How Hoka became a household name - 5 fun facts about the burgeoning brand behind the biggest shoes on the trail

Man running on rocks wearing Hoka Hopara 2 shoes.

You don’t have to have ventured very far on the trails in recent years to have noticed a seismic shift in trail running shoes. Whether you’re spectating at an ultra marathon or riding the city bus, it’s impossible not to notice the oversized soles going on on the feet of almost everyone from novice joggers to elite runners.

Call it a pendulum swing from the minimalist craze of barefoot running shoes in the early 2010s if you want to, but we all know that the main driver behind this shift is probably a single brand: Hoka. The running shoe (and now hiking boot) brand materialized in 2010 with the release of the Hoka One One Mafate trail running shoe that featured a thick midsole and rocker geometry.