Private company

Sole Technology

Logo: https://soletechnology.com/, Non-free logo, via Wikipedia4

American footwear and apparel company

Sole Technology, Inc., known informally as Sole Tech, is an American footwear and apparel company, specializing in skate shoe design, production and distribution. The company is owned and operated by Pierre-André Senizergues, a former professional freestyle skateboarder. The company's headquarters are in Lake Forest, California, United States.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

  • HeadquartersLake Forest1
  • Websitewww.soletechnology.com
  • Legal formFor-Profit Corporation General Stock3
  • LEI549300IB983ZBEDG1U233
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusLapsed (not renewed)3
  • Registered addressC/O PIERRE ANDRE, 92630 Lake Forest, United States3
  • Registered withSecretary of State, C19566493
Kostonfandangle (cropped)
Photo: The original uploader was Humpmcgump at English Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons6

Sole Technology, Inc., known informally as Sole Tech, is an American footwear and apparel company, specializing in skate shoe design, production and distribution. The company is owned and operated by Pierre-André Senizergues, a former professional freestyle skateboarder. The company's headquarters are in Lake Forest, California, United States.2

Corporate structure

Sole Technology sits at the top of its group. 3 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Sole Technology Lake Forest, California, United States
    • Emerica Subsidiary
    • etnies Subsidiary · United States

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Sole Technology was founded in 1996 to be the parent company of the etnies, éS, Emerica and ThirtyTwo brands.

The Sole Technology Institute (STI) was established in 2003. STI Lab is a first-of-its-kind research and development facility that conducts biomechanical skate shoe research.

In May 2024, etnies, éS, Emerica and ThirtyTwo were acquired by Nidecker Group, a Swiss action sports equipment conglomerate. Following the acquisition, a new company was created to operate the four brands under Nidecker, with Pierre-André assuming the role of CEO for each of them. The Sole Technology name will gradually be phased out.

From Wikipedia’s article on Sole Technology, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Products and brands

  • footwear

Listed on Wikidata.1

Etnies

The company's first and largest brand is etnies. Established in 1986, etnies produces footwear and apparel for skateboarding, BMX, motocross, surfing and snowboarding—the brand also sponsors teams in all of these "action sports." From 2005 to 2011, the company also operated etnies plus, a sub-brand which specialized in limited-run footwear.

Etnies sponsored athletes include Ryan Sheckler, Willow, Nick Garcia, Jose Rojo, Chris Joslin and David Reyes.

éS Skateboarding

éS Skateboarding is a skateboarding footwear and apparel brand founded in 1995. In 2024, it was acquired by Nidecker Group along with etnies, Emerica and ThirtyTwo.

The brand subsequently sponsored a team that included professional skateboarders John Rattray, PJ Ladd, Eric Koston, Paul Rodriguez, Ronnie Creager, Chad Muska, Justin Eldridge, Rodrigo Teixeira (TX), Bob Burnquist, Arto Saari, Nyjah Huston, Tom Penny, and Rick McCrank.

Read the full text

After announcing a hiatus in mid-2012, the brand returned in 2014 with special edition runs of their shoes distributed to select skateboard shops.

Emerica

Emerica was launched in 1996, and, in addition to selling apparel, has produced a number of skateboarding-themed videos. Their 2013 video, MADE: Chapter One, was offered to consumers at a price of their choosing, with a minimum price of US$1.00 established.

In July 2013, the brand released its "Workwear" line, a collaboration with skateboarder Andrew Reynolds.

Emerica sponsors a skateboard team which includes Collin Provost, Ed Templeton, Justin "Figgy" Figueroa, Kevin "Spanky" Long, Leo Romero, Jeremy Leabres, Jon Dickson, Eric Winkowski, Rob Maatman, Dakota Servold, Kevin Baekkel, Victor Aceves and Chris Wimer.

ThirtyTwo

ThirtyTwo, a snowboarding boots, apparel, and outerwear brand, was launched in 1995 by snowboarders and has been privately held since that time. As of September 2013, the brand sponsors a team of snowboarders.

ThirtyTwo's Global Pro team includes J. P. Walker, Jeremy Jones, Scott Stevens, Chris Grenier, Chris Bradshaw, Halldór Helgason, Jordan Small, Johnny O'Connor, Joe Sexton, Corey Smith, Dylan Alito, Toni Kerkela, Desiree Melancon, Zeb Powell, Pat Fava and Phil Hansen.

Its Global Am team includes Brandon Hobush, Spencer Schubert, Chris Brewster, Toni Kerkela, Benny Urban, Dylan Alito and Johnny O'Connor.

Altamont Apparel

Altamont Apparel was launched in October 2006 as a concept of Justin Regan and Reynolds, who enlisted UK artist Mark "Fos" Foster as the head designer. Over time, the brand has expanded beyond skateboarding to involve musicians and artists.

From Wikipedia’s article on Sole Technology, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Subsidiaries and ownership

Subsidiaries

  • Emerica
  • etnies

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. Jan 2, 1996Founded Sole Technology is founded3

Funding

Where the company's money came from, by calendar year: private offerings filed with the SEC, federal grants, loans, contracts and other assistance from USAspending.gov, and PPP loans from the SBA. Each bar links to the records below.

Money received by year$2.1M 2020–2021
Money received by yearMoney received by year, 2020–2021: $2.1M in all. PPP loans $2.1M.$0$500K$1M$1.5M2020 · PPP loans: $1.0M20202021 · PPP loans: $1.1M2021
Figures by year
YearPPP loansTotal
2021$1.1M$1.1M
2020$1.0M$1.0M

PPP loans

Paycheck Protection Program loans of $150,000 and up, approved April 2020 to July 2021, from the SBA7. Matched to this company by name and state.

  1. Apr 16, 2020$1.0M PPP loan (first draw) from U.S. Bank, National Association7To SOLE TECHNOLOGY, INC., Lake Forest CA; $1.0M forgiven Sep 20, 2021
  2. Feb 14, 2021$1.1M PPP loan (second draw) from U.S. Bank, National Association7To SOLE TECHNOLOGY INC, Lake Forest CA; $1.1M forgiven Jan 3, 2022