As the skate and vulcanized shoes begin to gain traction in the market, Ipath – a once dormant brand key to the category – is ready to reemerge onto the scene.

Originally founded by footwear industry veteran Brian Krauss in 1999, and formally launched in 2000, Ipath quickly emerged as a countercultural force in the skate world, offering an antidote to the era’s logo-heavy, tech-forward footwear with its relaxed, eco-minded design and rebellious spirit.

With stash pockets, hemp uppers, vulcanized soles, and a commitment to organic materials, Ipath stood out from the start. More than just a shoe brand, it became a lifestyle emblem for skaters, artists, and musicians who saw skateboarding as a sport, as well as a form of creative resistance.

Throughout the early 2000s, Ipath gained a cult following thanks to its authenticity, its standout design, and a team of influential riders who helped shape the culture from the ground up. The brand became a fixture in skate shops nationwide and was embraced by the early streetwear scene, with placements in top retailers such as Zumiez, Journeys, PacSun, and Tilly’s.

In 2007, Ipath was acquired by Timberland Group. And by the mid-2010s, Ipath had quietly disappeared from shelves around the time Timberland sold itself to VF Corporation, a casualty of a rapidly corporatizing skate industry.

“When I sold the company in 2007, we had the footwear category firing from all cylinders,” Krauss told FN in an interview earlier this month. “We also had an apparel division that was about 20 percent of the business. We had an accessories division [that included] jewelry. But it’s hard for a small independent brand like Ipath to thrive under the control of a large corporation.”

In 2022, Krauss bought back Ipath from a Chinese factory that owned the rights to the label. He formally relaunched a core footwear line in 2024 when he left Steve Madden Ltd., where he served as president of Greats until it was sold to Unified Commerce last year.

“Ipath is my baby,” Krauss maintained. “So, I never forgot about it. It really bothered me to see this great brand go by the wayside. And finally, when I got it back in 2022, it took me a while to get it really focused and ready for market again.”

Today, Ipath is once again independently owned and operated, with a renewed presence in more than 90 core skate shops across the U.S. and through international distribution in Japan, Korea, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.

And for Krauss, much of 2025 has been about focusing on supporting the brand’s core retail partners, building out an apparel offering and working on international distribution. But this rollout has come with some challenges due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent trade wars.

“International business is attractive to us right now, with all that’s going on with tariffs,” the founder and CEO said. “We had about 30,000 pairs of shoes ready to be shipped to the U.S. for spring, but we didn’t even bring them in. We pretty much lost the whole season here in the States. But now that we’ve opened up accounts in Japan, Australia, Brazil, the U.K. and Canada, we’ve had success selling through our products.”

And while international will continue to be important for Ipath until the tariff situation settles, the company is still supported by plenty of retailers here in the U.S. Some core wholesale accounts include No-Comply, Seasons, Cowtown, Familia, Atlas, Amateur Athlete, Tactics and CCS. Krauss also plans to open an Ipath flagship store in Miami later this year.

But for now, Krauss is ready to continue on his growth path. “The key to our success is that we offer our consumers and retailers authenticity and connection to the skate community,” Krauss noted. “We are a true skate lifestyle company that has been around for 25 years, that’s something unusual in our world.”