Just 16 years ago, Mario Polegato had a vision, to rid the world of bad foot odour; and the Italian hasn't done too bad in his quest. In just 15 years, Polegato has seen the Geox brand open over 1,000 shops worldwide, creating sales of £765million last year alone as well as ridding the world of smelly feet, one pair of shoes at a time.

Despite his family's own business of an Italian wine company, he set up Geox in 1995, where they developed the innovative shoe technology that created a breathable sole and inner membrane. Teaming them with unique designs, Geox captured the attention of shoe lovers worldwide; with a little help from Geox's celebrity fans, Kate Winslet and Sir Paul McCartney.

Since then, Geox have won several successful contracts; creating Team Geox from the ProTour cycling team Footon-Servetto and their esteemed contract with Red Bull Racing Team last year. Part of this contract involved Geox designing exclusive shoes for the Red Bull drivers, which include Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Speaking about the collaboration, Polegato commented:

“Vettel said to me: 'I am really proud of this kind of technology.' The key quality of the Red Bull drivers shoes is their 'breathability'.”

And, made to withstand numerous factors including tension and high temperatures as well as being fireproof, it is clear these are the next best thing for racing teams. With Vettel already winning both the Malaysian and Australian grand prix's, he is showing the Geox shoes to be a true hit.

Geox's dedication to their latest sponsor doesn't just end there either as they analyse each pair of shoes after the race, constantly looking to improve on each design.

Their casual shoe collection is second only to Clarks in the world and having extended their brand into apparel the brand looks set to continue its storming success. Perhaps this success isn't just due to the sensational styles they have produced but to Polegato's vision to rid the world of the embarrassing condition of smelly feet. He comments:

“This is a revolution in the shoes business because this solves a problem for humanity not just for specific people.”