Sqairz is Challenging What Performance Shoes Should Look Like

Starting a footwear company was the furthest thing on Bob Winskowicz’s mind when he walked onto a driving range in a pair of square-toe dress shoes.

He hit a few balls with a friend, and noticed a difference in his balance that also positively impacted his swing while wearing those dress shoes. That led to a curiosity about athletic shoes and their traditionally narrow toe box.

The golf executive did some research, as well as years of development and testing before finally launching Sqairz in 2020, which is now on track to reach $20 million in 2026.

Winskowicz discusses some of the challenges in starting a footwear company that’s dominated by major players, as well as the construction of the shoe and plans for future growth.

Footwear News: Were you in the shoe business the day you went out to play golf in your dress shoes?

Bob Winskowicz: No, I wasn’t in the shoe business at the time. However, having been involved in the golf industry for quite some time, I had always been curious about where power and distance in the golf swing actually come from. That curiosity led me down the path of studying ground reaction forces and understanding how the body interacts with the ground to generate power.

As I dug deeper, I began to realize just how important the foot is in that process, and how significantly footwear can influence stability, balance, and the ability to generate and transfer force. It opened my eyes to something that I don’t think the golf industry had fully appreciated: the connection between the golfer, the ground, and the footwear in between. That realization ultimately set me on the path to creating Sqairz.

FN: Tell us about your lightbulb moment.

BW: I was meeting a friend for dinner at the golf course, and when I arrived, he was still hitting balls on the driving range. I had just come from work and was wearing a pair of square-toe dress shoes, which were quite popular at the time. I picked up one of his clubs and started hitting a few balls.

What happened next caught me by surprise. I was striking the ball solidly, but more importantly, I felt noticeably more balanced and stable than I normally did. At first, I thought maybe I was simply swinging more easily because I wasn’t wearing traditional golf shoes. But something felt different, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I left that evening with a question that I couldn’t get out of my head: Was there something about the shape of the shoe that was influencing how I interacted with the ground?

The more I researched the relationship between the foot, ground interaction, stability, and force generation, the more I realized that traditional golf footwear had largely overlooked the natural shape and function of the foot.

I think the reason no one had really pursued a squared-toe golf shoe before was that the industry had been focused primarily on tradition, styling, materials, and traction. Very few people were looking at footwear through the lens of biomechanics and asking a more fundamental question: Are we actually designing golf shoes around how the human foot and body are supposed to function?

FN: What was the planning process for starting your golf shoe line? How long was the developmental process? Did you have a day job while trying to start your new line? Who helped with designing the shoe?

BW: Once I realized there was an opportunity to rethink how golf footwear was designed, I knew I needed to surround myself with people who understood the footwear business. I reached out to two friends with experience in the industry, and they helped guide me through the process of building a plan for designing, developing, and ultimately bringing the shoes to market. The development process took a little over a year, followed by approximately three to four months of testing and refinement. From the initial concept to having a shoe I felt confident putting in the hands of golfers, the entire process took roughly 18 months.

I did have a day job when I first started the process, but that changed about three months into development when my contract concluded. At that point, I made the decision to commit myself full-time to building the business. In addition to the two friends who helped me navigate the footwear industry, I brought in Joe Napurano, a footwear design consultant, who played an important role in translating the original concept into an actual shoe.

FN: Tell me about the thought process for the design of the shoe?

BW: We approached the construction of the shoe by looking at conventional golf footwear and asking ourselves how we could improve virtually every aspect of its design to advance both comfort and performance. Our guiding principles were ground reaction force and biomechanics. We wanted to better understand how the foot interacts with the ground and how footwear could support and enhance that relationship.

The square-toe geometry was a fundamental part of that approach. It’s important to understand that this isn’t simply about having a wider or roomier shoe. The natural shape and function of the foot requires space for the toes and forefoot to spread, or splay, when accepting weight. This movement activates sensory feedback through the foot, helping prepare it for push-off. Toe splay also contributes to horizontal stability, while the plantar fascia provides additional vertical support, helping the foot function as a more stable and effective lever. Most conventional footwear restricts this natural movement by compressing the toes. Our geometry was designed to give the foot the room it needs to function more naturally.

FN: Tell me also about the construction of the shoe? What other elements are unique to your footwear?

BW: Beyond the toe box, one of the first areas we focused on was outsole traction. Using pressure-mapping technology, we identified where the greatest forces and pressures were being generated throughout the golf swing. We used that information to strategically position the cleats on the outsole to better align traction with the golfer’s pressure patterns and ground interaction. We also developed supplemental cleats of varying heights, arranged in a directional and rotational pattern, to better accommodate the different forces generated as the foot moves against the ground, particularly rotational and shear forces.

