We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful John Fluevog. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with John below.

John, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I mean you have to remember, this was the 70s man… and before that… that’s right, was the 60s. I started working in a shoe store when I was young (be careful what you start doing, kids). I was inspired by witnessing the social revolution in the 1960’s firsthand while spending a summer hitchhiking down the west coast – I felt like style and art and culture really mattered. I linked up with a fellow co-worker at the store we worked at, Peter Fox, to start our own shoe store, which we called Fox and Fluevog. How did I know it was a worthwhile endeavor?… I didn’t, I just thought ‘This sounds cool’. We imported shoes that weren’t commonly available at the time in North America, which helped give me a strong understanding of what made footwear exciting, expressive and different. Peter was a great partner, he was older than me, and boy did I leard a lot from him. After about ten years we decided to go our separate ways, leading to me opening the first John Fluevog Shoes in downtown Vancouver. I was always inspired by the cars I would see at my father’s drive-in ice cream parlour called the Luxury Freeze. There was something so exciting about the different silhouettes and bold, bright colors that I felt I could bring to the shoe industry, which at the time, was begging for a revolution in my humble Canadian opinion.

I wanted to create footwear that stood out from the mainstream—bold, artistic, and often with a touch of vintage or Victorian flair. I worked with unusual materials, unexpected color palettes and a philosophy that celebrated individuality and craftsmanship. I really let my imagination and inspiration run wild – my ideas came from a mix of retro influences, spiritual beliefs and the desire to push the boundaries of shoe design.

For example, the Angel soles became one of the hallmarks of the John Fluevog brand – extremely popular due to its comfort and positive message. You can see them on the bottom of numerous Fluevog styles today, like the Nathan Leather Chelsea boots. The bottom of the sole has a group of Seven Angels in the front with two more on the heel. Placed there to guard against the negative vibes we come across in the world: Angelic Soles Resist Alkali, Water, Acid, Fatigue and Satan. On top of that, they’re resoleable so there’s no need to worry about running out of the superior comfort and production of Angels.

The ability to create new shoe designs and silhouettes is what excited me in the business when I first started and that still excites me today.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

For those who are not familiar with the John Fluevog brand, you can get to know us by our tagline – creating unique soles for unique souls. That is something I’ve been passionate about since the brand started and we’re known now for our aesthetics, but also for the messages we inscribe on many of our soles – ranging from spiritual to humorous or inspirational. They all reflect my personal values.

John Fluevog shoes is unique in that I’ve been lucky enough with the brand to always have the opportunity to try something new. We launched our first athletic sneaker for the first time in 2024 and have collaborated with some of the most creative and unique individuals including musician George Clinton, fashion designer Anna Sui and even Australian designer Rachel Burke. That helps keep the brand exciting and fresh. Our shoes have been seen on the heels of incredible artists and celebrities including Lady Miss Kier, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Chappell Roan, Beyonce, Kit Harrington, Shawn Mendes as well as some of my favorite regular people!! They’re the best!

We’re known for our Angel Soles, as well as our Munster heel, which Madonna famously wore in “Truth or Dare”. The silhouette is a large platform heel with a glam rock aesthetic. The Original Baroque Platform Heel is still sold today.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

I started collaborating with Anna Sui in the 1990’s with her runway shoes, designing shoes to match her bold aesthetic. We created designs that matched her seasonal themes, ranging from Victorian or Edwardian-inspired with whimsical twists like curved heels, brocade boots and rich velvet uppers. We launched our first collaboration together in 1993 with butterfly boots that were wildly popular. They had butterfly appliques all over the boot and were this feminine answer to the grunge moment that fashion was having in the early 1990’s. It was exciting to see that collaboration come to life and it really cemented my personal and professional relationship with Anna Sui, which continues today. We actually brought back a re-release of our vintage butterfly appliqué boots (https://www.fluevog.com/shop/7855-chrysalis-black-denim?anchor=true) as well as a newly designed Mary Jane flat (https://www.fluevog.com/shop/7856-pirouette-blue-denim?anchor=true) for Anna Sui’s Resort ’25 collection.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

From the start I knew that our clients were more than clients – they are members of the Flummunity. We’d see the same people in our stores every month looking at new styles. I readily took feedback from the people who wore our shoes and incorporated that feedback into some of the most popular designs today. Taking that a step further we launched the Open Source Footwear program in the 2000’s that enabled John Fluevog wearers to submit their ideas with the brand. We’ve made numerous styles of John Fluevog Open Source shoes over the years. We treat our customers like family and regularly invite them into stores to try on new designs and engage with our store teams. Remaining true to our brand DNA is important, but also listening to the consumer as they change through the years is what makes a brand last and connects a brand to its audience. We want to stay relevant and give the consumer what they want. We have cultivated a very vocal and tight knit community through the years that anticipates our new launches. In 2019 we decided to bring the community together for the first ever Flumminity Fest, which we saw as an opportunity for people to get together with fellow brand lovers to share in all things Fluevog. We gave attendees behind-the-science access to the brand, including new releases before they went live to the public, coordinated guest speakers and planned parties and activities to keep everyone engaged. We saw such great feedback from the community from that first Flumminity festival that we continued it each year. Even two of our fans got married at Flumminity fest last year. It wasn’t the first marraige at a Flummunity Fest and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fluevog.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fluevog/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fluevog/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/john-fluevog-shoes/
• Twitter: https://www.instagram.com/fluevog/?hl=en

Image Credits

All credits should go to John Fluevog. Thanks!