DC Shoes, Inc. is an American brand specializes in footwear for action sports such as

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

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 Paralym ...

. The company also manufactures apparel, bags, accessories, hats, t-shirts, and posters.

History

DC was founded in June 1994 by

Damon Way Damon Way (born September 23, 1971) is an American designer, brand marketer, entrepreneur and musician. He co-founded DC Shoes in 1994. In 2008 he became a partner at Incase Designs, and transitioned to Chief Brand Officer. In 2016 he launched sk ...

Ken Block Kenneth Paul Block (November 21, 1967 – January 2, 2023) was an American professional Rallying, rally driver with the Hoonigan Racing Division, formerly known as the Monster World Rally Team. Block was also one of the co-founders of DC Shoe ...

and Clayton Blehm. It was originally based in

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is north of downtown San Diego and south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of ...

, but is now based in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as of ...

. DC originally stood for "Droors Clothing," but since the sale of Droors Clothing in 2004, DC no longer has ties to Droors and is simply DC Shoes, Inc. On March 8, 2004, DC Shoes was acquired by

Quiksilver Quiksilver is a brand of surf-inspired apparel and accessories that was founded in 1969 in Torquay, Victoria, but is now based in Huntington Beach, California. It is one of the world's largest brands of surfwear and boardsport-related equip ...

in an $87 million transaction. In 2010, DC Shoes moved from

Vista, California Vista (; Spanish language, Spanish for "view") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is a medium-sized city within the San Diego-Carlsbad metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, V ...

, to Quiksilver's headquarters in

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as o ...

. A video entitled ''Skateboarding Is Forever'' was released online in 2010 and featured skateboarders Marquise Henry, Matt Miller,

Wes Kremer Wes Kremer (born November 27, 1989) is an American professional skateboarder. He was named Skater of the Year in 2014 by ''Thrasher'' magazine. Early life Kremer was born in Tokyo while his American parents were living there for work. Profes ...

, Evan Smith, and Greg Myers. Apart from Myers and Henry, all of the skateboarders from the video remained sponsored by the company in 2013, and have since attained professional status. In 2011, the brand underwent a rejuvenation process that included the design of a new flag logo. As part of this process, new skateboard team announcements were progressively made and a series of advertisements, under the direction of new team member

Steve Berra Steve Berra (born May 10, 1973) is an American professional skateboarder and director, and is also the cofounder/co-owner of the skateboarding website The Berrics. Early life Berra grew up in both Nebraska and Missouri and he explained in 2007 ...

, were released online. The other new team announcements were Mikey Taylor,

Mike Mo Capaldi Michael Capaldi (born March 27, 1990), popularly known as Mike Mo Capaldi, is a professional regular-footed skateboarder who gained popularity following his video part in ''Forecast'', a video produced by professional skateboarder Paul Rodriguez ...

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 ...

, Chris Cole, and Davis Torgerson. Felipe Gustavo was introduced at a later stage. A progression of the brand relaunch was the "Rediscovery" campaign that commenced in December 2011, following the addition of Capaldi and Huston to the skateboard team. Co-founder Block died in a

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

crash in January 2023. On February 2, 2025, Liberated Brands, owner of DC Shoes retail stores, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing assets and liabilities between $100 million and $500 million. The company announced the closure of all remaining DC Shoes stores, with liquidation sales beginning a week before the bankruptcy.

References

External links

* {{Running Shoe Brands Shoe brands Surfwear brands Skateboarding companies Snowboarding companies Outdoor clothing brands Clothing companies established in 1994 1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion Skateboard shoe companies Shoe companies of the United States Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2025 1994 establishments in California

History

See also

References

External links