Sneakers are a $100 billion business and a global obsession that started in the pages of a catalog called Eastbay.This is a startup story unlike most you've read, but as instructive and inspiring as any of the rest. It's the story of two entrepreneurs with $4,000 worth of track shoes stuffed into an AMC Gremlin who eventually launched a mail-order catalog, Eastbay, that became a bible and a cultural icon to Gen X and Millennial kids. The catalog t...

Unable to contain himself, Rick pitched Art: move back to Wausau and start a business selling shoes. Art said, "What are you, an idiot? Selling shoes**? How is this even worth trying?"**This is the story of Eastbay, a startup tale unlike most you've heard. First it was $5,000 worth of track sneakers sold out of the back of an AMC Gremlin. Then it was a quiet storefront in Wausau, Wisconsin. Then it became a catalog, a bible to GenX kids gr...