In the tradition of best sellers such as Shoedog， Authentic is a surprisingly candid， compelling memoir by a high school dropout who went on to establish one of the world's most iconic brands

Paul Van Doren is the founder of Vans - the shoe company beloved by skateboarders， creatives， and fans everywhere for its laid-back， colorful SoCal vibe， and famous for its people-oriented company culture。 How did Van Doren， who started as a 16-year-old "service boy" at a local rubber factory， establish a family shoe business that evolved into a globally recognized brand with annual revenue of more than four billion dollars？

A blue-collar kid with no higher education and zero retail experience， Van Doren leveraged a knack for numbers， a genius for efficiency， and the know-how to make a great canvas tennis shoe into an all-American success story。 In 1966， when the first House of Vans store opened， there were no stand-alone retail stores just for sneakers。 Paul's bold experiments in product design， distribution， and marketing （Why not sell custom shoes？ Single shoes？）， aided by legions of fans - skateboarders， surfers， even Sean Penn wearing Vans' famous checkerboard slip on shoe in the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High - made Vans a household name。 

But there was also back-breaking work， a shocking bankruptcy， family turmoil， and a profound shift in how customers think about athletic shoes。 Authentic details Van Doren's personal life， but also hard-won business lessons learned over six turbulent decades in the shoe trade: the importance of deep-rooted values， of improvisation， of vision （and revision）， and above all， of valuing people over profits。 Refreshingly forthright and totally entertaining， Authentic is a business memoir by an American original。