Vans Shoes: A Happily Checkered Past
May 27, 2009 – 9:08 pm PT by MikeTags: Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Skate Shoes, Steve Van Doren, Vans —
Do you remember the first time you ever heard of Vans shoes? I do! I was 10 years old, on summer vacation from school, with nothing better to do. Back then, life was simple: you woke up, watched morning cartoons for a few hours while eating cereal. After that, you call a few friends, bike over to there house, ride bikes, play video games, and if you were in no rush to go home, watch some movies. Well on one particular summer day, I went over to a friend’s house to hang out and as he’s flipping thru the channels of his parents TV (with cable), “Fast Time at Ridgemont High” was on. I remember fondly the scene with Phoebe Cates, as she emerges from the pool, only to remove her top, in what was a dream sequence featuring her and Judge Reinhold; at that very moment, I became a man. You see, it was my first introduction to the beauty that is a female, BUT as the movie progresses, I was also introduced to character by the name Jeff Spiccoli. He was your classic “surfer dude” who was the most righteous bro at school. All he did was wake up, surf, eat and occasionally go to school. It was at that moment I was not only drawn to the character, beautifully portrayed by Sean Penn, but I was also drawn to the shoes on his feet, a crispy pair of Vans checkered slip-ons. After seeing those shoes, I was determined to get myself a pair, but unfortunately for me, it took several years and many horrible jobs later to finally get a pair. To this day, I own several pairs of Vans shoes: slip-ons, skate-hi’s, chukka’s, era’s and Caballero’s. Personally, I love them all and have been known to keep the pairs that are so beat up, the insole is showing and the side panel is exposing my socks from ollying the crap out of them.
Anyhow, enough idol worship. Later next month, June to be exact, Vans will be releasing the highly anticipated Vans book “Vans: Off the Wall-Stories of Sole from Vans Originals”. The LA Times recently ran an article with the founder of the company, Steve Van Doren. So if you’re having one of those lazy days, pull up a bowl of cereal, click on the link above and enjoy reading the article about one of the founding fathers of skate footwear.
