Meet Remi & Lori Chagnon | Founders of Walk In HIs Footsteps

We had the good fortune of connecting with Remi & Lori Chagnon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Remi & Lori, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Since I was in the digital advertising space for the last 20 years I really didn’t have a clue where to start. However, it was when I was at a low point in my life that this unique Idea came to me. Before I get into the process of starting this business let me share a little about myself. I was a full-time, single parent of three (amazing kids), which was also financially and emotionally stressful. I was at an extremely low point spiritually in my life. Seems like when you try to do everything yourself and chase the things of this world, things just fall apart.

I started going for early morning walks praying to God. I’m talking dark, 4 a.m. walks to just pray out loud when everything is peaceful and quiet with no distractions. This was the best time for me to personally connect with Him. This is when I reached out to Him and said, “Lord I’m tired. I’ve tried doing things on my own and can’t do it anymore.” It was during this time I fully surrendered my life to Him and said Lord, “How can I serve You, how can I make a positive impact, I want to walk in your footsteps and surrender my whole life to You.”

It was at this time that He gave me an unbelievably peaceful vision of a child walking on perfectly groomed sand, wearing sandals that left little crosses with every footstep – which meant leaving a Christlike impression wherever you go.

I pushed this idea off for years because of what people might think of me. I felt unworthy to do anything like this. Plus where would I even start? I don’t even come from this industry. I resisted the idea time and time again but as I continued to strengthen my faith and build my relationship with Him – I felt like the Holy Spirit was saying “YOU HAVE TO DO THIS.”

When I fully surrendered and said, “OK Lord I’m all in.” That’s when I started sketching the design of the sandal and the cross bottom sole. When drawing the logo I thought of the verse John 3:16 which goes hand in hand with the cross. I wanted the cross to look like it wrapped around the world because he died for every one of us.

Growing up surfing in Southern California you’ll notice a lot of surf and skate brands that have professional signatures on them which is why I decided to have John 3:16 look like a signature on all our footwear. This is the signature verse all Christians cling to as His promise to all of us.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The process took about a year to get up and running to be able to establish the name, patents, and trademarks and even develop an e-commerce website. Once this was set I was able to find a manufacturer back East that was able to help with the development of the cross bottom mold. Without God, I would have been lost. God has been in this process from the very beginning leading me every step of the way. This is all Him, we are just trying to follow through with an idea He gave. Now, I have an amazing wife helping build Walk In His Footsteps. She is a true blessing and I’m so thankful to have her in my life.

We are excited about our newest style that just launched this Fall. We named it the “Revival Slide.” We’re fired up for the gospel and praying for a revival all around the world! We wanted to offer an all-year-round style that can be dressed up or down, with the utmost comfort in mind. They come in three colors: saddle brown, stone gray, and black.

We’re hoping these will extend our customer base outside of the basic flip-flop. The Revival Slide is much more fashion-forward and still carries the same message of showing your identity in Christ – it’s all about Jesus!

I don’t know what God’s plan is for this company but we will continue to build and try our very best to spread His message to as many people as possible.

What should our readers know about your business?
Most flip flop brands are designed for comfort or style, we’ve combined these and upped the game by providing something with more meaning. Our footwear allows customers to show their spiritual identity, in a stylish non intrusive way. We also teamed up with Soles4souls, a non profit that provides footwear for lower income families and in our case, we send them specifically to micro businesses in emerging countries. We match every sale on Mondays and send new footwear to women owned businesses that are sole providers for their families. We love the concept of providing free product to end the cycle of poverty and supporting families that value entrepreneurship and hard work.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We love Cabra on the rooftop of the Hoxton Hotel, from Chef Stephanie Izard, with her Peruvian-inspired, sharable dishes overlooking the city. We’ll book a room in the summer just to hang at their rooftop pool. Manhattan beach is our favorite for surfing and shopping, Eataly in Century city. We live much further south of LA so we like to play tourists when we hit the city!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
As I was in transition and strengthening my faith I came across a Calvary Chapel App where I started to listen to Pastor John Randall. John Randall is a pastor at Calvary Chapel south OC.

Website: walkinhisfootsteps.com

Instagram: walkinhisfootsteps_wihfs

Facebook: Walk in His footsteps/WIHFS