Behind the Design of the Kyle Walker Wafflecup Shoe

On the bottom floor of the Vans headquarters in Costa Mesa, head footwear designers Neil Shoemaker and Dazman “Daz” Primus sit at the end of a long, oval table. Behind them, clips of Curren Caples skating somewhere tropical repeat on a large flatscreen TV. 

Kyle Walker opens the door, plops down between Neil and Daz. He is wearing understated, neutral clothes, except for his bright pink shoes and a flashy diamond-studded wristwatch. Despite the planning for this meeting, there is no sample shoe. Kyle takes his left shoe off, holds it up. “We can use mine.” 

Still holding the shoe, Kyle reminisces about first walking in this building some ten years ago. “I had a nostalgic drive on the way down here thinking about how far it’s come, like dang, it’s been 10 years,” Kyle says. “I walked in thinking I was going to do a colorway. I was coming over and Neil and Daz were like, ‘Yo, let’s make a shoe.’”

Back in 2014, “going in and getting that news was a trip,” Kyle says. “I thought we were doing a colorway or something. So it definitely felt surreal. It was a leave-the-office, call-your-mom thing.” 

Kyle’s vision was simple: “I just wanted a durable skate rat shoe,” he says. “Simple. I wasn’t really going for the most stylish look. I spitballed all my ideas and Trevor put everything together into the shoe.” 

At the time, Kyle was skating Gilbert Crockett’s pro shoe religiously. But the designers had to take that tech in a different direction so the shoes didn’t cannibalize each other. Luckily, they "saw an opportunity,” Daz says. “We could get him into a faster, more durable WaffleCup than Gilbert’s. It really resembled a vulc shoe. We were trying to bring in some things like stitching on the heel and sculpting on the sidewall so it looked a little more progressive.” 

Once the sketching process was complete, Neal and Daz presented the options to Kyle. Kyle was intrinsically drawn to puffy silhouettes. “When I was super young, we’d cut the tongue off another shoe and stuff it in,” Kyle laughed. “We were skating moon boots back then.” 

But Daz steered Kyle towards a manual and a skate shoe, while still being progressive. WaffleCup, which offers Cupsole support in the heel and vulc-like feel and flick in the forefoot, proved to be the perfect middle ground between a cupsole and vulcanized sole. WaffleCup offered the longevity to make it through heavy skating without being so hard that it hurt his feet. 

And, Daz reminds us, “Kyle put the pink on the map. It was one of the first times we did a rider custom colorway just for the rider. It wasn’t even available in line. People were asking for it.” 

“It was great timing,” Kyle said. “That year, the Pantone colors of the year were baby blue and pink, the same combo as the shoe.”

The shoe succeeded, not just in the skate park, but as a daily shoe of choice for people worldwide. The intention wasn’t to make a lifestyle shoe, but it followed naturally when the shoe was just so functional and aesthetically pleasing. 

Kyle Walker Pro solidified the new (at the time) WaffleCup technology. There also wasn’t currently a Vans shoe with a heel tab, so Kyle’s shoe brought that into play as well. Now, with a decade of the Kyle Walker Pros and Pro IIs worn on the feet of skaters worldwide, and a decade more of progression for Kyle Walker, Kyle was in the market to improve his shoe. If you’ve ever wondered if pros skate their signature shoes, they do. 

Kyle phoned Neal and Daz with concerns. “We slowly figured out what to tweak,” Neal said. “The shoe was still selling well in the market, but to meet Kyle’s performance needs, the best solution was just to update it with a new part.” Decisions were made to make the Kyle Walker WaffleCup thicker on the sidewall and add a little more material underfoot for a studier feel. With a harder rubber for the relaunch, now “Kyle has the same—or even more—impact protection than the first one,” Daz says. PopCush footbeds remained, but with even more cup, so Kyle can keep jumping. 

Lastly, a reinforcement shank was added for support. “It gives you a little more ground clearance and more stiffness in the heel. So you still have flexibility and flick in the forefoot, like a vulc shoe, but more molded support in the heel,” Daz says. “There’s a radial pattern hidden in the forefoot. You can color out the midfoot section separately from the perimeter. And in the heel, we’ve got a reverse waffle tread.” 

With more rubber in the heel, people who drag their heels see a longer life for the shoe. The first time around, shoes were trending slimmer overall, but with a needed upgrade, the designers also had the chance to improve support and cushioning, and hence, the silhouette. It’s no moon boot, but it brings familiar nostalgia to a cutting edge, top-of-the-line skate shoe. 

All in all, designing signature shoes is more complex—and more fun—than your typical inline shoe. “When we get to do these things — bounce ideas off of Kyle or the other skaters — it’s always fun to get an outside perspective. He puts things through the paces more than anyone else here,” Daz says. And, “this man wears his shoe. Like, always,” Daz laughs. Neal agrees. “There’s no doubt. I’ve never seen him wear anything else.”