Andrew Reynolds was a professional skateboarder for Birdhouse Skateboards. In 2000 he left Birdhouse feeling he didn't fit in with their image and started Baker with Jay Strickland, along with Blitz Distribution as an investment partner (Blitz is a company formed by Birdhouse founders Tony Hawk and Per Welinder to distribute their own products[1]). In February 2002, with pressure from Strickland to make good on Reynolds' promise of 50% ownership, Reynolds purchased the shares of Baker owned by Blitz to become the sole owner. Baker still remains a member of the Blitz Distribution family. Reynolds' promise to Strickland went unfulfilled, and Strickland left Baker to concentrate on his own company, Bootleg Skateboards (with the name taken from Strickland's first video, Baker-Bootleg released 2 years before Baker skateboards started) under NHS Inc, which has since folded. The origins of Emerica date back to 1995 and etnies Footwear. French shoe company Rautureau Apple, who started etnies in 1986, was bought out by a European shoe conglomerate, which was, in turn, acquired by an American company. Pierre-André Senizergues, who had been designing and distributing etnies in the U.S. since 1990 under the name etnies America, lost the licensing rights to the etnies name after the acquisition. He then started a new brand called Emerica, which simply shortened the name etnies America. All etnies shoes sold in Fall 1995 were shipped as Emerica shoes in Spring 1996. That same year, Pierre-André bought the rights to the etnies name outright[1] and continued producing both brands. Emerica focused on core skateboarding, while etnies pursued a broader market with surf, women's, BMX and moto-x footwear in addition to its skate shoe. Currently skateboarders Andrew Reynolds, Leo Romero, Heath Kirchart, Ed Templeton, Kevin "Spanky" Long, and Bryan Herman have signature model shoes with the brand. Team Pro [Aaron Suski] has a signature colorway available on the "Vette" shoe, and British pro Vaughan Baker has a signature colorway in collaboration with Blueprint Skateboards available on the "Trans-Em" shoe.
