Emerica is a skateboarding shoe brand based in Lake Forest, California, USA and owned by Sole Technology. In 1986, French fashion footwear company Rautureau Apple launched a line of skateboard shoes called etnies. Three years later, French pro freestyle skateboarder Pierre Andre Senizergues began distributing etnies in the United States. Etnies USA, later called etnies America, the first skateboard shoe brand owned and directed by a pro skateboarder, was born. In 1992, Pierre struck a licensing deal with Rautureau Apple and began designing etnies in the U.S. By 1995, Rautureau Apple was bought by a European shoe conglomerate, which was in turn acquired by an American company. Unsure of how his etnies America licensing agreement would be affected, Pierre launched Emerica, short for etnies America, in 1996. All etnies shoes sold in Fall 1995 were shipped as Emerica shoes in Spring 1996. Rautureau Apple put the etnies brand up for sale. Nike, among others, expressed interest, but Pierre gained the full rights. From then on, etnies and Emerica were separate brands, each with their own unique identity. Emerica was immediately recognized as a more basic skate shoe brand than etnies, who cater to a more mainstream crowd. Over the next decade, Emerica became widely respected by skateboarders.