Getty Image / John Springer Collection / CORBIS
Founder of VANS sneakers, Paul Van Doren, opened up the The Van Doren Rubber Company with his brother in 1966 in Anaheim. In 2004, VANS was acquired by the VF Corporation for an eye-popping $396 million.
That is an eye-popping sum of money for a shoe brand that was operated out of a small store at 704 East Broadway in Anaheim that started by making shoes and selling them directly to the public instead of through large retailers. And part of that growth was aided by Sean Penn who played ‘Spicoli’ on Fast Times At Ridgemont High back in 1982.
Penn’s character Spicoli wore the iconic black-and-white checkerboard VANS slip-ons and his character also came to embody every stoner/burnout/slacker/surfer of 80s pop culture. The association between Spicoli and VANS sneakers came about not because someone at the studio recognized the skate culture connection but because Sean Penn happened to stop in the store and pick up a pair.
Steve Van Doren, shared the story of how the Spicoli x VANS connection was forged during a recent appearance on The Nine Club:
Steve Van Doren, also a member of the skateboarding Hall of Fame, shared the story of his dad selling the company for $396 million back in 2004:
It’s truly hard to fathom the world of skating with VANS.