How 'Dad Shoes' Turned New Balance Into A $5 Billion Brand

What was once a favorite of dads across America is suddenly a fashion-forward brand in its own right. New Balance now has faster-growing sales than larger rivals Nike and Adidas, and fans range from Hailey Bieber to Kawhi Leonard. Here's how New Balance became a must-have for sneakerheads and dads alike.

Correction (May 25, 2023): At 1:22 we misspelled and the correct name is Richie Roxas.
Correction (May 26, 2023): At 2:47 we misspelled and the correct name is Tom Nikic.

Producer: Lauren Shamo
Senior Managing Producer: Eric M. Clark
Supervising Producer: Jessica Leibowitz
Editor: Marisa Forziati
Animator: Gene Kim
Reporter: Nicolas Vega
Narrator: Nicolas Vega
Additional Footage: Getty Images, Olivia Southwell, Alyson B, The McFarlands, NBCUniversal

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How "Dad Shoes" Turned New Balance Into A $5 Billion Brand

[nerdstudent]

High fashion is temporary, dad's shoe is eternal

[ANonymous-vuzn]

Everything that the dads own is actually comfortable

[londressinvisa]

I remember receiving a pair of NB for my birthday back in 1989. I was very upset cause at the time I rather have Nike air. No one in school was wearing NB, just when my mom lost her job a year a later, I started wearing that birthday present, we couldn't afford any shoes at all!!😅 Today I own 3 different pairs!!!❤

[jonryan]

Mom jeans and dad shoes are high fashion now. Unbelievable!!

[KGrind]

my dad was an avid runner and always had new balance, I didn't get my 1st pair until my early 30's and understood why he ran in those shoes as soon as I tried them on. Absolute comfort

[Juliaa__T]

One thing NB has over brands is comfort. Not a single NB shoe of mine caused discomfort and I have wide feet. My favorite has been 9060s

[larryfishburne]

New Balance has always been "a thing" on the east coast. Philly, DC, VA have always worn New balance. 574, 990, 1500 are popular models.

[camillac.s.]

Sneaker customers are so strongly brand oriented that even for a big company took literally decades to reach a slice of customers and profits . Cheers to NB !!

[WaveManMike]

These shoes have always been super popular in Maryland and Washington DC. I remember when I was in middle school and they had a release sell out just before I got mine 😅

[JustineCarissa]

It was hard for me to find running shoes with a wider size when I did track and cross country in high school. New Balance was the only one available with my size even until today. Thank you New Balance!

[kunarav]

I don't need an influencer, celebrity, or athlete to tell me that a shoe actually fits me and is comfortable. And, oh, yeah, it also delivers performance while being used during an athletic/sports activity. That New Balance acknowledges that not all feet are the same and then applies that to their product(s) is what makes me (and apparently many others!) keep on coming back for more. The product simply works.

[clickbiat]

They’ve always been comfortable and not ugly… way better than those ugly balenciagas that try to imitate them.

[newbalance]

thanks for watching !
shoutout to all the NB heads in DC, Bmore, and Philly for putting NB on the map

[chrislim]

Original reason for old person status was NB was one of the first to provide different shoe widths on a mass scale which extended it to a good orthopedic ready shoe choice. Now kids are wearing them with mom jeans cause being different is cool, especially when everyone is doing it. 😂

[hagakuru]

As a Gen X'er, I've never really understood the sneaker craze culture. Seeing kids wearing the stuff I wore as a kid and getting so hyped and paying thousands of dollars for them just makes me shake my head in wonderment.

[NHJDT]

I jad no idea new balance became trendy. Ive been buying them for decades for my husband and then my son because they have big wide feet and new balance were comfortable

[Argiriosk]

Greetings from Greece! New Balance has really never lost its momentum in Europe - maybe just a few ups and downs - but nothing significant. New Balance continues to be an important choice in athletic shoes for many consumers in Europe 😊

[traveltwo]

I’m 30 now and I bought my first pair of New Balance a couple years ago and was obsessed with it. It was so comfortable and stylish and I loved the colorway. It was the Numeric Tiago 1010 brown/black. 🔥. I’m not really a sneaker head like I once was in my teenage years. But it’s refreshing to see new balance doing so well now-a-days. They definitely came a long way to reach a broader consumer base.

[FalsAgent]

it's true, the thing that really sets New Balance apart is the quality and comfort.

[UrbanCommentBot]

As a Baltimorean, we've always worn NB. 990s and 993s are most popular. Definitely an east coast thing.