Collection: KARHU

1916 Ab sportartiklar Oy who establishes a small workshop in downtown Helsinki and begins crafting locally sourced birch into skis, javelins, and discuses. The workshop eventually develops running shoes which land on the feet of Ville Ritola and Hannes Kolehmainen, the first “Flying Finn”. The company name changes to Karhu, the Finnish word for “bear”. The Flying Finns dominate tracks around the world garnering much recognition for Karhu, and Paavo Nurmi wins nine Olympic gold medals in the now famed Finnish footwear. Karhu dominates the 1952 Olympics Games in Helsinki with fifteen gold medal performances, three of which come on the feet of Emil Zatopek. Riding the wave of success, Karhu sells its three stripes trademark to a now well-known athletic shoe company that still uses it to this day.Karhu officially registers its famous M-logo—the only trademark used in running shoes—meant to represent “Mestari”, the Finnish word for “champion”. Various designs of the M-logo adorn Karhu shoes over the years and are still in use today.