I remember when I was little, going out & playing with friends, my feet were always bare & yet I don’t remember them getting injured too much, not like they did when I attempted an outdoors jaunt a few weeks ago.

Walking about on the lake shore getting stabbed by stones & pebbles, wondering where did my unflinching carefree childhood attitude towards pain go? It was suggested to me that I wear my regular sneakers in the water while attempting lake fishing. Being fond of those sneakers, the foolish decision to go bare foot was made with vacation ending results.

Innovative designs in skateboarding over the years have included the polyurethane wheel, precision bearings, the kicktail and the double kicktail, and skate shoes.

There’s no mystery behind the origins of today’s best skate shoes: it all goes back to 1966 and the opening of the first Vans store in Anaheim, California.

Although the Randy 720 was introduced in 1965 (as an alternative to the Chuck Taylors being worn at the time) and technically came first, it wasn’t until employees of the Randy 720’s creator, the Randolph Rubber Company, started their own sneaker shop that skateboard shoes really took off.