Another important innovation was our Sta-Put lacing technology. We incorporated small silicone nubs directly onto the laces so that once the laces were pulled through the eyelets and tightened, they would stay in place. This allowed us to comfortably secure the upper around the foot, creating a more unified connection between the foot and the shoe. Finally, our testing revealed that many conventional golf shoes lacked sufficient torsional support. We addressed this by developing a heel-to-arch stabilizing component that extends externally from the heel and continues internally along the arch, following the path of the plantar fascia. This provides additional torsional support, helps resist unwanted foot movement, and improves overall stability.

FN: Did you have an easy time finding a factory that could meet your shoe specifications? Was there a learning curve? Where are the shoes made?

BW: We engaged an experienced footwear manufacturing consultant to help identify, evaluate, and vet potential factory partners. The initial process was relatively straightforward, but finding a manufacturer capable of executing our unique design presented some challenges.

The biggest hurdle was our square-toe geometry. Footwear manufacturing is built around established lasts, molds, and production processes, and we were asking factories to develop something that was quite different from what they were accustomed to producing.

Getting the toe-box geometry right while maintaining the proper fit, structure, comfort, and performance required additional development and collaboration. There was definitely a learning curve, particularly understanding the technical aspects of footwear manufacturing, tooling, materials, and production. We had to work closely with our manufacturing partners to translate the original concept into a product that could be consistently produced at scale without compromising the design.

Today, our footwear is manufactured in Vietnam and China.

FN: What was the tariff impact on your startup?

BW: The impact of the tariff was significant. We decided not to raise prices to protect customers. It forced us to cut back in certain areas and limit investments in new markets.

FN: You now sell shoes for golf, baseball, softball and pickleball. What about the outsole, and do you need a different one for each sport?

BW: Yes. We now have designed specifically for golf, baseball, softball, and pickleball. While the underlying biomechanics principles (toe box geometry) that guide our designs are consistent across all sports, the demands placed on the foot and body are different, and the footwear needs to reflect that. The outsole is a particularly important part of that equation.

Each sport involves different movement patterns, playing surfaces, and force requirements. So, while we carry the same core design philosophy across our footwear, we develop sport-specific outsole configurations to address the unique demands of each activity. What remains consistent is our philosophy: understand how the body interacts with the ground, understand the forces being generated, and design the footwear around those requirements. That’s what we mean when we say we’re designing performance footwear from the ground up.

FN: How do you think about growth for your brand?

BW: We think about growth by asking a fundamental question: Where else can we apply our core design principles to make a meaningful difference in how people move and perform? Our philosophy has always been rooted in biomechanics, balance, stability, and helping people unlock the power of the ground. If we can apply those principles to improve how someone moves, generates force, maintains stability, or interacts with the ground, then we believe there’s an opportunity worth exploring. That’s what has driven our expansion beyond golf into baseball, softball, and pickleball. But it has also led us into an entirely different market: medical footwear.

We recognized that the same principles that help an athlete improve balance, stability, and ground interaction could have an even more meaningful impact on an aging population facing an increased risk of falls. Falls are a significant health challenge for seniors, and we saw an opportunity to apply our technology to help address that problem. We developed our Sentrx Medical Shoe, submitted our design for Medicare coverage, and were awarded two L-codes that allow physicians to prescribe our footwear for eligible patients at risk of falling.

To me, that’s what growth is really about. It’s not simply about selling more shoes or entering more categories. It’s about recognizing where our technology can solve meaningful problems and applying what we’ve learned to new markets and new populations. We believe the opportunity for Sqairz extends well beyond traditional sports footwear. Wherever balance, stability, and the relationship between the human body and the ground matter, we believe there’s an opportunity to make a difference.

FN: The brand is direct-to-consumer (DTC), so would you ever consider wholesale distribution to retailers? And how did you get the attention of customers?

BW: Absolutely. While DTC has been an important part of building Sqairz and establishing our brand, we are actively presenting our footwear to sporting goods retailers and pursuing wholesale partnerships. We believe retail provides an important opportunity for consumers to experience the product firsthand, particularly given that footwear is something many people prefer to try on before purchasing.

Much of our early success in creating visibility within each of our footwear categories has come through seeding professional athletes and players, working with influencers, and developing partnerships with organizations and businesses that provide access to established, highly targeted email audiences. We’ve complemented that strategy with paid digital advertising, paid search, streaming television and video advertising, social media, and experiential marketing events that allow consumers to see, feel, and experience the difference in our footwear.

We’ve learned that credibility and education are particularly important for our brand. We’re not simply asking consumers to consider a different shoe; we’re introducing them to a different way of thinking about footwear and how it influences balance, stability, and performance.