In 1998, after already making a name for himself in both the UK and the USA, Geoff Rowley took - what seemed at the time - a slight gamble. That gamble was leaving his current shoe sponsor, Airwalk, and joining the Vans team, despite having to swallow a 50% pay cut in the process. However, the main source of motivation for this move was due to the fact Geoff was assured that he would not only get a few pro-shoes but also possess all creative freedom when it came down to designing them too.
Possibly the best vulcanised skate shoe, ever?
By 1999, Geoff and Vans released his first pro-model, the Rowley. The Rowley, similar to Geoff himself, went against the grain. Firstly, during the late 90s, most skate shoes were bulky cup sole constructions with not much board feel and a lot of padding, whereas Geoff would often be seen skating in the classic silhouettes from Vans such as the Authentic and Era. It only made sense to design a shoe that aligned with Geoff's aesthetic, and although the Rowley certainly has more padding than an Authentic, for its time the Rowley was a far slimmer design than most options on the market. This approach was combined with a focus on retaining as much feel between the foot and the deck as possible. Many argue that the Rowley shoe ignited the demand for vulcanised shoes to return to skateboarding that emerged in the early to mid-2000s.
The Rowley XLT, an evolution in technical shoe design
After the huge success of the Rowley, in 2001 Vans released the Rowley XLT. After all the fixation on bringing back slimmer vulcanised skate shoes, the XLT was not only bulkier than the Rowley, but it was also a cup sole design! A weird move perhaps, but when asked why Geoff explained that the Rowley was the ultimate vulc skate shoe in his eyes, so what was the point of designing something he would feel was inferior to the original?
The XLT took the same foundation as the Rowley design-wise but was made to be far lighter and much more forgiving on the skater's foot. As much as the Rowley did for the revival of Vulc skate shoes, many people will understandably only skate cup sole shoes, so why not spread the love and release a Rowley for those skaters too!?
Geoff Rowley x Vans 25-year anniversary
More recently, in 2024 Vans and Geoff celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Rowley with a re-release of both the Rowley and the Rowley XLT in their much-loved and classic navy colourways. As we all know, Vans are the very best at designing and championing classic skate shoe silhouettes, but with the Rowley designs, I think it's safe to say that these have become the incredibly special shoes they are now due to Geoff's unrivalled and self-assured drive to do whatever he wants, regardless of the noise of whatever is happening around him. Here's to another 25 years!