DC Shoes

DC Shoes

File:Dcshoelogo.jpg
Company type	Subsidiary of Quiksilver
Founded	1993
Headquarters	Vista, California
Key people	Ken Block, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer Damon Way, Co-Founder Nick Adcock, President
Products	footwear, apparel, snowboards
Website	www.dcshoes.com

INTRODUCTION
Founded by Ken Block and Damon Way in 1993, DC quickly grew to a leader in performance skateboarding shoes and renowned action sports brand. The brand’s product line includes men’s, women’s and kids’ skateboarding and lifestyle shoes, apparel, snowboards, snowboard boots, outerwear, and accessories. DC is a subsidiary of Quiksilver, Inc.

COMPANY HISTORY
In 1993, DC Co-Founders Ken Block and Damon Way decided to create a line of shoes specifically for skateboarders and agreed upon a mission: to make a significant change in skateboard shoe style and elevate skateboarding performance to the highest level. Block and Way sat down with Way’s brother, professional skateboarder Danny Way, to create the first DC shoe model. In 1994 the Danny Way signature model, hits the skateboarding market. Shortly thereafter DC released its second shoe—pro skateboarder Colin McKay’s first. The first DC Shoes ad, featuring Danny Way, runs in February 1995 issue of TransWorld SKATEboarding.

In 1995, street skateboarder Rob Dyrdek was added to the pro DC Skate Team. In the conceptual stages of his first pro model shoe, Dyrdek and Block sat down to create a durable shoe that could handle the stresses of wear and tear while skateboarding. The answer—nylon lace loops to protect the lace in contact areas, and the first technical feature that was adapted specifically for skateboarding. These loops marked the beginning of a long list of DC-pioneered skateboarding footwear technologies. that include Super Suede™, DGT™ Dynamic Grip Technology, Drop-In Cushion System™, and DC’s Pill Pattern sole just to name a few.

Today, DC stands as a global brand whose product line has expanded to include men’s, women’s and kids’ skateboarding and lifestyle shoes, apparel, snowboard boots, outerwear, accessories, and most recently in 2008, its first line of snowboards. DC continues to stay true to its original mission—to make a significant change.

DC PROGRAMS
DC SPECIAL PROJECTS
DC has expanded into other initiatives that include DC’s Artist Projects™, Double Label Projects™ and Remix Series™. As culturally relevant as pro-model skate shoes these footwear projects showcase design collaborations with prominent and influential street artists and musicians. Featured artists have included Kaws and Phil Frost, while musicians Travis Barker (Plus 44, The Transplants and Blink 182) and Mike Shinoda (Fort Minor and Linkin Park) have also developed Remix Series™ shoes.

DC MTN.LAB
With design innovation as a priority at DC, there is no greater example of its effectiveness than DC’s snowboarding R&D center, The Mtn.Lab, which is located in the Wasatch Mountains above Park City, Utah. Here DC’s athletes, designers and product teams work together to keep DC well ahead of the curve in snowboard, snowboards boots and outerwear development.

ROB DYRDEK / DC SKATE PLAZA FOUNDATION
Ever mindful of its roots as a performance skateboard shoe company, DC continues to invest in the development of skateboarding via grassroots initiatives like the Rob Dyrdek / DC Skate Plaza Foundation, and its sponsorship of global and regional skateboarders. The first Skate Plaza opened in June 2005, and is located in Rob Dyrdek’s hometown of Kettering, Ohio. Today, the foundation continues to work with cities to help develop and build skate plazas worldwide.

DC FILMS
Over the years, DC Films has released three videos—The DC Video, The MTN.LAB Video, and The MTN.LAB 1.5. DC Films also create video clips of special projects and collaborations that can be found on YouTube or downloaded on iTunes.

DCSKATEBOARDING.TV
In February 2008, DC launched dcskateboarding.tv, a content based website dedicated strictly to skateboarding filled with blogs, exclusive photos, video and team info.

DC ATHLETES
As one of the cornerstones of its marketing strategy, DC has built a world-class team of professional skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, motocross and rally athletes that exemplify and enhance DC’s brand, develop its signature products, and support its promotional efforts.

SKATE TEAM
PROs:
Danny Way
Colin Mckay
Rob Dyrdek
Josh Kalis
Ryan Smith
Brian Wenning
Ryan Gallant
Lindsey Robertson
Devine Calloway
Pj Ladd

AMs:
Greg Myers

SNOW TEAM
PROs:
Devun Walsh
Iikka Backstrom
Lauri Heiskari
Aaron Biittner
Eddie Wall
Travis Rice
Priscilla Levac

AMs:
Torstein Horgmo
Jonas Carlson
Chas Guldemond
Ryan Tiene
Andrew Geeves
Kimmy Fasani
Raewyn Reid
Lizzy Beerman

MOTOCROSS TEAM:
PROs:
Ricky Carmichael
Jeremy Mcgrath
Davi Millsaps
Nate Adams
Travis Pastrana
Dustin Miller
Adam Jones
Ben Townley

AMs:
Josh Hill
Broc Hepler
Ronnie Renner

BMX TEAM
PROs:
Dave Mirra
Corey Bohan
Edwin Delarosa
Allan Cooke
Chris Doyle
Chad Kagy
Daniel Dhers

SURF TEAM
PROs:
Bruce Irons
Dane Reynolds
Ry Craike

AMs:
Garrett Parkes
Dillon Perillo

RALLY TEAM
Ken Block
Travis Pastrana

EXTERNAL LINKS:
www.dcshoes.com
www.dcskateboarding.tv
www.Skateplaza.com

In popular culture

• DC had released a video, entitled "The DC Video" which featured a part by Danny Way in which he skates the DC "Mega Ramp," a series of enormous skateboarding ramps. It has been released on VHS, DVD, and UMD for PSP. The video also featured Rob Dyrdek at his best, as well as news stories about Colin McKay and Brian Wenning. The video is expected to be re-issued April 2008.

• Travis Barker, past member of pop punk groups blink-182, Transplants and current member of pop punk group +44, had a shoe and hat line influenced by him called DC Travis Barker remix.

• Rapper Currency formerly of Cash Money Records/Young Money Entertainment is a big fan of the apparel.

• Lil Wayne, CEO of Cash Money Records, wore DC shoes apparel in his music video for "Make It Rain" (Remix).

• Actor Adam Sandler is a fan of DC Shoes and apparel. He can be seen wearing DC products in many of his movies. He was also wearing a pair of DC Shoes when he left his footprints at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California.

• Joe and Chefboy, from the Joe and Chefboy show on MTV, wear DC shoes and apparel frequently throughout the show.

• Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park / Fort Minor currently wears DC Shoes and apparel. In 2004, Shinoda remixed the DC Clientele Shoe, with original artwork, hang tag, and insole created by hand. All proceeds of this shoe went to the Michael K. Shinoda Art Scholarship.

• Munky of Korn wears DC Shoes while performing on stage.

• Latin Hip Hop Collective Cultura Londres ft members of Cypress Hill also wear DC Shoes and apparel.

• Australian Hip-Hop Group Hilltop Hoods are sponsored by DC Australia and did a Remix Shoe with DC and it featured lyrics in the insole.

External links

• dcshoes.com
• dcskateboarding.tv
• skateplaza.com