About Altra

Why do you need new shoes now?

With so many shoe brands available today, it's already difficult to know which shoes to choose, so do we really need another new shoe brand? This was a big question that came to mind before I started ALTRA. With my experience as a former long-distance runner for the US national team and as a manager of a running shop, I had been pleading for many years with various major shoe manufacturers to create shoes that would "reduce heel strike" in a "natural state," but unfortunately, I had never found a shoe that satisfied me.

After trying out a number of shoes that had been modified to a "zero drop" state by shaving down the heel and recommending them to runners, he began to see clear improvements from runners with disabilities and users who had given up running, which led to the creation of the "ZERO DROP" prototype. Shortly thereafter, the book "Born To Run" became a huge hit across the United States, and barefoot running became widely known.

I want to create shoes that prevent heel strikes

My father injured his knee while playing American football when he was a student. The doctor told him he would never be able to run again. After that, my father taught himself how to run without putting too much impact on his knee, and began practicing running without heel strike. By continuing this, he gradually became better at running, and was even able to win prizes in major marathons. He now owns a running shop in the Rocky Mountains as a shoe specialist.

It has been 20 years since we opened our running shop, but there are still no kinematically natural or "correct" shoes, and we have not been able to provide the best shoes for our clients.
We did a lot of research and as a result we came up with shoes that minimize heel strike to allow for natural body movement.

The concept is the ultimate shoe that allows you to run in a natural way.

After that, through repeated trial and error with various experts, our passion led to the creation of a single shoe: the ALTRA Zero Drop Shoe. We had to overcome many obstacles to get to this point. Throughout it all, we remained true to our unwavering concept of creating shoes that allow people to run in a natural way. We hope to continue this passion and spread the joy of running.