”’Frampton Ellis”’ is a footwear designer, inventor, investigative researcher, and author known for pioneering barefoot-inspired sole technology and its significant influence in the athletic footwear industry. He invented the barefoot sole-based technology licensed by Adidas in its Feet You Wear line of footwear, worn by Kobe Bryant and Steffi Graf, which was widely copied in the footwear industry. He also invented the basic technology (”US Patent No. 6,115,945 issued 9/12/2000)” used in Nike’s Free line of footwear, also barefoot sole-based and widely copied.
”’Frampton Ellis”’ is a footwear designer, inventor, investigative researcher, and author known for pioneering barefoot-inspired sole technology and its significant influence in the athletic footwear industry. He invented the barefoot sole-based technology licensed by Adidas in its Feet You Wear line of footwear, worn by Kobe Bryant and Steffi Graf, which was widely copied in the footwear industry. He also invented the basic technology (”US Patent No. 6,115,945 issued 9/12/2000)” used in Nike’s Free line of footwear, also barefoot sole-based and widely copied.
== ”’Early Research and Innovation”’ ==
== ”’Early Research and Innovation”’ ==
Frampton Ellis is a footwear designer, inventor, investigative researcher, and author known for pioneering barefoot-inspired sole technology and its significant influence in the athletic footwear industry. He invented the barefoot sole-based technology[1] licensed by Adidas in its Feet You Wear line of footwear, worn by Kobe Bryant and Steffi Graf, which was widely copied in the footwear industry. He also invented the basic technology (US Patent No. 6,115,945 issued 9/12/2000) used in Nike’s Free line of footwear, also barefoot sole-based and widely copied.
Early Research and Innovation
In 1988, Frampton Ellis began pioneering research into footwear sole design based on the natural structure and biomechanical function of the barefoot. He discovered that conventional shoe soles fail to provide proper lateral stability, leading to the most common medically treated injury, ankle sprains.
His innovative barefoot-like sole design emphasized four key structural elements: greater width, a rounded shape, enhanced flexibility, and frontal plane uniform thickness. That structure ensures the foot remains stable even when tilted laterally into the typical ankle spraining position in which conventional shoes are extremely unstable.
Patents and Technological Reach
Ellis holds over two hundred U.S. utility and design patents[2] across various tech domains, with a prominent focus on footwear soles. He patented an Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven cloud computer system that connects sensor-equipped footwear[3][4] to users’ smartphones for biomechanical data analysis for active footwear sole configuration.
At the end of 1994, Ellis struck an exclusive patent licensing agreement with Adidas[5] to integrate his barefoot sole technology into its core lineup. Adidas branded it as Feet You Wear (FYW), and it went on to shape a wide range of footwear models between 1996 and 2001, including shoes worn by icons like Kobe Bryant and Steffi Graf[6].
It was used on basketball, running, training, and tennis shoes, with one report stating that adidas had plans to use the technology on up to 90% of its footwear. Worn by tennis superstar Steffi Graf (now in the International Tennis Hall of Fame)[7], in her ’96 US Open win, Kobe Bryant in the first years of his NBA career and Keyshawn Johnson when he was a New York Jet, Feet You Wear was everywhere. Ultimately, a licensing dispute led to litigation, which was resolved by a settlement in 2003 that terminated the patent license.
GQ chronicled[8] the revolution of FYW soles, noting how Ellis advocated for wider, rounded edges to reduce roll-over injuries.
The Kobe Bryant “Feet You Wear” era with Adidas
Kobe Bryant’s “Feet You Wear”[9] era with Adidas occurred in the late 1990s, beginning with his rookie season, when he was closely associated with Adidas’ innovative “Feet You Wear” technology and later received his own signature models like the KB8 (now Crazy 8), the KB8 II (Crazy II), and the KB8 III. This era ended in 2002 when Bryant bought out his Adidas contract before signing with Nike
Key Features of the FYW Technology
The “Feet You Wear” technology in basketball shoes was characterized by a shoe sole structure and function based on the barefoot sole. The goal was to provide better lateral stability like the barefoot to prevent ankle sprains and other serious injuries
Writings and Research
Ellis has written two books on the serious injuries caused by footwear and potential means for the industry to prevent them using open technologies.
The first book, UNNATURAL STABILITY, focuses on the long-hidden instability defect of conventional footwear soles that causes ankle sprains and breaks. That is in sharp contrast to the previously unknown natural stability of the human foot and ankle joint.
The second book is titled UNNATURAL DEFORMITY and investigates another longhidden effect of modern shoes: the effect of elevated heels on the foot’s subtalar joint (located between the ankle and heel bones). The effect is to tilt and twist outward the ankle bone, the resulting misalignment adversely affects the body above.
- ^ US6115941A, III, Frampton E. Ellis, “Shoe with naturally contoured sole”, issued 2000-09-12
- ^ “Frampton E. Ellis, III Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications – Justia Patents Search”. patents.justia.com. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- ^ “U.S. Patent for Cloud-based computer system connected to users with smartphones connected to footwear soles and to body sensors, configured to diagnose conditions requiring preventive, corrective or rehabilitative care Patent (Patent # 12,225,966 issued February 18, 2025) – Justia Patents Search”. patents.justia.com. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
- ^ PatentYogi (2015-06-01). Smart Shoe – Finally humanity invents the shoe that it deserves. Retrieved 2025-09-11 – via YouTube.
- ^ Schlemmer, Zack (2016-06-16). “Flashback to ’96: The Birth of adidas Feet You Wear Technology”. Sneaker News. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
- ^ “Remembering adidas’ Feet You Wear Technology”. Edition | THE ICONIC. 2019-09-27. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
- ^ “International Tennis Hall of Fame”. www.tennisfame.com. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
- ^ Woolf, Jake (2018-01-17). “Adidas’s Boost You Wear Sneakers Are a Throwback with 2018 Tech”. GQ. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
- ^ “History of Kobe Bryant’s Signature Sneakers”. SI. 2018-08-27. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
