World renowned shoe designer John Fluevog marks a milestone

By David F. Dawes

"VANCOUVER'S ROCK STARS of footwear exposed," blared the press release for the Museum of Vancouver.

It was trumpeting 'Fox, Fluevog & Friends: the story behind the shoes,' an exhibit running till September 26.

John Fluevog and partner Peter Fox opened their Gastown business in 1970. They eventually parted company (amicably), and Fluevog went on to make his name as a unique Vancouver institution -- currently celebrating his 40th anniversary.

His shoes, mostly designed by Fluevog himself, have an international following, with fans ranging from singers Madonna, Jack White and Iggy Pop to actors Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams and Woody Harrelson. He has factories in several countries; many are operated by families.

Aside from their artistry, his wares are known for their lighthearted spiritual messages. His Angels shoes bear this message: "Resists alkali, water, acid, fatigue, Satan. Walk in peace."

While often humorous, such messages offer clues to their creator's spiritual viewpoint. Fluevog is a vocal Christian, and attends UTown Church. He is also known for charitable contributions to organizations such as World Vision and UrbanPromise.

Speaking to CC.com, he was in a genial mood -- both buoyant and self-effacing.

Reflecting on the museum exhibit, he noted: "I started when I was 20 -- so my career has been most of my life."

Fluevog said he has preferred to remain independent. "I've never had outside assistance. To do what I want to do, when I want to do it, is important to me." Further, he emphasized: "In life, we need to be like pioneers, and keep pushing boundaries."

Regarding his trademark whimsical messages, he observed: "As I'm doing the shoes, certain life experiences are happening to me. The messages are reflections on things that are meaningful to me at the time. I have put scriptures on some; but it's not a form of proselytizing. I don't do them on all the shoes."

A message on the sole of one shoe reads: "Miracles are the surprise of the soul."

Faith, he said, "influences my whole life. My business life is the same as my personal life. We have the ability to walk alongside our heavenly father. My career has been a process of finding out what God made me."

Fluevog stressed: "I'm just very thankful that I've been able to do this for so long. I've never felt like I've quite mastered it yet."

Finally, he was asked the most important question: Does he believe in sensible footwear? Laughing, he responded: "I believe in both sensible and non-sensible shoes."

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John Fluevog was interviewed by Glenn Boettger for The Christian Entrepreneur, published by the Centre for Entrepreneurial Leaders -- which is part of the School of Business at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C.

Following are some key excerpts.

Christian Entrepreneur: What motivated you to become an entrepreneur?

John Fluevog: I feel that I didn't particularly choose to become an entrepreneur; rather, it found me. And I would say that I'm as much of an artist as I am an entrepreneur, if not more. But having said that, the thing that really motivates me, is that when you're working for yourself, there is no bottom or top to what can happen. It is limitless. That is the most exciting part of entrepreneurship, and the part that just makes work a lot more fun.

CE: What are some things that you have found to be most personally rewarding?

JF: One way in which entrepreneurship is rewarding is that it allows you to learn a lot about yourself. It also gives you the ability, in theory, to throw yourself into something and get a reward for it. Whether or not the reward ever comes is another issue. But it's like there's a carrot out there, and you can just go charging after it.

And it's not about the money; it's about the personal sense of self-worth that comes from doing something. And the excitement for me is found in creating something, in making something, in building something. It's a lot of fun.

CE: How do you integrate your business expertise with your Christian calling?

JF: I don't see a difference . . . I've listened to a few lectures about Christians in the marketplace, and I don't understand the fundamental idea of why you'd need to have a course on being a Christian in the marketplace. I just think it's a funny concept.

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As Christians, we need to integrate our lives with our faith -- and we are called to do that. It isn't like, "Okay, now I'm a Christian entrepreneur and I need to behave in a Christian way -- so let me check and see what that is."

No matter who you are, we are all called to integrate our faith. And the cool thing about our society and the century we're in right now is that a small person can have influence. Basically, an entrepreneur, for me, means having influence.

You can influence people; I can influence people. Just by the structure of my company and by the product I put out there I am able to influence people. I can do that by selling sex because I think that selling sex will make me more money; or I can influence people by throwing out a great product that works well, for a good value.

CE: What are some examples of how you have integrated biblical principles into your business practices and thus acted differently than a non-Christian?

JF: I don't know if I act differently than a non-Christian, because I'm not always sure what a non-Christian acts like. There are some bad guys out there, and there are some good guys. And the bottom line of my faith is one of redemption and one of forgiveness of my unworthy self -- and one of grace because God just gives me grace.

I don't have anything better than anybody else; I have simply accepted God's grace. God is gracious to me, and I see him work in my life. It's like he finds a way when there is no way . . . I think we are in a unique time, a time in which we as Christians can influence. We can say what we want. You can run an ad in the Yellow Pages and put scripture in it.

You can put a little fish on it. You can do whatever you want, and it's generally acceptable. You can just do what you want, and that's so cool. That's why I think being an entrepreneur is such a great thing. It's such a vehicle to be able to express yourself.

CE: What are the lessons you have learned that you believe are important for Christians pursuing entrepreneurship?

JF: One of the important lessons I've learned is that a person never stops growing. You don't come to a point where everything is cool and you can just let it ride. It doesn't seem to me that God works like that.

It would appear to me that God's plan for us is to continually want a deeper relationship with him. It's not about being in a comfortable place.

I've often thought that I've never really made it, because I've never had a bunch of money in the bank. And I would say that this is such a wrong concept. That's not what 'making it' is. So I would tell anyone that one needs to focus on growth and relationship with God.

CE: How could the church in a general sense support you as an entrepreneur, in pursuing your calling in business?

JF: I would say that in the church, people in the marketplace almost get put down a bit -- almost get squelched a bit. So to really answer the question, I think that we all need to encourage each other in what we are doing -- even if you don't fully understand it.

I would say that I've been misunderstood, although I don't really care. I understand that being in the fashion business means that some Christians might misunderstand who I am and what I'm about. It's not an issue to me. Maybe it's too airy-fairy, or it's not straightforward enough for most people.

I think that the church could well do with opening themselves up to people like entrepreneurs and artists. I call an entrepreneur an artist, by the way. I think entrepreneurship is very 'artsy' because you're creating things: you are creating something from nothing.

CE: Do you have any other comments?

JF: Over the years, I've made some mistakes. Years ago I remember having a squabble with a contractor who was a 'Christian,' and he was doing something which I didn't feel was part of our deal -- yet he wanted to be paid a certain amount of money for it. And I laid a whole number on him.

I told him that what he was asking from me was not right, and "If you are a Christian and you believe in righteousness, you better take this extra thousand bucks and you better stick it into a collection plate!" I probably shouldn't have said that to him.

I mention this story to say this: we can only deal with ourselves, and we cannot expect other people to behave in some quote 'Christian' manner because they call themselves Christians. And I don't think we should have special expectations of Christians, because if we do, we will put our faith there; we will be disappointed by them, and then we will wonder why we are Christians.

It's not about that. And it's not about us as Christians being better than anyone else in business, us having more integrity, et cetera. There are a lot of people out there with integrity. It is our motivations that are important. What motivates us to do something?

When we examine those motivations, we start getting insights into our lives and how we are behaving -- so that we can make changes for the better. If I look at my motivations, I can make better decisions -- decisions that are more financially prudent, and in the end, decisions that are more godly.

Shoe photos by Rebecca Blissett.

June 30/2010