In the US, the athletic shoe game is mostly run by the big guns. As an umbrella, Oregon’s Swoosh owned 62% of the market in 2015, while the Three Stripes out of Germany notched just 5%, tying with Skechers of all brands (shout out the Kim K pro model Shape-ups). So when a hungry, family-owned newcomer came on the scene looking to bring a fresh perspective to the industry, it was a welcome change to say the least. Boston-based YORK Athletics Mfg. makes high quality performance shoes with minimal branding. Promoting wellness and individuality over the sometimes (ok oftentimes) hard to relate to epic greatness of the big brands, YORK is fostering a healthy approachability in its story. And while marketing, story and brand is all important, it’s how they feel on your feet that really counts. So, on a recent trip to Thailand, we put a pair of the brand’s Henry model to the test.
From hitting the gym and running in the city to hiking and irresponsibly scaling a few seaside cliffs, the shoes handled everything active. Then after a pair of everyday shoes was lost to a Bangkok bus, they went on to serve as 24/7 kicks—events, meetings and all.