There is nothing new about canvas and rubber sneakers. They are the soul of the casual footwear and athletic markets, worn the world over by people of all ages. Few among us have gone through life without owning a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor’s, or even a pair of Vans Authentics.

Yet, even this simple (but massive) segment of the footwear market has its surprises. One of them is Warrior. Born in 1935, Warrior is (for lack of my own imagination) China’s version of Converse. The shoes grew from a rubber company, embraced a need for athletic footwear, and became by the 1970s a staple on Chinese streets.

I learned about Warrior through blogs, specifically through coverage in the Spring of 2008 of Shumeng Ye’s book on the sneaker. An art student, Ye had become fascinated by the shoes she saw on so many older residents in Shanghai. She was not alone in falling for the footwear.

Around the same time, two American students interning in Shanghai discovered Warrior. Their interest blossomed not into a book, but in the forming of Warrior Footwear LLC, a company created to bring Warrior shoes to the United States and Europe. They recognized the heritage behind the sneaker. They also recognized the unique story - a Chinese brand with over 70 years of history that was still completely unknown to the majority of sneaker heads. Last fall, they began to put their plan into motion. Warriors were sold to Alife Rivington Club, Bodega and Union (just to name a few).

Given my own interest in heritage brands, I caught up with co-founder of Warrior Footwear LLC Bobby Touran to get a better sense of the history behind China’s most ubiquitous sneaker.