RIP: Vans Co-Founder Paul Van Doren

by The Editors on May 7, 2021

We were saddened to learn that Vans co-founder Paul Van Doren died yesterday, Thursday, May 6, 2021. He was 90.

“In 1966, Paul, his brother James Van Doren, and their friends Gordon, Ryan Emmert and Serge D’Elia became partners in opening the first Vans store, according to Wikipedia. It took a year to build and set up the factory at 704 East Broadway in Anaheim.”

A week and a half ago Paul’s memoir Authentic was released.

In Authentic, he shares his unlikely journey from high-school dropout to sneaker-industry legend. A blue-collar kid with no higher education and zero retail experience, Van Doren started out as a 16-year-old “service boy” at a local rubber factory. Over the next few decades, he leveraged a knack for numbers, a genius for efficiency, and the know-how to make a great canvas tennis shoe into an all-American success story. What began as a family shoe business has today evolved into a globally recognized brand with billions of dollars of annual revenue.

Thanks Paul for all you did for all of us and for living an incredible, authentic life. Our thoughts are with the entire Van Doren family. If you have a Paul Van Doren story to share, please leave it in the comments.

{ 0 comments… add one now }

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: