KICKSOLOGY: The Hype, Science, Culture & Cool of Running Shoes

Brian Metzler

VeloPress, Boulder, USA

Year 2019

Pages 160

This book is your all-access pass into the fascinating, colorful world of running shoes – and what makes up a perfect pair of kicks. The author takes runners and kicksologists deep inside the $10 billion dollar running shoe industry with a behind-the-curtain look at what makes iconic running shoe brands tick. The book follows a shoe from inspiration to store shelf to show how innovative ideas evolve into industry-wide trends and fads. The author tours shoe labs where scientists advance our understanding of shoes and running mechanics as well as the domestic and overseas shoe factories where the world’s favorite kicks are assembled.  He shares his love of great shoes in this fascinating look at the intersections of shoe culture and history, science and storytelling, intel from the innovators with on-the-ground insight from top runners. The book is filled with information as entertaining as it is surprising, tapping into the passion runners have for their kicks and feeding their curiosity about what makes a great shoe.