APL (Athletic Propulsion Labs) is the world leader in luxury performance footwear and the brand that created the category. Founded in 2009 in Los Angeles by identical twins Adam and Ryan Goldston, APL was born from a singular conviction: that athletic footwear could be engineered with the precision of the world’s finest performance technology and crafted with the sensibility of the world’s greatest luxury houses.

 

Adam and Ryan were two-sport collegiate athletes at the University of Southern California, playing both basketball and football for the Trojans. That firsthand understanding of what an athlete demands from footwear, combined with an obsession for design and luxury, led them to build APL from a 60-square-foot office into a brand that would change the industry forever.

 

In 2010, APL introduced the Concept 1 basketball shoe featuring its proprietary Load ’N Launch technology, engineered to instantly increase vertical leap. On October 19th, 2010, the Concept 1 became the first shoe in history banned by the NBA for providing the wearer with an “undue competitive advantage.” What was meant to be a restriction became a defining moment. The ban announced to the world that APL had created something no one else could.

In June 2014, APL pioneered the luxury performance segment of the athletic footwear market with the launch of its running and training collections for men and women. The combination of world-class patented technologies, innovative design, and the finest materials attracted the most prestigious retailers on earth, from Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue to Selfridges, Net-A-Porter, Le Bon Marché, and lululemon. An entirely new category had arrived, and APL was its architect.

 

In 2016, co-founders Adam and Ryan Goldston were inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), becoming the first members from an athletic brand in the organization’s history. That recognition extended across industries: Forbes 30 Under 30, the White House Empact 100 honoring the top 100 entrepreneurs under 35 in the United States, Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs, and WWD’s 40 Under 40.

 

In 2017, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti declared October 12th as APL Day in the City of Los Angeles, a tribute to the brand’s impact on its hometown through charitable contributions and the broader culture of innovation.

APL’s influence extends across the worlds of automotive, sport, and technology. In 2022, APL partnered with McLaren Automotive in a groundbreaking collaboration that brought together two companies united by an uncompromising approach to performance, engineering, and design. The brand then joined Oracle Red Bull Racing in 2023 for a Formula 1 partnership that coincided with the most dominant season in the history of the sport, further reinforcing the connection between APL and the relentless pursuit of the extraordinary.

From earning a place on Oprah’s Favorite Things to winning the Women’s Health and Men’s Health Sneaker Awards, APL’s commitment to innovation has been recognized at every level. The brand also offers APL Kids, bringing the same standard of quality and performance to the next generation.

 

Today, APL is the footwear of choice for World Champions and Olympic Gold Medalists, chosen by the world’s greatest athletes for the same reason it was originally banned: it performs unlike anything else.

That spirit of invention continues with the TechLoom Zipline, APL’s highest expression of what happens when luxury and performance converge without compromise. Featuring a proprietary TechLoom upper and APL’s FutureFoam midsole technology, the Zipline represents the next evolution of the brand’s founding vision.

Today, APL remains fully independent, owned and operated by its founders. The brand continues to push boundaries through product, through the creation of the world’s most beautiful retail flagships in Los Angeles and New York, and through an unwavering belief that luxury and performance belong together. APL created that standard, and continues to define it.