The workout gear is very important to get the best possible results. Athletic shoes are one of the most important things among these essentials.

The comfort level and weight of the shoes determine how well you will perform. This idea led to the setting up of Forus Athletics Shoes.

The two entrepreneurs, Joel Vinocur and Arsene Millogo created running shoes to bring a revolution in the fitness and athletic market.

Forus Athletics Shoes launched running shoes that are lightweight, flexible and comfortable. The primary aim behind this was to fix the muscles and joints pain by offering stress absorption and stabilization.

Joel and Arsene came up on Shark Tank in 2015 to represent their business. They were intending to get an investment of $200,000. For this, they were ready to give up a 15% stake in the business.

But now the question is did the sharks accept that to make a deal with them? In this article, we are going to discuss what occurred to Forus Shoes on Shark Tank along with the Forus Shoes Shark Tank update. 

So, if you want to know more about Forus shoes read this article till the end.

A Short Overview Of Forus Athletics Shoes

Forus Athletic Shoes was a firm that was popular for providing shock-absorbing lightweight running shoes. These shores were launched to provide excellent comfort and flexibility at the time of workout and athletic-related activities.

The primary aim behind this was to reduce joint and muscle joint pain. Their weight was not more than 10 ounces which made them feel like they were wearing socks.

Also read: What Happened To The Max Pro After Shark Tank?

How Does Forus Athletics Shoes Work?

The Forus Athletics Shoes comes up with a PolstarMax 6 insole that is capable of absorbing shocks and curing joint and muscle stiffness. You may easily remove the insole and securely fit the entire athlete’s feet.

This characteristic provides comfort, security, flexibility, and guaranteed outstanding performance. That is why it is a remarkable substitute for the heavy and bulk athletic shoes available in the market.

Who Is The Person Behind The Foundation Of Forus Athletics Shoes?

Joel Vinocur and Arsene Millogo were the persons behind the foundation of Forus Athletics Shoes.

Arsene Millogo is a lawyer who hails from West Africa. He shifted to the USA when his father passed away due to a war in his country. While he was in the US he received a scholarship to join the law school.

Joel completed a bachelor’s in business administration from Robert Morris College. He also received an entrepreneurship degree from the Harvard Business School.

Arsene came up with the idea of creating Forus from his experience in the athletic track. He found that every time they got to the running track they were provided poor-quality shoes and they did not last long.

That is why he made up his mind to change the norm by making a new kind of athletic school. While still in law school, he had an opportunity to go to China.

The trip enabled him to meet people who supported him in developing the idea. In 2010, he joined hands with Joel and established Forus Athletic Schools.

Now, Arsene serves as a Senior Manager of Channel Sales at Proof Point, a job he got after the downfall of Forus Shoes. Joel is now serving as a sales manager at Oracle.

Also Read: What Happened To The Fizzics Beer After Shark Tank

What Is The History Behind Forus Shoes?

On Shark Tank, one of the sharks named Lori asked about the histories of the men. Arsene shared that he originally hailed from West Africa.

Due to the outbreak of war in his country, he was compelled to escape to the United States and finally, he settled in the United States.

He also said that his father passed away due to the war. Arsene received a track and field scholarship to attend law school in the United States.

Still, he had to tolerate years of training in subpar equipment. The shoe was worn down to almost nothing in a few weeks.

However, Arsene was able to connect with influential Chinese business people and legal minds when he went on a school-sponsored trip to China.

Everything you find with the Forus brand name on it is developed in China.

Also read: What Happened To The FunBites After Shark Tank

What Occurred To Forus Athletics Shoes Business before Shark Tank? 

The entrepreneur, Joel and Arsene had the objective of changing the athletic activities and workout experience by bringing a revolution in the athletic shoes market. They had found that the current running shoes available in the market were too heavy and not durable.

Moreover, most of the athletes suffer from common issues like joint pains and muscle stiffness. Arsene had a firsthand experience of these challenges.

He joined hands with Joel and set up Forus Athletics Shoes Company which launched running shoes. The primary features of the running shoes were that they were lightweight, flexible, and comfortable. Not only that, the shoes were also capable of absorbing shocks.

Forus shoes were a modification that people who love walking, jogging, and working out would want to own. The unique characteristic of these shoes was their ability to curb the amount of air they would allow in by a small exposure to light. The shoes gained a huge popularity on social media.

Joel and Arsene proceeded to produce the shoes. Nevertheless, they needed additional funds to get it to mass production. That is why they made up their minds to reach out to Shark Tank.

Finally, they got an invitation to represent Forus Athletic Shoes on Shark Tank episode 629 in 2015.

Also Read: What Happened To FlunkkOFF After Shark Tank

What Occurred To Forus Athletics Shoes During Shark Tank Pitch? 

Arsene and Joel came up on Shark Tank episode 24 Season 6 intending to get an investment of $200,000. For this, they were ready to give up a 15% stake in their business, Forus Athletics Shoes. 

They represented their idea in front of the sharks and the sharks were eager to listen to them.

Arsene started the pitch sharing the experience that led him to create Forus shoes. He also shared his journey of coming to America after a war in his country.

He described how he completed his schooling by obtaining a scholarship to join a law school. He also talked about his experience on the running track while he was in college.

He said that the challenge of heavy running shoes and sustained joint and muscle stiffness put his mind on a race and gave inception to Forus Athletic Shoes.

