Hailing from Fremantle, Western Australia, Robert Schuster was an impressionable 16 year old when in 1956, he joined the merchant navy to see the world. He visited many happening ports far and wide, but it wasn’t until he landed in Long Beach, California, that young Bob’s chords went twang, so to speak. Bob was immediately struck by the vibrancy of the emerging 50’s pop culture - black and white t
elevision, Coca-Cola, flashing neon signs and the airwaves alive with the music of the greats - Billie, Elvis, Chuck, Roy, Aretha... music that would become the soundtrack of his life. During an extended shore leave, Bob took a room above a mom and pop shoe store by the beach, and soon found himself helping out during busy times. It was here that young Bob learned the Art of the Shoe. In 1964, Bob returned to Fremantle, married his childhood sweetheart Betty and was so taken by his Californian experience that he opened the first Bob's Shoe Store. Combining everything Bob had come to love during his formative years in the USA - shoes, music and pop culture, the store offered a unique shopping experience and hit a chord with the locals. More stores followed over the years, and the rest, as they say, is history! Age has not dulled Bob’s wanderlust spirit, and he can still be found criss-crossing the globe in search of styles that continue to knock your socks off.
