About "Doc Martens"

Dr Klaus Maertens -- The inventor of the AirWair sole and the founder of the Dr Martens brand, Klaus Maertens. Dr Martens came up with the idea of an air-cushioned sole to help in his recovery from a skiing accident in the Bavarian Alps in 1945.

One of the consequences of making a product that becomes a cultural icon for generations, is the challenge of holding onto your name. The official company name, Dr. Martens, is the anglicized version of the name of the inventor of the AirWair sole, Dr. Klaus Maertens. And his name was already modified from the German original, Märtens.

But for generations of youth around the world, our shoes are known as "Doc Martens" or "Doc Martins," or just plain "Docs." And the boots that started it all, the Cherry Red 1460s, are still known simply as cherry reds.

Since the tradition of wearing "Doc Martens" was passed on by word-of-mouth, the common spellings today include Doc Martins, Dr Martins, Doctor Martens and Doctor Martins. And we still have customers that use the spelling from the original German company, Dr Maertens.

However you spell it, our boots are the original Doc Martens. Whether your background is punk, skinhead, ska, rocker -- or you just want a pair of sturdy, comfortable and good-looking (not to mention iconic) shoes, boots or sandals -- you can trust your Doc Martens.