OUR STORY

The idea for Viakix was first planted, on my honeymoon with my high-school sweetheart.  

I married Elissa after college and we celebrated our honeymoon in the beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii. On our first day, we hiked the breathtaking Nā Pali Coast.

The 22-mile hike showcases the island's rugged northwest coastline, with amazing views of the green mountain cliffs, alongside the crystal blue Pacific.  

Halfway through our hike, the sky opened, and a torrential downpour ensued.

Our "hiking shoes" (really tennis sneakers that we repurposed for the hike) got soaking wet and destroyed. While we made it back, our sneakers unfortunately did not.

At that moment, I thought someone needed to create better athletic footwear to handle these unpredictable hikes. But with a mountain of debt and bills to pay, that "someone" could not be me.

Years went by. Elissa and I settled down outside of Boston, raising two amazing kids and one loving, but crazy dog named Penny.

We worked hard, juggling work with raising a family. It wasn't always easy but we managed.    

After our 19th year of marriage, we decided to return to our honeymoon spot to celebrate our 20th anniversary. This time with our two kids.

So, we saved up and started planning. During this time, I could not escape the memories from our Nā Pali coast hike nearly two decades ago.

I thought I was ready to be that "someone"....someone who can create a better hiking experience.

So, I sat down with a footwear designer and we worked on developing our very first amphibious water shoe.

We made our first pair of Viakix water shoes in 2015 and immediately put them to the test on our return trip to the Nā Pali coast.

I was excited to see how well our shoes handled the rugged coastline. It was truly incredible and rewarding to see our footwear passing the "test". A spark was lit that could not go out.  

In 2016, we produced a small run of our shoes and publicly launched our first footwear line. This was an anxious time not knowing whether other outdoor enthusiasts would also enjoy our shoes.  

But when we started to hear the incredible feedback -- and all the customer stories! -- we knew that we had to push Viakix forward.

That year, we developed our first sport sandal line. We named the sandal, the "Napali", in honor of those two incredible moments spaced 20 years apart.  

So much has changed since that return visit to the Nā Pali coast. But, so much remains the same. We continue to listen to you. We continue to be inspired by you. And, we continue to be forever grateful for your support on this journey.

We hope to make you proud. 😊