Paul Van Doren, 90, Dies; Built an Empire With Skateboard Shoes

The shoes became a nationwide sensation, and Vans soon grew from a $20 million to a $45 million company, Mr. Van Doren wrote.

Since then Vans have gone from the skate park to the red carpet, worn by celebrities like Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, Justin Bieber and Gwen Stefani. Kristen Stewart cemented the familiar waffle sole into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011, and five years later Frank Ocean wore checkerboard slip-ons to the White House to meet President Barack Obama.

Vans has collaborated on custom shoes with the labels Kenzo and Supreme, companies like Disney, the music makers Public Enemy and Odd Future and the contemporary artist Takashi Murakami. Customers can design their own shoes on the company’s website.

But Vans remains tied to its original demographic, continuing to sponsor skateboarders, snowboarders, surfers and other athletes and run surfing and skateboarding contests around the world. For nearly 25 years it funded the Warped Tour music festival, which featured skateboarding demonstrations.

“We lost our founding father, but his roots run deep with us,” Mr. Alva wrote on Instagram after Mr. Van Doren’s death.

Paul Joseph Van Doren was born on June 12, 1930, to John and Rita (Caparelli) Van Doren and grew up in Braintree, Mass., south of Boston. His father was an inventor who designed fireworks and clothespins, and Mr. Van Doren learned valuable business lessons working alongside him.

He wrote that he dropped out of high school at 16 and for a time made a living at the horse track and in pool halls, work his mother could not abide. She helped him get a job at the Randolph Rubber Manufacturing Company, a Massachusetts concern that made canvas sneakers.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/20/business/paul-van-doren-dead.html