onitsuka

Kihachiro Onitsuka was a Japanese soldier who after WWII decided that sports would be good for Japanese youth. He therefore learned how to make shoes circa 1949. He then founded Onitsuka Co Ltd. In 1958 he bought the "Tiger" brand. In 1972 they merged with another company called Jelenk and then they decided they needed a new name. So,they found an old latin phrase that said, "Anima Sana In Corpore Sano"; which means, "A soundmind in a sound body". By taking the first letters of each word in the latin phrase you get ASICS, which is the name of the shoe brand.

Now a days Onitsuka's are used alot by the "scene" or "scenester" subcultures, specifically those consisting of indie and hipster styles.