Late one night hanging out at the studio, after far too much Jäger, Nick Raskulinecz (producer – Death Angel, Trivium, Thornley, Marilyn Manson, Fireball Ministry, Shadows Fall, Rush, Danzig, Velvet Revolver, Foo Fighters and others) and a friend were sitting around bitching about not being able to find good sneakers - ones that felt good, take a beating, and really fit the metalhead lifestyle.
After a long discussion the two realized that the true metalhead really had no core shoes to wear. Everything up until this point was borrowed from one scene or another. So, they decided it was time for their scene to have a shoe of it’s own.
"We wanted to create a shoe that fit the [metal] lifestyle, you know? We’ve always had to borrow from others when it came to comfortable sneakers. It just wasn’t right," says Nick, co-founder of HOOVES. "Back in the 80’s it was the black & red Air Jordan’s. Then there were the Pumas, the Vans, the Converse - I mean, we rocked them, and these brands are all great in their own ways, but nothing had the total package, nothing screamed metal!"
In that drunken haze sometime back in the summer of 2006, HOOVES was born with some crayons and a few messy sketches. The next day they realized that this might actually be a good idea, and hit the pavement to try and figure out how to give this beast life.
In December 2006, HOOVES teamed up with Gravis Footwear to develop the first shoe in the HOOVES line, creating a perfect marriage of production quality and core metal roots. After well over a year of blood, sweat, and tears, the first HOOVES shoe, THE BEAST, is complete. This black leather, badass high top embodies the dark, evil nature of the metal lifestyle to its core. With a deep red pentagram lining, a skeletal blood stained insole and the HOOVES mantra embroidered on the tongue tag – these shoes personify metal.
The first limited-edition signature shoe, THE BEAST, is scheduled for delivery in June ’08 at a select group of core retailers, and online here at HOOVESARMY
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