1. MA
the Story
It's a pretty cool story...if you're interested?
Ok, so here it goes. Todd grew up in Boston and was a business guy. He
opened a tuxedo
rental place...not cool, then a dry cleaner...cool if you need your clothes
dry cleaned,
I guess? Then he got hungry and opened a pasta joint...lots of carbs for
Todd back in the
day. Todd got smart and decided he was so good at opening, running
and selling successful
businesses that he should start his own deal to help others...very nice of
Todd. The Gates
Group was born! Then, this cool chick named Sarah, who also grew up
in Boston and
graduated from Boston College, meets Todd, Todd hires Sarah, Todd
and Sarah consult
with a bunch of franchise companies on franchise development and
recruitment.
Now, here is where it gets interesting. Todd and Sarah head to Vegas
for a convention.
Sarah has uncomfortable shoes. Sarah has to walk, which makes Sarah
very, very unhappy.
This in turn, makes Todd and anyone with her very, very unhappy.
Sarah NEEDS a pair of
flip flops. Sarah searches far and wide through Vegas but can't find a
pair of flip flops to
save her life. She asks the question, why is there not a shop that simply
sells flip flops!
Why oh Why?
Light bulb...Sarah and Todd return to Boston, for some chowda and
some wicked

2. conversation about flip flops. They do some research and take the
plunge! The first Flip
Flop Shops opens in the beautiful, sunny paradise known as Boston or
Baaston if you really
mean it. The concept catches on, but not as fast as they thought.
Another light bulb...why don't
we open Flip Flop Shops® in a warm climate like Arizona or California?
Great idea they both
said. So, Sarah and Todd started opening Flip Flop Shops® and sharing
their passion for flip flops
with the rest of the world...at least in Arizona and California.
Meanwhile, a guy named Brian, who grew up skating, wakeboarding
and skiing in Lake Geneva,
Wisconsin was all about freedom of his toes. Now that could have come
from his love of the water
and summer in general, or it could have come from his dad who was a
world famous foot
doctor, or podiatrist if you want to get fancy. Ok, maybe not world
famous, but one of the best
in his time. Brian then decides after spending summers at the Lake and
winters in Chicago
going to school, it was time to move to warmer weather. So, he packs up
and heads to the
wild west of Arizona. He helps build a little cigar company back in the
glory days of the cigar
biz, takes it public and then trades his tobacco pedaling days for the
much healthier biz of ice
cream...ok, so maybe not so healthy, but it sure was good.
This is where he meets two guys. One named Darin and one named
Alan. Now Darin is a guy

3. who grew up living the life we all wanted to live. Waking up in the
morning, putting on his
classic, white Flojos and heading off to school...or so his mommy and
daddy thought. Instead,
Darin grabs one of his prized boards from his ever growing quiver and
races off to the epic
surf off of the Ventura, California coastline to catch a few sets before
the day gets away from
him. So after growing up on the beach and in the surf, this guy gets the
wild idea to go to school
in Arizona. The surf wasn't quite the same but Arizona State was a
great party school, I mean
learning institution! So Darin does the regular job thing for a while,
then decides, like Brian, he
would rather be eating ice cream. So Darin, joins the ice cream biz as
well. First in Southern
Cal, then moves back to...you guessed it...the wild west of Arizona.
Meanwhile, Alan is busy causing havoc while growing up in - you
guessed it - the wild west of
Arizona. He spent many years living the life of a wannabe golf pro
working at different clubs
and playing more rounds of golf than most retired folks do. After his
wife concludes that he is
having way too much fun and not bringing home enough bacon, Alan
decides to join the other
sweet life and get into the ice cream biz.
This is where the three amigos, or three stooges depending on what you
have heard, met and
made ice cream and franchise history! The story goes like this....Brian,
Darin and Alan kick
major ice cream butt and about 1000 stores later decide to go their
separate ways. Darin
heads to Georgia for a little sweet tea and southern hospitality while
Brian heads down to the

4. innocent U.S. Virgin Islands for a few years. Meanwhile, Darin misses
Alan and makes him
move to Georgia and they both get out of the ice cream business so they
can have a balanced
diet of burritos, smoothies, pad thai and coffee.
While Brian gets island fever and makes the move to South Florida,
Darin and Alan miss Brian.
Brian misses them too, but would never admit to it. Darin and Alan
convince Brian to move to
Georgia to join in their feast. The feast now grows to include, salads,
ribs, biscuits that fly for
breakfast, fish and jumping monkeys...don't ask.
Brian gets sick of eating so much and moves to Vancouver, B.C. where
he can get back
to a life of surf, snow and skate. Now by an off chance, Todd, Sarah and
Brian meet up
and talk about the freeing their toes through flip flops and how they
want to bring their
passion to the world!
Light bulb...Brian calls Darin. Darin calls Alan. Brian, Darin and Alan
call Todd and Sarah.
They all call to order pizza, hammer out a deal and finally, Flip Flop
Shops is the authentic
retailer of the hottest brands and latest styles of flip flops and the first-
ever franchise of its kind.
Life is good for these characters. They have freed their toes through the
love of flip flops and the
lifestyle that comes with it.