Hi-Tec Sports is founded by Frank van Wezel
in the appropriately named village of Shoeburyness, England. Frank’s love for sports leads him to build an innovative, lightweight and instantly comfortable Squash shoe.

Hi-Tec is established in the USA
with the introduction of the world’s first lightweight hiking boot, the Sierra Sneaker, a sport shoe for the mountains.

The silver Shadow is launched to conquer the running category and in this year 23% of the runners in the London Marathon wore it.

In the first season of England’s world famous Premiership Football competition, Hi-Tec’s dominant position in sport was confirmed with the best-selling Kings Cup boots featured on 52 Premiership players.

Hi-Tec becomes the Official Shoe of the Wimbledon Tennis Championship.

Combining its roots of sport and outdoor, Hi-Tec introduces a revolutionary new multi-activity event in USA, The Adventure Racing Series.

the MAGNUM brand is born following a direct demand from the FBI to Hi-Tec for lightweight, athletic, and comfortable uniform boots.

Hi-Tec was floated on the London Stock Exchange
and became a public company.

The Altitude IV becomes the number 1 hiking boot in the US.

Mountaineer Adrian Crane climbs the 50 highest peaks in each of the 5o states in the USA in a record time of 101 days.

Frank privatizes
the company.

Golfer Padraig Harrington wins 3 major Championships wearing Hi-Tec’s technologically advanced CDT Golf shoe, the world’s first game improvement performance golf shoe.

Hi-Tec is the first to launch the revolutionary ion-mask™, a water repellent nanotechnology, in footwear.

Hi-Tec releases the liquid mountaineering video which becomes viral with over 15 million views and wins the 2011 Cannes Lions award at the Creativity Awards in France.

Ed van Wezel, son of Frank, becomes CEO and the Global Headquarters is moved to the Netherlands, the country of origin of the van Wezel family

Hi-Tec wins Footwear Product of the year at the Great Outdoors Awards with the introduction of the popular ‘Zuuk’, an incredibly lightweight multisport shoe.

Premium Sneaker line
HTS74 is launched.

Hi-Tec is the first outdoor footwear brand to partner with world-famous tyre brand, Michelin. The outcome? A high performance technical outsole providing superior traction.

LIVE EXTRAORDINARY
An active athleisure collection is launched in HI-TEC SA.

Nelson Mandela’s original Hi-Tec Tennis Shoes return to South Africa from Amsterdam and now displayed at Hi-Tec Stellenbosch.

To celebrate its 40th anniversary
Hi-Tec debuts the Classic74, inspired by the design of the company’s original Squash Classic.

Hi-Tec becomes the official sponsor of “The Walk of the World” also known as “De 4 Daagse”, the world’s largest multi-day walking event attracting 45,000 walkers, walking 200km around Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

Hi-Tec sponsored athlete and three-time World Squash Champion, Nick Matthews is officially awarded his Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne.

The proud and hungry Hi-Tec SA family inspired to push new boundaries & get the world outside.

Hi-Tec launches one of the most iconic campaigns in the brand’s history.

“The purpose of freedom is to create it for others.”
These words belong to South Africa’s late president, Nelson Mandela, and in July 2021 Hi-Tec paid tribute to Madiba’s legacy by re-releasing hs famous Wimbledon Sneaker, housed at the Stellenbosch Concept Store. The brand;s ambitious walk is one that raised significant funds for the children of South-Africa.