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THE STORY OF THE YOUPI IS ALSO THAT OF THE BRAND
I decided on the spur of the moment to drop everything and leave for California, landing in Los Angeles in the middle of spring. I went to a car dealer. I didn't want a vulgar modern car. So, for the price of a rental, I bought a red Ford Mustang convertible with a white leather interior. And off I went.
On a dark desert highway
Cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas
Rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance
I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
And that's when I discovered the famous Hotel California.
I had a margarita and lay down in a hammock to think about what I was going to do with my life. Continue to work for a company that didn't give a damn about my creativity, or break free. My first thought was to do something completely different. A croupier in Vegas, a teacher at the French high school, I even thought about applying for a job as a waitress at the Hotel California. What I wanted was to get out, change my life, wipe the slate clean. And it was as the night wore on, after a few margaritas and a chat with the hotel porter, that I realised the obvious: I couldn't run away from my destiny. If I wanted to feel good about myself, I had to continue making shoes, but only for myself. By creating my own brand, I could finally achieve my goals.
I had to travel to the ends of the earth for it to appear so logical and clear.
And if Archimedes shouted Eureka when he discovered the principle of buoyancy, I shouted YOUPI when I realised what my future would be made of. A brand of shoes, mine, and to simplify things, I'll call it by my own name. So there's no confusion.
So that's the story and the genesis of the brand. And as Ray Bradbury said: "Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down".
This short story was well worth the invention of a low-boot, adorned with a sun on its heel and an exceptional promotional code, like a comet, called YOUKA (a mash-up of Eureka and Youpi).