Etnies

etnies

1009PX
Type	Subsidiary of Sole Technology, Inc.
Founded	1986
Headquarters	Lake Forest, California, U.S.
Key people	Pierre André Sénizergues
Products	Shoes, apparel
Website	http://www.etnies.com/

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 releases signature shoe models.

Etnies Rap was a legendary skate model from the ghetto. Even the best skaters like Tony Hawk used Etnies Rap; i.e, when he first performed a 900 jump.

History

The company was launched in 1986 and following the end of his professional skateboarding career, current owner, Pierre André Sénizergues, commenced design work at etnies shortly after the company's formation. Etnies was an emerging European brand at the time that Sénizergues joined the company and he was responsible for designing the "Senix", "Lo-Cut", "Low-Top Rap", "Intercity" and "Scam" shoe models. Sénizergues subsequently introduced the brand to the US and proceeded to build Sole Technology, with the addition of the Emerica, éS (on indefinite hiatus as of 2012), and ThirtyTwo (snowboarding brand created in 1995) brands.

Team

Current

• Chris Joslin
• Jamie Tancowny
• Ryan Sheckler
• Jose Rojo
• Tyler Bledsoe
• Devine Calloway
• P.J. Hubert
• Willow
• Nick Garcia
• Cairo Foster

Past

• Rune Glifberg
• Sean Malto,
• Mikey Taylor
• Jason Dill
• Ali Boulala
• Arto Saari,
• Elissa Steamer

Picture of an etnies shoe

Skate park

In 2003, etnies, along with the city of Lake Forest, California, opened etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest, the largest public skatepark in the state, at over 40,000 square feet (3,700 m²). The park has been used for a Sole Technology-sponsored skateboard competition, entitled "Goofy vs. Regular (GvR)"—goofy-footed skateboarders competed against regular-footed skateboarders—that was held in 2007 and 2008.

Charity work

In 2012, the brand donated free shoes to people who were, at the time, "homeless and needy" in Los Angeles, US as part of an Easter "shoe drive". Two thousand pairs of shoes were given away and a video of the event was also published, in which etnies CEO, Senizergues, conducted interviews with shoe recipients. etnies-sponsored athletes, Devine Calloway, BK, and Andy Bell, etnies staff, celebrity volunteers and the city's mayor at the time, Antonio Villaraigosa, also participated in the event.

Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree

In addition to the company's charity work, etnies has also launched tree-planting projects in Costa Rica and Brazil under the title of "Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree". In Costa Rica, etnies committed to planting a tree in the Maleku rainforest reserve for every pair of Jameson 2 Eco shoes that were sold, and sponsored athletes, Benji Weatherly, CJ Kanuha, Chris Del Moro, and Ryan Sheckler travelled to Costa Rica in March, 2011 for an inaugural tree-planting ceremony. In 2012, the project was then expanded to Brazil, in partnership with the "Trees for the Future" organization; the Brazilian initiative involved the planting of 100,000 trees within São Paulo's Atlantic Rainforest throughout 2012 for every purchase of the "Jameson 2" and "Jameson 2 Eco" men’s and boy's shoes, as well as the girl’s "Caprice Eco" and "Circe Eco" shoes. In 2012, Senizergues stated, "We play in our planet, and we need to take care of it. Through our Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree project we are excited that everyone can come together to be a part of the solution – giving future generations the opportunity to see and experience the benefits these life-giving rainforests bring to the Earth.”

On April 22, 2015, Etnies celebrated Earth Day by announcing a milestone in the program: it's one millionth tree planted. The brand also announced that the program, now called "Every Shoe Plants a Tree," will continue in 2015, with every pair of Etnies purchased this year becoming a tree planted in the rain forest.

Filmography

Skateboard

• 2007: Restless

BMX

• 2002: Forward
• 2007: Grounded

External links

• Official site
• Argentinean Official site