Management Team / Advisory Board Bios
William (Chip) Howes
Founder / CEO
Chip has been designing and bringing footwear to market for 25 years. He has worked primarily in the action sports and street fashion arenas, creating best-selling products for brands including, Burton, DC Shoes, TOMS shoes, REEF, O'Neill, FEIT, and others. He and his team are now focused on the challenge of making footwear for the new generation of 'movement athletes', whose only equipment requirement IS shoes. Footwear design has been Chip's passion since winning a Reebok sponsored design competition as a student at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and spending the following summer doing a design internship at Reebok headquarters in Massachusetts. Chip was trained as an industrial designer, but his experience for over two decades has put him in the boardroom of numerous brands as a key strategist on brand growth.
Gregg L. Witt
Strategic Marketing Advisor
Gregg L. Witt is a partner and Chief Strategy Officer at Engage Youth Co., where he leads the strategy and consumer engagement programs for brands targeting youth audiences. Gregg has been immersed in the business of youth culture since the age of 16 when he started his first company, Goodtimes Skateboards. Despite adult naysayers, Witt took the company to global distribution in its first year; this early success ignited a passion and respect for the power of subcultures. Never content to just ‘know it when he sees it’, Witt has dedicated his career to a focused examination of the wisdom and authenticity inherent in today’s youth, while guiding others on how they might, respectfully, do the same. With over 16 years of experience in youth insights, brand strategy, and marketing activation, he is a renowned cultural marketing strategist and international public speaker. In 2016, he was named a Top Youth Marketer To Follow by Inc. Magazine, and in 2017 made the Forbes list of leading Generation Z experts. In 2018 he co-authored the Gen Z Frequency for Kogan Page, a comprehensive guide to engaging youth culture. He frequently appears in national media as a youth trends expert. A short list of past clients includes Autodesk, AwesomenessTV, College Board, FunnyOrDie, Glaceau Vitamin Water, HBO, Hollister, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, Procter & Gamble, Qualcomm, Tony Robbins, and The Walt Disney Company.
Mark Toorock
Strategic Sports Advisor
Mark Toorock is the founder and CEO of American Parkour, the first organized parkour community in the US, now over 165,000 followers strong. In 2003 Mark was working in London as a technology manager for an investment bank when he discovered parkour, reminding him that his true passion was movement, teaching, performance, and building. Mark has since operated the first and longest-standing academy for parkour in the world. He brought parkour to the mainstream media through television series on broadcast networks, high profile performances, and advertising for major brands. American Parkour’s focus in recent years has been bringing parkour to schools and designing equipment that supports the joy of movement that early parkour training can bring to kids. APK’s curriculum and equipment can now be found in over 50 schools throughout Washington DC and Maryland. American Parkour is also beginning to implement parkour programs and facilities in summer camps.
Howard Lu
Development and Production Advisor
Howard Lu is a Chinese American designer, and an alumnus of the Art Center College of Design. He is a veteran product designer and developer with two decades of experience creating products for numerous brands in the athletic fashion industry, both in the US, and in China. Howard’s unique skill set bridges the chasm between concept and manufacturing and he has spent the past 10 years in China building business and manufacturing relationships. He is expert at sourcing and his understanding of production methodologies allows him get product made to the highest standards. He has worked with Chip Howes, the founder and CEO of OLLO Footwear, for 20 years.
