Xero Shoes

Feel the World Inc.[1][2]
Xero Shoes[1]
Private company
Industry Minimalist running shoes
Founded Boulder, Colorado, United States (November 23, 2009 (2009-11-23))[1]
Founder Steven Sashen and Lena Phoenix
Headquarters Boulder, CO, United States
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Dennis Driscoll (Chief Development Officer)[2]
Products Xero Shoes
Website XeroShoes.com
A pair of Sensori Venture sandals from Xero Shoes, a ready-to-wear huarache style sandal

Xero Shoes are a type and brand of lightweight minimalist footwear manufactured by Feel the World Inc. in Boulder, Colorado.[1] Designed for walking , running and athletics , the footwear has thin and flexible soles that are contoured to the shape of the human foot.[1]

History

A high-school sprinter, Steven Sashen got back into the sport after a 30-year break.[1] However, after two years of injury-prone competition, he joined a local barefoot running club in Boulder, CO at the suggestion of a friend who gave him a copy of Born To Run by Christopher McDougall.[3] As a result of running barefoot, his gait changed and injuries abated,[4] Sashen wanted to continue the barefoot experience in areas which required foot covering. So he developed his own modern huarache-style sandal similar to those worn by the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico’s Copper Canyon,[5] consisting of a thin rubber sole sourced from Vibram in Italy and nylon-polypropylene laces (this original style is now sold as the Xero Shoes "Cherry" in the classic kit).[1]

After making the first pair for his wife Lena Phoenix and a second for himself, Sashen got requests from friends for their own minimalist sandals. Sashen launched a website selling this DIY sandal kit at invisibleshoe.com in late November, 2009.

In August 2012, the company engaged Dennis Driscoll who has previously developed products for Avia, Crocs, Dr. Martens and Wilson Sporting Goods as a chief product officer, and renamed the brand Xero Shoes in December 2012.[2] It has since sold shoes and sandals in various styles and designs to customers in 94 countries.[1][6]

The company has since moved from online-sales only to also channel marketing via select high street based North American retailers and Amazon.com, priced from $19.95 to $149.99.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "About Us". Xero Shoes. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Alicia Wallace (January 31, 2013). "Boulder company Xero Shoes to appear on ABC reality show 'Shark Tank'". dailycamera.com. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ McDougall, Christopher (2011) [2009]. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. New York City: Vintage Books. pp. 168, 172. ISBN 978-0-307-27918-7.
  4. ↑ Steven Sashen (July 24, 2011). "The important barefoot running blister". Xero Shoes. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Running Shoes Gear Guide". National Geographic. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Shark Tank Episode 414". ABC. January 31, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
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