Kaplan, Kerem Şahinoğlu; and guest riders Eray Şahin and Emre Töre.

CULTURE

Meet the 63-Year-Old Female Skateboarding Pioneer

At 63 years old, Judi Oyama continues to push the limits and break barriers in the world of skateboarding while preserving its rich history for future generations to enjoy

Published

2 months ago

March 9, 2023

Skate Newswire

At 63 years old, Judi Oyama continues to push the limits and break barriers in the world of skateboarding while preserving its rich history for future generations to enjoy.

She started skateboarding when she was 13. To this day, she still takes part in slalom competitions and is even a member of the US Slalom Skateboarding team.

I’ve been skateboarding for over 50 years, and I want to see how long I can keep going.

As a pioneer of the sport, Judi was there for the inception of Independent Trucks and helped recruit many notable names to the Santa Cruz Skateboards team.

Judi also holds onto a treasure trove of skateboarding memorabilia, including rare boards, vintage magazines, and more. On top of that, she also helped curate for the NHS Skate Museum.

CULTURE

Solo Skate Mag Releases Matheus Du Bronks “Labirinto” Part

Published

3 months ago

February 22, 2023

Skate Newswire

Matheus Du Bronks delivered an impressive part in “Labirinto”, an independent full-length video project by Bruno Rocha.

Filmed for almost 5 years and in 8 countries, “Labirinto” also features Akira Utida, André Saide, Bruno Prado, Claudio Junio, Felipe De Carvalho, Gustavo Dos Anjos, Leonardo Favaro, Lucas Marques, Mauricio Carvalho/Patrick Vidal, Simone Terzi, and Tallys Junior.

The rest of the parts will be released on various skateboard channels.

Here’s what Bruno says about the video:

“More than a traditional full-length skate video the idea was to bring up moments of questioning and reflection about themes from existentialism to racism, through a collection of audio, animations, texts, and also some easter eggs hidden in the course of the video. The idea appeared in my mind in 2016 while I was studying the myth of ”Cretan Labyrinth”, that summed up tells the story about a labyrinth created in order to hide the negative side effect/s of King Minos greediness/greed. By applying the ideology of the myth to our current times, I still see ourselves trapped in a Labyrinth that keeps hiding from us the greed of this capitalistic world around us, leaving us lost in endless paths and taking us away from harmony, equality and love towards the other.”