CEO John Gagliardi told FN that a key component of its business model is to get close to its athletes and find out what they need in .
Those discussions led to the latest and third recovery shoe in the Revive lineup. The new one is Revive OB, the brand’s first open-back recovery shoe. It retails for $78 in four colorways — bone, stone, black and neon yellow — in range of adult sizes for both men and women.
“We listen to our athletes. I go to NFL locker rooms. They want something to slide into after practice for shorter distances,” Gagliardi said. “We heard the same thing in the hockey world and [in] basketball [and] so we said, why don’t we go to work and make them a better slip-on shoe that covers their toes and still got the same attributes [as our regular shoe].”
The new open-back has some tweaks, such as more prominently raised footbed nodes to activate blood flow and pressure points and a semi-heel capture at the back of the shoe. It also features Revive’s dual-density EVA construction for cushioning and support, as well as exterior perforations to allow for airflow.
“We often take for granted recovery for the foot. Kane looks to address that need in a variety of ways,” Kane footwear advisor and NFL strength and conditioning coach Joe Distor said. He added that the Revive OB will make it even easier to prioritize recovery in transitional moments that often get overlooked, such as in and out of the cold plunge and sauna or the moments before putting on cleats.
Dr. Daniel Geller, a sports podiatrist and foot and ankle surgeon as well as Kane’s chief medical officer who helped create Revive, said that improper footwear is a top reason why athletes and runners get injured, and that complex injuries can result due to lack of support, cushioning and protection. In addition, “knee discomfort due to the mechanical strain that migrates up the leg” is also a possibility.
In designing Kane’s recovery footwear, he said the one goal in mind was “helping the foot and lower leg decompress and realign after activity.” While regular shoes are built for performance, protection, or style, recovery footwear should actively support the foot’s structures while reducing the load on fatigued tissues, Dr. Geller explained.
“We utilize a stable 9 millimeter heel cup height, which helps cradle the heel and guide the foot back toward neutral alignment after long runs, training sessions, or simply long days on your feet. That subtle stability can make a big difference in reducing stress on the plantar fascia, Achilles tendon, and small intrinsic muscles of the foot that often get overworked during activity,” the podiatrist said of Kane’s shoe design.
The doctor also said the bio-based Restore Foam that Kane uses is designed to support the natural mechanics of the foot, and absorbs impact, which is beneficial for recovery, while still “encouraging subtle muscle engagement and circulation.”
Kane last May brought on Mark Tanuzzi as its new chief marketing officer to grow the firm’s direct-to-consumer revenue, with the goal of getting more of its Revive footwear in the hands of elite athletes from the NFL, NB, MLB, NHL and NCAA and more.
Gagliardi said that has been going well, and the firm brought on another team member recently just to focus on partnerships. Kane’s first shoe with an NHL team — the Florida Panthers, which won the last two Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025 — is due out in two weeks. Kane also did an NBA shoe that was launched in Los Angeles at the NBA All-star Game two weeks ago.
And while there are teams that work with college athletes, there’s also a team that work with the wellness community focusing on the everyday runner that isn’t a marathon runner but still goes out for that three-mile run. Gagliardi said the teams are at running events every weekend, from the big city marathons to different running and fitness events on the weekends throughout the year.
The consumer base is skewed 60/40 towards the male athlete, although Gagliardi said he’s seeing more women athletes starting to wear Kane now too.
The company last November signed Yeti Boo as its first “AI athlete,” another move to raise awareness for the brand. The brand is distributed across 600-plus retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods and over 250 independent retailers.
Kane said it has seen triple-digit year-over-year growth since it launched in 2021, with 200,00-plus new customers in 2025, as well as 100 percent-plus growth in both customers and employee headcount over the past year.
The $18 billion recovery footwear market is expected to hit $28.9 billion by 2023, Kane said. And given the continued focus on wellness, the recovery footwear market is garnering attention from others entering the fray. Earlier this year, footwear tech firm Syntilay created its PulsePodz slide featuring proprietary 3D-printed lattice underfoot pods for air-based cushioning.
A look at the Kane NBA shoe launched at the NBA’s 75th All-star game on Feb. 15, 2026. CREDIT: Kane Footwear
