Mark Thatcher was the inventor of Teva (pronounced "teh-vah" not "tee-vah"). While working as a rafting guide in 1982 he noticed the lack of proper shoes for river activities.
Sneakers would become heavy when wet and would take days to dry and thongs would slide off feet very easily.
Thatcher fashioned a thong-style sandal with nylon ankle strapping, thus creating the first sport sandal. Thatcher patented his invention, found a manufacturer and began selling the "amphibious utility sandals" by himself, selling 200 pairs the first year. Although it was effective watersports footwear, it proved less effective for regular sports as the first Teva users often complained of blisters between the first and second toe caused by the thong-style strapping system. However, the following year a sudden high demand of Teva sandals arose as young Americans found the sandal highly fashionable.
A partnership was established between Thatcher and Deckers Outdoor Corp. Deckers eventually got exclusive rights to Teva including patent #4,793,075 for the basic design and a trademark for the brand name. The sandal was redesigned, creating the Universal Strapping System. The first model was called "Hurricane" and is the basis of all Teva sandals.
On November 25, 2002, Deckers acquired the worldwide Teva patents, trademarks and other assets from Mark Thatcher. After this transfer, Teva continued to grow under the supervision of the Deckers Outdoor Corporation. |
