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New Balance has been in the news a lot lately and not exactly for the best reasons. News broke that the sneaker company was backing Donald Trump to become the next president of the United States. Twitter blew up when the account Sole Collector released a statement that caused millions of users to post photos of New Balance shoes in the trash.
Since that time, New Balance has put out their own statement denouncing white supremacists. Even with all this contention, New Balance has been a celebrated brand around the world for many years, so here are a few things you may not have known about the shoe powerhouse.
[Photo: Shuttershock]
The name “New Balance” comes from the founder William Riley’s observation of how three-footed chickens walked in his backyard and figured that would be a new way of balancing.
[Photo: Instagram]
In the beginnings of the company, New Balance preferred not to endorse athletes in order to get customers to purchase their products based on performance, rather than because it was a hand out.
[Photo: Instagram]
New Balance shoes have been equally loved and worn, not just by dads around the world, but also by the likes of Steve Jobs, Pharrell, Bill Clinton and even rapper and sneaker designer, Kanye West.
[Photo: Instagram]
New Balance’s first products were sold by a traveling salesperson, not in a store. They made their name by meeting with customers face to face and in the comfort of the customer's own home.
[Photo: Instagram]
Even though New Balance is one of the biggest shoe companies today, it originally started providing services for arch supports.
[Photo: Instagram]
