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n the early 1980s, Alvaro Z. Gallegos was running an average of seven miles a day. He suffered all the typical injuries associated with running—heel spurs, plantar fasciitis, knee trouble, hip pain, and back pain. And although he owned a shoe store at the time and had access to all types of running shoes, he was unable to find a shoe that eased his pain.
Realizing that the source of his pain was impact, Al reasoned that putting a “shock-absorber” in the heel of his shoe would reduce the force of impact. And as an added benefit, a spring would provide some form of energy return, to help him run faster and farther.
Al experimented with a variety of springs before finding one that worked best: a three-inch-wide conical steel coil. He then had a local butcher cut open the soles of his shoes and he glued in the springs. He was amazed at the result. "I went out for a run," he says, "and it was glorious." Not only did the shoes feel good, but they also seemed to protect him from his usual running injuries. Over the next few years, as friends and family began asking Al to add coils to their shoes to ease their aching feet, he began to think seriously of mass-producing his springy shoes.
But shoe manufacturers were not interested. Some just laughed at his idea. Time after time Al was turned away and told that his shoe would be impossible to make.
Gradually Andrés came to realize that the true benefit of these spring-heeled, impact-reducing shoes lay in the incredible pain relief they provided to customers. At the same time, advances in technology were making a rigid, built-in orthotic for the Z-Tech® shoe possible. Much the way a car’s steel frame supports its shock absorbers, this firm platform inside the shoe, in combination with the coil in the heel and thick cushioning in the forefoot, was to provide even better overall support for the foot.
So in a second revolution, featuring a next-generation product—the Freedom 2000—a new incarnation of the company was born. Al and Andrés called the company “Z-CoiL® Footwear” to better reflect the nature of the product, and the company’s new focus on pain relief was to launch a whole new Pain Relief Footwear® industry.
Andrés made another valuable strategic move at the time, initiating an unusual stock offering that gave investors free footwear with the purchase of stock. Excitement about Z-CoiL® footwear took off then like wildfire … and is still burning strong.
Z-CoiL Footwear is on a mission to bring relief to every person who suffers from foot, leg, or back pain—no small task, considering that:
• 75% of Americans will suffer from some kind of foot problem in their lives.
• Up to 80% of people will suffer from lower back pain.
• 60% of adult Americans are overweight or obese, which places an additional strain on their feet.
• Baby Boomers, representing about 28% of the U.S. population, are fast approaching retirement.
• We walk and stand everywhere on hard, unforgiving surfaces.
Z-CoiL Pain Relief Footwear is definitely an innovation whose time has come!
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