The partners distributed samples of the shoes among the Sharks. They appealed to them to try it out and walk around. Robert noted that the shoes felt more spring than other running shoes. Arsene answered with a description of why this was the case.

He explained that the shoes had a gel padding on the bottom of the sole. The middle part was made up of memory foam while it featured a series of engraved inserts at the bottom enabling it to deal with pressure. The memory foam adjusted to the user’s foot made it fit better.

The entrepreneurs then shared the financial aspects of their business when Daymond John wanted to know about the economics of their company.

They said that it required $11 to manufacture each pair of shoes. The whole price of the same thing was $35 on online channels. The sellers could sell it at a price between $75 and $80 as per their country.

Kevin said that the shows were indeed amazing. Nevertheless, he was worried about how the company would make a breakthrough in a market with billion-dollar players offering different running shoes.

In reply to the query, the entrepreneurs said that they had managed to generate $500,000 in sales in the last six months and in this way, they grabbed the attention of the sharks.

They also stated that they were expecting to generate $2.5 million in revenue in 2016. Arsene kept on sharing that they were now experiencing low sales because of a miscalculation of the launching time.

They introduced Forus at the end of summer in place of spring which was a great blunder.

Lori Grenier thought that there were a lot of players in the market. She was unable to understand how Forus could make a breakthrough. That is why she decided to drop herself out of the deal.

Kevin followed the directions. He was also unable to understand how a distributor or vendor could pull off shoe companies like Nike and Adidas and replace them with Forus. He was not willing to be a part of the competitive journey. That is why he too left the deal.

Daymond John cited that the gentlemen were concentrating on the differentiation of their product. They would have a lot of new lines and collections. Such an undertaking needed a huge investment.

While he had some wish to invest in Forus, Daymond John changed his mind upon this realization. He also dropped out of the deal.

Robert Herjavec was eager to make an offer. However, he did not have proper knowledge of inventory control and systems required to fast-track Forus Athletic product sales.

He asked Daymond John to become his partner in the deal. Daymond was not willing to change his decision despite persistent predictions.

That is why, Robert Herjavec had no other option than to drop out from the deal.

Also Read: What Happened to Rethink App After Shark Tank

What Was The Closing Deal Of Forus Athletics Shoes in Shark Tank?

None of the sharks was ready to make a deal with the two entrepreneurs. That is why Forus Athletics had to leave the Shark Tank stage without a deal.

What Occurred To Forus Athletics Shoes After Shark Tank? 

Forus Athletics Shoes was unable to secure a deal from the Sharks when it appeared on Shark Tank. This was the beginning of the downfall of the company.

It faced a huge number of custom challenges that led to increased customer issues and unfulfilled shipments.

They made a mistake by continuing to take orders when they could not fulfil them. They even took away money from the credit cards of the clients without confirming when the product would be delivered.

Due to their action, the clients were compelled to report it to the Better Business Bureau. For this reason, they got a high rate of poor customer ratings and reviews.

The Better Business Bureau listed Forus Athletics on the fraud alert page. Although the Better Business Bureau tried to request the company to refund the customers their money it went under without giving any refund.

Also read: What Happened to Charli Chair After Shark Tank

Are Forus Athletics Shoes Still In Business?

Forus Athletics Shoes is not active in business any more. The company had ceased all its business operations permanently in October 2015.

The proprietors of the company, Joel Vinocur and Arsene Millogo went their separate ways.

Joel Vinocur joined Oracle as a sales manager. On the other hand, Arsene Millogo started to work as a Senior Manager of Channel Sales at Proof Point.

Was Forus Athletics Able To Secure A Deal On Shark Tank?

The founders of Forus represented their products on Shark Tank in 201% intending to get an investment of $200,000 in exchange for a 15% stake in the business. It was the 629th episode when they came up on Shark Tank.

Robert Herjavec wanted to invest in the business by teaming up with Daymond John. But Daymond John was not ready to join him. So, Rubert did not invest in the company.

Lori was worried about whether she would be able to recover her money in this timely fashion. So, she also refused to make an offer.

According to Mark and Daymond, Forus was trying to gain an endorsement through odd ways when the founders said that they were expecting to work into a partnership with NASCAR for endorsement. Hence Mark also dropped out. Hence, Forus Athletics had to leave the show bare-handed.

Also Read: What Happened To Liberate After Shark Tank

What Is The Net Worth Of Forus Shoes?

You have to send $11 to $13 to manufacture one pair of Forus Athletics shoes. The wholesale price of the product ranged from $35 to $50 based on where in the country you lived.

Forus Athletic Shoes had a few distributors and independent sales agents in Taiwan, the Netherlands, and Africa.

The efforts of the company were centred on gorillas in advertising and online sales. The clients gave a positive response about the product.

After just six months in business, CEO Arsene told viewers of the Shark Tank broadcast that the company had already generated  $500,000 in sales. The analysis implied that annual sales of $2.50,000,000 were expected.

Also Read: Arturo Elias Ayub Networth Shark Tank Mexico

Final Opinion

The Forus Athletics show line received an incredible boost in publicity as soon as the Forus Shark Tank leisure was aired. Before appearing on the show everything was going well. But soon after the show, the company’s downfall began. Finally, it went out of business.

FAQs