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10 sneaker facts you might not know

December 12 2023

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Lace up your curiosity as we dive into the fascinating world of sneakers.

With Sneakers Unboxed: Studio to Street exploring the journey of kicks in HOTA Gallery, uncover 10 intriguing facts that might just surprise you.

Put your sneaker knowledge to the test. How many do you know?

In 1952, Adidas bought their trademark three-stripes from Finnish athletic footwear brand Karhu. Must have been a lot of money, right? They paid just €1600 and two good bottles of whiskey.

Michael Jordan was a huge Adidas fan and wanted to sign a shoe deal with them. They couldn't make the deal work and he went on to make sneaker history with Nike.

The term 'sneakers' initially described the hushed nature of rubber soles, as opposed to the loud, hard leather soles found in traditional dress shoes.

Reebok is named after an African gazelle, called the rhebok.

Nike noticed their shoes were popular with teens. They started scheduling shoe releases on Saturdays so kids didn't miss school to line up to buy a pair.

The original design for New Balance was inspired by chickens! Started as an arch support company in 1906, founded William Riley observed his backyard chickens standing on three claws in perfect balance and developed the ultimate support.

The founders of Puma and Adidas are brothers! Rudolf Dassler and Adolf Dassler initially started a shoe company together, before parting ways and building two incredibly successful brands individually.

In 1971, Nike founder Bill Bowerman saw his making waffles and thought the pattern would make the perfect sole. He swapped batter for rubber and the waffle sole was born.

Vans filed for bankruptcy in 1984. While their iconic core shoes were selling well, offering such a huge range of products wasn’t sustainable. It took them three years to re-emerge from the $12 million debt.

During World War II, Converse shifted production to manufacturing boots, rubber protective suits and other military gear. They even created a line of sneakers for soldiers called the ‘Converse Army Boots’.