They’re not shoes or socks. Unique Skinners sockshoes are popular in more than 100 countries where they serve hundreds of thousands of customers. But have you ever wondered where the idea for such a unique combination came from? Follow us in the footsteps of Skinners' beginnings.
When Petr Procházka, still a law student at the time, decided to spend his summer holidays working in Norway, he had no idea how this adventure would shake his life once and for all.
This Nordic country has almost unbelievable natural beauty, and it would be a shame not to use your free time to explore it. But Peter was not alone on his summer trip. He was with his friend who was suffering from a foot ailment.
Walking in regular shoes caused him great pain. They were too tight and put a lot of pressure on his toes with every step. To relieve himself, he simply took of the shoes and started walking around Kristiansand in socks.
This situation gave Peter an idea how to give his friend enough freedom and at least some protection from the terrain at the same time. So he rushed to the sewing kit, which his mother had thoughtfully packed for the trip. He sewed a sole to the bottom of the sock. And the first model of the revolutionary sockshoes was born.
After arriving back in the Czech Republic, excited about such a simple but effective invention, Petr decided to take the idea further.
He has fully committed himself to the development of the revolutionary Skinners sockshoes. Now people in more than 100 countries around the world can enjoy his discovery. Peter has not returned to the study of law again.
Sockshoes have become a community thing
Nature, technology, activity, quality and functionality have always been the main pillars of Skinners. But the idea of freedom is just as strong. Freedom of movement without restrictions, as well as independence from external investors.
For the production of unique sockshoes and Skinners company growth, the founders Peter and Míša turned to a community of like-minded people who faced the same problems in their daily lives.
So, in order to fund the development and production of Skinners, they launched campaigns on crowdfunding platforms such as Hithit, Kickstarter and Indiegogo, which allow them to raise funds directly from end customers. It has always been the direct help of final costumers that has helped Skinners to shape the path it is on.
After a first successful series of campaigns and fundraising, the Skinners team has once again thrown itself into developing a new generation of Skinners Comfort 2.0 sockshoes, this time with a wider toe for even greater comfort with every step and a removable insole to improve moisture wicking.
Once again, the campaign has proved successful. It gave Skinners the opportunity to step it up a bit more and focus on other products.