Vans co-founder James Van Doren dies at 72

(Photo: Los Angeles Times)

James Van Doren, co-founder of Vans shoes, recently passed away at the age of 72.

Van Doren co-founded Vans, originally known as the Van Doren Rubber Co., with his older brother Paul in 1966 in Anaheim, California. The shoes, with their thick soles and waffle-esque design that would become the brand's trademark, became wildly popular among the skateboarding culture that exploded in southern California in the early 1970s. He ran the company from 1976 to 1984.