A forgotten story from the California coast. Born at the end of the 1960s, Mr. Fliks grew from the meeting of surf culture, military heritage, and a generation searching for freedom. Rediscovered decades later, the story begins again in Redondo Beach.

California was changing. The Summer of Love brought thousands of young dreamers to the West Coast. Music, protest, surf culture, and freedom collided in a new cultural moment. At the same time, the Vietnam War shaped the lives of an entire generation. Returning soldiers carried their uniforms home, and with them, the symbols of war began to transform into symbols of youth culture.

Seeing the growing popularity of military-derived garments among returning servicemen and civilians alike, Mr. Fliks began producing a small run of canvas deck shoes along the California coast. A discreet inscription was placed just below the ankle bone: Redondo Beach, CA. A simple reference to the place where the shoe first appeared. Next to it, one small star was added. A quiet detail that remains part of the design today.

The same canvas deck shoe, returned in its original form and produced today with the same simplicity that defined the original.