Saturday, May 01, 2021

Here We Go Again - I Hate Crocs Dot Com on CBC Radio's Day 6


 

It is happening again.

Crocs have returned from the dead, and with them comes renewed interest in I Hate Crocs Dot Com, this ancient website.

I (Vincenzo) was recently interviewed for CBC's Radio's Day 6 about Crocs. Take a listen over here.

I thought about updating this generic Blogger template here on the old I Hate Crocs Dot Com, but ultimately decided against it. This website should exist unchanged, as it has existed for over a decade. It will stand as a monument to the internet as it used to be, before social media took over everything. Enjoy the archives of hatemail and videos of Crocs destruction. 

This website was started by me, Vincenzo Ravina, and Kate Leth way back in 2006. The first time I saw Crocs, I was in high school. My friend Matt and I saw a guy wearing them and turned to each other in surprise. What strange, ugly shoes. We both remarked on them. Who would want to wear those? We moved on with our lives. And then they began to spread. More and more people started wearing them. And one day, my friend Matt, the same friend who had remarked on their ugliness, he got a pair too. It was beginning to feel like a zombie movie. Kate was the only other person I knew who felt the same way. I bought the domain, she jumped aboard and we were off. She designed our first website, which was much cooler-looking than the website is now. Our intention was always comedic hyperbolic hatred of bad-looking shoes. We blew up Crocs with fireworks, cut them up, blended them, and we sold IHATECROCS t-shirts. We got a lot of traffic and did a lot of interviews with a variety of outlets. Time passed. We lost interest and most of the world lost interest in Crocs. Crocs nearly went bankrupt. IHATECROCS.com became an archive.

What am I doing these days? Thanks for asking. Well, I've been writing, and performing magic. I performed on the CW's hit show, Penn & Teller: Fool Us. I also wrote a short story collection called Peril & Exploit and Other Mysterious Tales. You can read the first story in the collection for free right here.

Keep in touch on the various social platforms or my website. I'm SavourTheSea on Instagram and Twitter.

Regarding Crocs, I still dislike the look of them, though I scarcely think about them anymore. It continues to be surprising to me that Crocs are making a comeback. And as I say in the Day 6 interview, I think this is the first time Crocs are becoming fashionable. They're expensive and being worn by celebrities. It's a fascinating and unexpected swerve. 

Anyway, I hope you're well. Before you write me a hatemail, let me just preempt some of the usual stuff:

1. I hate you. I have to wear Crocs because of my foot condition.

I wish you good health and happiness. I have no quarrel with you. I just don't like the way the shoe looks. My father also wears Crocs. The tagline at the top of the site is hyperbole. I don't truly wish to eliminate you.

2. I hate you. Why would you spend your time on such a stupid opinion?

I wish you good health and happiness. I started this website with Kate Leth when we were in high school because we hated Crocs and we thought it would be funny. We spent very little time on it then and I have spent fewer than ten minutes on it in the entire past decade.

3. I hate you. For some other reason.

May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you live your life with ease.

If you'd like to get in touch for any other reason, please do. I'd be glad to hear from you.