What is Written on the Back of Vans Shoes? (With Photos)

One could say Vans is one of the most unpopular good shoe-making companies. They are barely popular around the world.

However, there are a lot of amazing designs for this company’s shoes, with a unique-looking logo.

So, what is written on the back of vans shoes? There is the logo designed with a V horizontally stretching over the top of the other letters of A, N, and S which form the brand name.

It used to be just Vans written on the back of the company’s produced shoes but there have been some changes made to it.

For style, fashion, contemporary arts, and society. Now you also have “off the wall” and “originals” written on the back of vans shoes.

So these are the things written on the back and body back of Vans shoes:

• Vans
• Off the wall
• Originals
• Half cab

Vans

This design was first made by a 13years old Mark Van Doren. This was invented as a result of a stencil that he made to spray paint on skateboards.

Mark’s father who was one of the founders of the Vans company noticed the graphic design and decided to then place it on the heel of a 95 sneaker. This gave it style and uniqueness.

That inspired the owners to begin to produce more skateboarding shoes and that led to their popularity.

This design is used to serve or mean that any shoe carrying it was or is designed by the Vans company and can mostly be used for skateboarding since they are usually designed for that, as it can be tied to be the origin of the foundational inspiration of the company.

Off the Wall

A wall is a structure of bricks that forms or surrounds the sides of an area, thereby creating a demarcation, an obstruction, a restriction, a barrier, or a protective shield.

The phrase off the wall simply means something strange or a thing that is highly unusual.

The use or existence of this phrase can be traced down to the early 70s where skateboarding was not a thing of society and skateboarders were outcasts who believed in their sport and art.

So, this expression was coined from their performance of new tricks of landing in empty pools by skating off the wall literally.

This was to show how these guys were unusually unique and special in what they do. It was a form of appreciation and at the same time a moral or encouragement statement to keep skateboarding alive.

The full statement is “this is off the wall” as shortened to “off the wall”.

This design statement or creative expression was launched as a global campaign to celebrate Vans 50th anniversary series to welcome those new to the brand and appreciate their old-time loyalists in 2017.

It was a show of rebellion and creative expression for over 5 decades and this campaign by the company is only a means to recognize, remember and honor the original spirit of the pioneers of the beautiful art of skateboarding.

No other company would have done it except them, since they are the number 1 producers of skateboarding shoes, so they had to do it.

Originals

This simply represents the realness of a brand shoe. It means to indicate that the shoe is an original product of the company.

It’s just a simple logic of hearing the word, when you hear it, it simply means something is real right?

That’s right, it means that when you see it on Vans shoes, it means that skateboarding is real and this is the most real brand of shoes if you desire one to explore the world of skateboarding.

However, not writing the brand name is not an indication of fake Vans shoes either. It’s just a write-up to show and appreciate your originality as whoever buys the pair with that write-up.

It is also a way to tell a skateboarder that he or she is not an outcast and what they do is an art of originality of style, sport, and creativity.

Half cab

Half caballerial popularly known as “half cab” is a skateboarding skill. It’s a fakie 180 ollie backside.

It is the half-turn of a caballerial which is a 360 turn. It is easier to land than a full one. That is simply because it doesn’t require you to make a full (360 degree) rotation.

If you’re a newbie in skateboarding, you should learn how to master this trick before you attempt a full cab.

If you look closely at the picture above, you’ll clearly see a person on a skateboard performing the skill.

Since Vans is more of the official skateboarding shoes making brand, this is written on it to show that the pair of shoes was specifically made for skaters and skateboarding.

So, when you are in a shoe store looking for a pair of shoes to buy as a skater who’s familiar with this skating trick, this will eventually catch your fancy (especially as there is a design of a skateboarder on the shoe) once you lay your eyes on them.

It also means that since the half cab is one of the early tricks you need to learn, you should wear this pair when learning how to master it as it was specifically designed to serve you that purpose.

This was very popular with the 2005 Vans shoe collections.

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Conclusion

There are a lot of things that can be written or are written on the back of Vans shoes that can be backtracked to historic events or as a symbol of a message.

Some are company branded while others are customized. People don’t specifically buy Vans shoes for skateboarding though.

Some people like the design and how good it looks and decide to go for it. So they buy a pair for fashion and not for skateboarding.

However it may come, they all have a meaning or serve to achieve a purpose. They could be an attempt to honor or remember a person or historic event or are used to sponsor and promote a movement.

These words are likened not just to history but to the ones aligned with the art or sport of skateboarding.

They give courage and morale to the sports as much as are used to mean a show of appreciation to their customers by the Vans company.