SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the first time ever, a shoe has been designed exclusively for the comfort and protection of nurses. New footwear brand, Gales, has created the first line of Smart PPE Footwear® for healthcare workers with innovative antimicrobial, waterproof, slip-resistant shoes. Founded by luxury shoemaker Rob Gregg, Gales offers the highest level of affordability, safety, cleanability, comfort and style in its class.
Named after the founder of modern nursing Florence Nightingale, Gales was inspired by a personal experience of Gregg’s during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“At the beginning of the pandemic, a family member fell ill with COVID-19 and was rushed to the hospital where his condition worsened,” explains Gregg. “Due to the incredible care provided by medical staff he recovered from critical condition in five days. I was so grateful to the staff and every healthcare worker that I looked for a way to give back. There are 20.7 million nurses worldwide, yet I learned there was not a single provider of protective PPE footwear—we put so much emphasis on masks, gloves and scrubs, but what about the feet?”
With more than half a decade of footwear design and manufacturing expertise, Gregg shifted his full-time focus toward the pursuit of building better, safer, more affordable protection for healthcare workers. The initial sketches for Gales were drawn in May 2020 and in August 2021 the first shoes will be delivered.
Gales crowd sourced developed its footwear directly with a community of healthcare professionals across 89 medical facilities to create an exact product market fit with antimicrobial, easy to clean, comfortable, stylish, slip-resistant and affordable footwear. As part of its development, Gales surveyed nurses and found that more than half (52 percent) of surveyed nurses said they are very or somewhat concerned about exposure to infection in their work environment and more than half (54 percent) expressed the same concern about bringing disease home to their families or housemates.
“The number one issue in infection control is footwear,” says Rebecca Love, Director of Nurse Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the US and Gales Advisor. “As nurses, we come into contact with all sorts of patients’ fluids and those can leak on our exposed shoes, as well as track home with us. I am proud to partner with Gales and introduce this game changing shoe. Protective footwear in healthcare is long overdue.”
Gales are available for pre-order now, for $89.95, with anticipated ship date in August 2021. Gales are made for comfort and safety with Ortholite® insoles, slip-resistant technology and an antimicrobial barrier that come in half sizes and multiple colors. Gales’ design removes all unnecessary crevices, laces and materials that typically attract dirt and fluids, making its shoes easy to clean and dry almost instantly. The OrthoLite® insoles are also removable and machine washable, coming out like new every time while maintaining all of their performance benefits after washing. For more information, please visit www.weargales.com.
About Gales
Founded in 2020, Gales, named after Florence Nightingale, is a California-based footwear company dedicated to the nurses and other healthcare professionals on the frontline. Developed alongside healthcare professionals, Gales is leading the bio-safe industry with specialized Smart PPE Footwear® that is designed to be affordable, cleanable and anti-microbial while maintaining comfort and style. To learn more, visit https://www.weargales.com/pages/who-we-are or follow @weargales on social media.
About Rob Gregg
Entrepreneur Rob Gregg is founder and CEO of Gales, Inc. Rob is a Forbes The Next 1,000 2021, Forbes Under 30 Fellow and GQ Insider who has generated $5 billion in customer acquisition revenue for hyper-growth direct-to-consumer companies and lead customer acquisition businesses to achieve the Inc 500 and Crain’s Fast 50 Fastest Growing Companies lists in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Rob founded luxury men’s footwear company Rob McAllan in 2014. In 2021, Rob joined the Advisory Council of the National League for Nursing Foundation for Nursing Education.
