Paul Vans Dorem originally set up the Van Doren Rubber Company with the unique ability to manufacture shoes and sell them directly to the public. In the early 1970s however, Vans produced wool lined canvas and rubber boots for the U.S Air Force & Department of Defence. But the rugged, hard wearing shoe and sticky sole made the ideal skate shoe and the Vans Authentic, as its now known, was seen all over California in the early '70s. Vans had help from team riders Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta in 1975 to design the follow-up skate shoe, the Vans #95, known today as the Era. The shoe followed the same design principle as the Authentic but came with a padded collar for added comfort and with different colour combinations the Vans Era became the skate shoe of choice for a generation of '70s Cali skaters. By now the company had formed into the Vans skate Co. we know today with 70 stores in California and were selling throughout America and internationally by the early 1980s.

We're a huge fan of Vans here at Baxxt and although their shoes haven't changed much, staying true to their origin, the company has helped the progression of skateboarding with competitions like the Vans Warped Tour and by financing both the Dogtown and Z-Boyz films showing their commitment and passion for skateboarding and anything action sports.

Bottom Line: Vans were there at the start over 45 years ago and they're still here, still awesome and still coming up with the goods. Buy Vans Shoes.