éS Skateboarding Shoes & Footwear
When éS burst onto the scene in 1995 as Sole Technology's technical answer to skateboarding's increasing demand for performance, they weren't just selling shoes—they were engineering impact survival systems. Founded by Pierre André Senizergues alongside sister brands Etnies and Emerica, éS quickly distinguished itself through innovations like the groundbreaking System G2 cushioning that borrowed concepts from athletic footwear and reimagined them for skateboarding's specific abuse. Their late-90s roster reads like a technical skateboarding hall of fame—Tom Penny's effortless style, Eric Koston's precision, and Rodrigo TX's textbook execution—all drawn to shoes that could withstand the era's increasingly consequential gap and stair assaults. The Koston 1, with its distinctive toe cap and padded tongue, became perhaps skateboarding's most iconic signature model, while the Scheme and Accel delivered variations on the formula that dominated skateparks worldwide. When the brand went on hiatus in 2012 as minimalist vulcanized shoes took over, the secondary market for original éS models exploded, with deadstock pairs commanding serious collector prices. Their 2014 return didn't attempt to chase trends but instead doubled down on their technical DNA, offering modernized versions of their classics alongside new models that maintain their heritage of impact protection and durability. While skateboarding's pendulum continues to swing between technical padding and minimalist board feel, éS remains committed to their founding principle that a proper skate shoe should perform as serious athletic equipment—designed to withstand the punishment that progression demands while giving your feet the fighting chance they need against concrete's unforgiving reality.
