Soap Shoes

Soap Shoes are shoes made for grinding. Theyexpressed by the fans; five of the six models
were introduced by Chris Morris of Artemisincluded the same fixed grindplate and had the
Innovations Inc. with the brand name "Soap" insame sole design. Two of the six were actually
1997 and simultaneously invented a new extremethe same shoe, but sold in different color
sport based on Aggressive Inline Skating. Theyschemes and with different names. There is one
have a plastic concavity in the sole, which allowsmodel still in production from the first generation
the wearer to grind on objects such as pipes,released by HSL, the Soap Express.
handrails, and stone ledges. The company andThe sport never caught on to the mass market
their product rapidly gained popularity throughin comparison to, for instance, skateboarding, but
numerous fansites, a video game, and livethe brand "Soap" does have a professional team
demonstrations across North America and Europemostly consisting of pro inline skaters. Soap's
soon after, but fell to legal vulnerabilities and washeyday was in the late 90's and early 2000's,
readministrated twice, eventually bringing thewhen competing crews from across America and
brand to Heeling Sports Limited. The act ofEurope were releasing internet videos on a regular
grinding on rails and ledges specifically using soapbasis, spurring a dedicated, albeit small, online
shoes has been dubbed "soaping," with thecommunity of "Soapers". However since then
"soaper" being the one performing said act.upf">most of the crews have disbanded along with the
shirtSoap shoes were essentially derived fromwebsite forums, and now there are only pockets
rollerblades and aggressive skating. Chris Morris, aof proponents of this marginal extreme discipline
resident of California who worked at RollerBlade inaround the globe. A revival of sorts was noticed
Torrance for over sixteen years, envisioned ain early 2006 as more people were attracted to
shoe that could "grind" when designer andSoaping, and HSL responded by re-releasing their
coworker Dave Edmond proposed a "what if"Express model in limited quantities. Soap shoes
question regarding the matter. They quicklycontinue to sluggishly regain popularity, although
worked to customize a simple shoe that had anot without difficulty due to Heelys using
grind plate embedded in the sole; it was angrindplates in addition to their wheels.
average Nike, fitted for sliding. Morris immediatelySoap shoes can go hand-in-hand with freestyle
tested it upon completion, fell on his rear, andwalking to form lines or multiple tricks strung
contacted his patent attorney. Next, Concept 21together. An example would be landing into a
(a recently founded design firm) was called uponroyale and grinding, finishing the trick with a 360
to design a sample so that the product could beMethod out. It is one of the few land-based
finalized. Alongside marketing partner Pat Parnell,extreme sports that can be easily practiced in
they then formed Artemis Innovations, whichboth dry and wet conditions.
would be the company the brand would be soldThere are two schools of thought for basic
under for four years. In 2001, Mr. Morris lostfrontside/backside grinding with Soap Shoes; the
control of the Soap license through legal problems.first using the leading leg (your right foot if you
Activity within the company slowed down, andare goofy and vice versa for regular) as the leg
eventually the remaining executives sold Soap.you leap off, landing with your back foot on the
In-Stride, a company whose target market wasrail/ledge/etc. first and subsequently placing your
primarily wrestling gear, purchased Soap. Theleading foot on moments later. The second
company's industrial focus made some believetechnique is to leap off your trailing leg and place
In-Stride wouldn't be able to properly manageyour leading foot on the rail/ledge/etc. first
Soap, and keep the brand's focus in its originalfollowing it with your trailing foot moments later.
place. It is still debated whether In-Stride everYou can also endeavour to land both feet
designed or released any Soap shoes, althoughsimultaneously on the rail.
evidence does suggest that they wereThere is little advantage from one technique to
responsible for a couple models that did not havethe other; leading leg first often yields more
grindplates. In-Stride went bankrupt in late 2002,speed but this is at the expense of control, and
and Soap was once again available for purchase.abandoning a trick if your trail leg fails to lock onto
Heeling Sports Limited, the company behind thethe obstacle proves difficult without risking injury,
shoes with a wheel in the sole known as Heelys,as your leading leg will be sliding away from you.
realized that the grindplate could be veryOn the other hand, the trail leg first technique is
profitable when paired with their wheel, andmuch more controlled and safer in the event of
acquired Soap later that year. In early 2003, sixpoor execution, but speed is sacrificed.
new Soap shoes were released, each in multipleThe technique used is mostly based on
color schemes; simultaneously, HSL was designingpreference due to your natural bias. e.g. a right
hybrid shoes to sell under the Heelys brand. HSLfooted person who is of regular stance (the most
has been criticized for releasing too many newcommon combination) will find it far easier to leap
models at a single time, and not supplyingoff their left foot and land with their right foot on
requested stock to retailers frequently enough.the rail first using the trailing leg technique outlined
Since HSL's debut play on Soap, desire for aabove.
more distinguishable variety of shoes has been