Sole Technology, Inc. is an American

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serves the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner of shoes therefore primarily serves th ...

company, specializing in

skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish *Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...

shoe production and distribution. The company is owned and run by Pierre André Senizergues, a former professional freestyle skateboarder. The company's headquarters are in Lake Forest,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States.

Brands

Etnies

The company's first and largest brand is

etnies Etnies (stylized as etnies) is a footwear brand based in Lake Forest, California, United States, and is owned by Sole Technology, Inc. As of 2013, the company sponsors professional skateboarders and BMX riders, LAB more and releases signature ...

. Established in 1986, etnies produces footwear and apparel for skateboarding,

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

—the brand also sponsors teams in all of these "

action sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...

." From 2005 to 2011, the company also operated etnies plus, a sub-brand which specialized in limited-run footwear. Etnies sponsored athletes include

Ryan Sheckler Ryan Allen Sheckler (born December 30, 1989) is an American professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, and was the star of the MTV-produced reality television series ''Life of Ryan.'' He also starred in four seasons of the short-format video ser ...

, Willow, Nick Garcia, Jose Rojo, Chris Joslin and David Reyes.

éS

Founded in 1995, éS produces skateboarding footwear and apparel. The brand subsequently sponsored a team that included professional skateboarders

John Rattray John Rattray is a Scottish professional skateboarder. Early life Rattray was raised in Aberdeen and attained a university degree from the University of Glasgow. Professional skateboarding In 2001, Rattray initially turned professional for the B ...

PJ Ladd Patrick John Ladd (born January 11, 1983), professionally known as PJ Ladd, is an American professional skateboarder whose stance is ''regular''. Ladd was labelled an "east coast legend" by fellow professional skateboarder and team manager John ...

Eric Koston Eric Koston (born April 29, 1975) is an American professional skateboarder and company owner. He has been featured in the '' Tony Hawk's'' video game series and the Electronic Arts (EA) video games ''Skate 2'' and ''Skate 3''. Koston co-owns bot ...

, Paul Rodriguez, Ronnie Creager, Chad Muska, Justin Eldridge, Rodrigo Teixeira (TX),

Bob Burnquist Robert Dean Silva Burnquist (; born 10 October 1976) is a Brazilian-American professional skateboarder who competed for Brazil throughout his career. In 2010, he became the first skateboarder to land a " fakie 900" (900-degree reverse-natural r ...

Arto Saari Arto Saari (born November 9, 1981) is a Finnish professional skateboarder and photographer. Early life Saari was born in Seinäjoki, Finland. His mother was supportive of his skateboarding and his first skateboard was a Vision Gator model. Ska ...

Nyjah Huston Nyjah Imani Huston (born November 30, 1994) is an American professional skateboarder. With numerous sponsorships and competition prize winnings, Huston is one of the highest paid skateboarders in the world. Huston won gold medals at the SLS Supe ...

Tom Penny Tom Penny (born 13 April 1977) is a professional skateboarder from Dorchester, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK). As of January 2013, Penny is sponsored by the Flip skateboard deck brand and his Cheech & Chong signature deck is one of the ...

, and

Rick McCrank Rick McCrank (born January 23, 1976) is a Canadian professional skateboarder, television host, skate shop owner, and skate company co-owner. Early life McCrank was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, but grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. ...

. After announcing a hiatus in mid-2012, the brand returned in 2014 with special edition runs of their shoes distributed to select skateboard shops.

Emerica

Emerica was launched in 1996, and, in addition to selling apparel, has produced a number of skateboarding-themed videos. Their 2013 video, ''MADE: Chapter One'', was offered to consumers at a price of their choosing, with a minimum price of US$1.00 established. In July 2013, the brand released its "Workwear" line, a collaboration with skateboarder Andrew Reynolds. Emerica sponsors a skateboard team which includes Collin Provost,

Ed Templeton Ed Templeton (born July 28, 1972) is an American professional skateboarder, contemporary artist, and photographer. He is the founder of the skateboard company, Toy Machine, a company that he continues to own and manage. He is based in Huntington ...

, Justin "Figgy" Figueroa, Kevin "Spanky" Long, Leo Romero, Jeremy Leabres, Jon Dickson, Eric Winkowski, Rob Maatman, Dakota Servold, Kevin Baekkel, Victor Aceves and Chris Wimer.

ThirtyTwo

ThirtyTwo, a snowboarding boots, apparel, and outerwear brand, was launched in 1995 by snowboarders and has been privately held since that time. As of September 2013, the brand sponsors a team of snowboarders. ThirtyTwo's Global Pro team includes

J. P. Walker John Paul Walker, or JP (born October 16, 1976), nicknamed "The Don", is a professional snowboarder from Salt Lake City, Utah. In the late 1990s he was instrumental in reviving the jib movement. Walker has been recognized with various awards inclu ...

, Jeremy Jones, Scott Stevens, Chris Grenier, Chris Bradshaw, Halldór Helgason, Jordan Small, Johnny O'Connor, Joe Sexton, Corey Smith, Dylan Alito, Toni Kerkela, Desiree Melancon, Zeb Powell, Pat Fava and Phil Hansen. Its Global Am team includes Brandon Hobush, Spencer Schubert, Chris Brewster, Toni Kerkela, Benny Urban, Dylan Alito and Johnny O'Connor.

Altamont Apparel

Altamont Apparel was launched in October 2006 as a concept of Justin Regan and Reynolds, who enlisted UK artist Mark "Fos" Foster as the head designer. Over time, the brand has expanded beyond skateboarding to involve musicians and artists.

STI Lab

STI Lab is a research and development facility that conducts biomechanical

skate shoe Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish *Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...

research.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Manufacturing companies based in California Companies based in Lake Forest, California Skateboarding companies Skateboard shoe companies