On Saturday, July 14, Charles Cole III—an innovator, expert rock climber, and the founder of climbing shoe company Five Ten—died at his home in Redlands, California. The cause of death is currently unknown. Cole was 63.
After hitting the market, Stealth Rubber became known as the stickiest in the world and would end up being used by NASA and the U.S. military. Cole eventually held ten patents; he would go on to create the first climbing shoes with Velcro straps, the first pull-on-tab shoes, and the first downturned climbing shoe.
Read more about Cole’s life and his influential work here.
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