Hersey Custom Shoe
The last custom running shoemaker in America. A Hersey DPS made Runner's World rankings in the 1980s-90s. Racing flats to trail models, built for one runner at a time.
Status: Approved
- Founded
- 1982
- Website
- herseycustomshoe.com
- HQ
- USA
- Manufacturing
- USA
- Ownership type
- Independent
- Status since
- 2026-07-28
Ownership
Founded 1982 by Bart and Jan Hersey in a converted sheep barn in Wilton, Maine. Owner-operated since 2007 by Stephen Keoseian, a third-generation Massachusetts shoe repairman who apprenticed under Bart Hersey, bought the company, and moved it to Fitchburg; merged with his Victory Sportswear brand in 2019.
Why Approved
The existence proof: custom, repairable, resolable running shoes made domestically by a person whose name you know. Approved as a matter of record — and effectively un-buyable, because one man at capacity is what this model looks like without capital, which is itself the essay's point. Tested-asterisk: we have not run in them.
Reversibility
What would change our verdict
Closure. Reopening to new customers restores buyability (upgrade in usefulness, not status).
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