One of the reasons for Vans' enormous popularity has been the company's determination to meet the needs and wants of its customers. In the early days, back when Vans had only the one store in Anaheim, California, customers could come right in and and ask for specific colors, or complain that a sole pattern wasn't working right. Mr. Vans Himself, Jim Van Doren--along with his three partners--would listen to the request and complaints, go back to the factory, and return to the store with shoes that better met customer expectations.

This kind of extraordinary dialogue between a shoemaker and his customers is almost unheard of in the modern era. To this day, even though Vans are sold across the globe, that same drive to satisfy the customer has continued to be the company's number one priority. In fact, Vans identity as shoemaker of choice to skateboarders all over the world was forged because of their attention to boarders' specific requests.

Skateboarders as early as 1976 caught on to Vans coolness and quality construction. Pretty soon, skateboarders were coming in and requesting different color combinations. Vans happily obliged, and even enlisted two professional skaters (Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta) to design the pattern. Thus was born their first official skater shoe, the red and blue Era.

Today, Vans are on the feet of skateboarders and other extreme-sports enthusiasts throughout the world. In addition to skater shoes, Vans now makes over 60 styles of footwear, including deck shoes, athletic shoes, sneakers, leather shoes, suede shoes, Vans slip ons sandals and high performance foot gear for skate- and snow-boarders. Vans: comfortable, durable, and cool for nearly 30 years running.