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In it for the Kicks - In it for the Kicks |
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Written by Erin Frustaci
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Wednesday, 26 July 2006 |
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Page 1 of 5 
SOMEWHERE between the durable-but-dirty rubber and the tightly woven laces is a sole. The worn leather reminds him of his journey. Those soles carried him from coast to coast, finally kicking him to Fort Collins.
If someone were to travel a mile in Chris Weichert’s shoes they would trek through tribulation, stagger through drunkenness and emerge on top. They would be
stronger and passionate. They would be the owner of Unsoled.
“I’ve always been really passionate about sneakers,” Weichert said.
The 34-year-old tattoo-sporting skater opened Unsoled, a sneaker boutique at 105 E. Laurel St. in Fort Collins, last December.
 “I was not even here two days and I was meeting with people at the downtown business administration, thinking to myself, if only they knew me in my past life, they would not want anything to do with me right now,” he said.
Weichert grew up in Baltimore where he was heavily influenced by hip hop and break dancing. He was adopted at a young age. His biological mother had him when she was 17 and into drugs and alcohol.
“My biological father apparently was psychotic and the only thing I know about him is he was in jail,” he said “He could walk by here today and I would never know.”
Not knowing what he wanted to do with his life, Weichert headed out to San Diego to work in the skateboarding industry.
“I was pretty misdirected,” he said.
For the first year and a half, he was homeless.
“I just floated around partying way to much,” he said. “I bounced around and stayed wherever. I lived in a hotel for a little while.”
 He skipped from one job to the next, not staying long enough to leave his footprint.
“I’ve never been completely happy working for other people, which if I had a resume, would show because it would be as thick as a book,” Weichert said. “There were jobs I had for a day.”
His first job in San Diego was at Rite Aid. At the end of the day, he asked himself what he was doing there.
“I did not move to California to stock shelves,” he said.
And that was the end of that job. As he sank deeper into alcohol and drugs, his family had no idea what was going on.
“I was just all over the place; I was a big mess,” he said. “I was depressed. I was suicidal. Basically alcohol had made me feel really cool. Alcohol was but a symptom. I tell people, I wouldn’t want anything to do with me six years ago.”
Luckily, spiritual experience jolted Weichert into sobriety. He has been sober since December 2000.
“I’m definitely a miracle,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of people die. It’s very unfortunate.”
He was living in a rundown shack on the beach when he met his future wife. Dianne, 29, was working in a marketing office and student teaching when she met Weichert. The two hit it off right away. Weichert credits much of his success to Dianne.
“I had a girlfriend who believed in me and saw in me what I couldn’t see myself,” he said.
It was obvious to Dianne that Weichert had goals.
“They weren’t really specific, but he wasn’t like, ‘Hey, I’m going to hang out by the beach and party like a rock-star for the rest of my life,’ ” she said. “He had desire. He was trying lot of different things to find success. It was a matter of finding his way to it.”
Looking to start a new life, the couple decided to move to Colorado. Dianne had a brother in Fort Collins who said they would love it here.
Meanwhile, Weichert realized his dream. He knew he wanted to open his own shoe boutique.
“I had talked about this business and came up with the name about a year and a half ago,” he said. “I talked about it so much, it almost existed, but it wasn’t there.”
He signed the lease for the store Oct. 3 and opened the doors exactly two months later.
Unsoled, with a very East and West Coast feel, carries sneaker lines exclusive to northern Colorado such as Vans Vault, Nike Quickstrike, DC Artist Projects and Creative Recreations. So far, business is OK, but the nature of the retail world is a roller coaster ride.
As “Beat It” plays in the background at the store, Weichert talks about his new life.
“We live in suburbia,” he laughs. “It’s pretty weird. Within the short period of time we have been here, our whole lives have been flipped upside down and inside out. We have new friends, a new business, a new home in a new state and a new baby on the way. Everything that could be new is.”
Except his love of the sneaker culture.
Mike Shaffer, 27, of Fort Collins, said Weichert loves sneakers more than anyone else he knows. Shaffer is a close friend of Weichert’s.
“I think he is providing an outlet Fort Collins didn’t previously have for sneakerheads,” Shaffer said.
Dianne says her husband is “really freakin’ passionate” about shoes and sees them as an art form.
While he has leaped several hurdles thus far, Dianne said they are currently in the middle of their biggest challenge with maintaining everything that is new.
“Yes, he’s reached the goal of opening the business, but now there are new goals,” she said. “It’s one foot after another.”
And in his stylish kicks, Weichert is determines to make large strides in bringing a sneaker culture to northern Colorado.
“At some point, everyone has bought a pair of shoes that has made them feel different about themselves. And to me, there is no better feeling in the world than a new pair of socks and a new pair of shoes. You just can’t beat that,” he said. “I just love sneakers and I hope a lot of people in Fort Collins love sneakers like I do, because I don’t have a back-up plan.”
 Listen to an Interviews with Chris Weichert, owner of Unsoled
- Culture shock
- Opening shop
- What's in a name
For more about Unsoled, go online to: www.unsoled.com
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
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|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
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|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
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| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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