Lugz is a footwear brand owned by Jack Schwartz Shoes, LLC (JSS). The brand was established in October 1993, and aimed toward the urban fashion consumer. Lugz is sold in major retailers worldwide and offered in adult's and children's styles.

History

With the launch of its first boot line, Lugz gained admiration from notable people in the music and entertainment worlds, leading to many unique collaborations. One collaboration led Lugz to its first ever celebrity-endorsed, "Funk Master Flex" urban driving shoe. Then, a collaborative line with hip-hop artist, Bryan "Baby" Williams, aka "Birdman" soon followed, in addition to other endorsers including,

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

Orange County Choppers Orange County Choppers (OCC) is an American motorcycle manufacturer and lifestyle brand company based in the town of Newburgh, located in Orange County, New York, that was founded in 1999 by Paul Teutul Sr. The company was featured on ''Ameri ...

, and athletes from

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

and

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

. The popularity of the brand began to grow as radio personality

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terre ...

began promoting the brand on his show. Lugz also appeared in music videos for artists such as B.I.G. (Biggie Smalls) and

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

;

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film '' Ray'', for which he won the ...

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Basketball Players,

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

Football Players, and some

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Baseball Players supported the brand by adding them to their street style. In February 2000, Lugz launched their first interactive website where consumers could finally purchase shoes online at Lugz.com. In 2006,

signed on to endorse Lugz. With its aggressive "built for the streets reputation", Lugz collaborated with

Paul Teutul Jr. Paul Michael Teutul (born October 2, 1974) is one of the stars of the American reality television series ''American Chopper''. He started working for his father ( Paul John Teutul). Teutul was the chief designer and fabricator. Prior to this, he ...

to design a signature Lugz shoe, "The Torx." Also that same year OCC and Lugz collaborated on a custom Lugz chopper. In 2009, the chopper was presented to the Bluff Poker Player of The Year. In the fall of 2008 Lugz entered the

Mixed Martial Arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

scene signing its first two MMA fighters,

Lyoto Machida (born 30 May 1978), is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and karateka, who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a former UFC Light ...

and

Houston Alexander Houston Alexander (born March 22, 1972) is an American professional mixed martial artist who last competed in 2017. A professional competitor since 2001, he has fought for the UFC, Bellator, Shark Fights, the RFA, and KSW. He currently compet ...

, as endorsers. Machida captured the title of

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

as he represented Lugz. With MMA becoming a fast growing sport/entertainment platform with an increasingly growing fan base, Lugz later signed

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (born June 20, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist, actor and former professional wrestler, who most recently fought in the Bellator MMA. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and unified the Pride Middle ...

. In 2010, UFC World Heavyweight Champion

Cain Velasquez Caín Ramirez Velasquez (born July 28, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist, currently appearing for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). He is widely known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, ...

became the newest endorser of Lugz. In 2014, Lugz celebrated their 10th anniversary of Birdman's signature Lugz by releasing a new Birdman shoe in low and mid-top styles.

References

{{reflist, 2 1990s fashion Shoe brands Sportswear brands Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States Hip hop fashion Boots Shoe companies of the United States Clothing companies established in 1993 Companies based in New York City