In the tradition of bestsellers such as Shoe Dog, 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.

You may not know their creator, but you certainly know the shoes: for more than a generation, Vans shoes have been synonymous with cool.

Now in this refreshingly candid memoir, meet Paul Van Doren, the charismatic founder of Vans-the shoe company beloved by skateboarders, creatives, and fans everywhere for its laid-back, colourful SoCal vibe, and famous for its people-oriented company culture.

In Authentic, he shares his unlikely journey from high-school dropout to sneaker-industry legend. A blue-collar kid with no higher education and zero retail experience, Van Doren started out as a 16-year-old service boy at a local rubber factory. Over the next few decades, he 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. What began as a family shoe business has today evolved into a globally recognised brand with billions of dollars of annual revenue.

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.