Who is selling Vans in San Francisco?
United States of America

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Updated April 2024

Vans at a glance.

Arguably the most popular skateboarding footwear and apparel brand around. Vans first launched in 1966 as the Van Doren Rubber Company. Brothers Paul Van Doren and colleagues Gordon Lee and Serge Delia founded the company to create rubber sneakers that they manufacture inside the store premises in Anaheim, California. These very sneakers are then sold to the public within the same day or in a few days.

Back then, the group doesn’t usually name the shoes by giving them “names”. Instead, they assign numbers. And so they did, the first Vans model, called #44, debuted.

By the 1970s, Vans were all over Southern California thanks to the rise of skateboarders who chose the shoe for their skating sessions. The rubber shoe’s durable upper and sticky sole became the main highlight of the shoe. And Vans took advantage of this.

1976 saw the arrival of the first skateboard-specific Vans model. Dubbed the #95, the shoe was designed by skateboarders Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta. Which further influenced more groups of skateboarders to rock the silhouette. The #95 is now commonly known as the Vans Era.

One thing about the early Vans sneakers is that they didn’t have a logo, only the tag on the midfoot. So Vans introduced the #36, or Old Skool, which featured a jazz stripe on the sides and became a signature detail of the brand. The high-top Sk8-Hi also featured the Vans sidestripes to increase the lateral stability of skaters.

Another iconic Vans model is the Classic Slip-On. It’s easy to wear and easy to style, a must-have for skaters or simply for people who just wanted to go about their day.

Vans had a long history, and they expanded their grounds further as the company now sponsors other outdoor sports such as BMX, surfing, snowboarding, and even motocross.

Such a huge feat for a brand that started out manufacturing sneakers in a small space inside an office in California.