Soap

Soap was the brand name of shoes made for grinding, similar to aggressive inline skating. They were introduced by Chris Morris of Artemis Innovations Inc. with the brand name "Soap" in 1996. They have a plastic concavity in the sole, which allows the wearer to grind on objects such as pipes, handrails and stone ledges. The company and its product rapidly gained popularity through fan sites, a video game and live demonstrations. Soap fell to legal vulnerabilities and was sold twice, eventually bringing the brand to Heeling Sports Limited. History Soap shoes were essentially derived from rollerblades and aggressive skating. Chris Morris, a resident of California who worked at RollerBlade in Torrance for over sixteen years, worked to customize a simple shoe that had a ground plate embedded in the sole. The shoe was an average Nike, fitted for sliding. Concept 21 (a recently founded design firm) was called upon to design a sample so that the product could be finalized. They then formed Artemis Innovations, which would be the company the brand would be sold under for four years. In 2001, Mr. Morris lost control of the Soap license through legal problems. Activity within the company slowed down, and eventually, the remaining executives sold Soap. In-Stride, a company whose target market was primarily wrestling gear, purchased Soap. In-Stride went bankrupt in late 2002, and Soap was once again available for purchase.