Custom Orthotics. The Same Custom Foot Supports We’ve Supplied Podiatrists Since 1932

Corefit Orthotics

Family Owned Since 1932

Born in Nebraska, company founder Joseph Daniel Zinke was destined to learn at an early age that a shoemaker’s son in the 1880’s was required to forget play and grow up in the shoemaking business. At the tender age of 6, he started his “kindergarten apprenticeship”. For years, his duty was to sit at attention before and after school in his father’s shop receiving daily instruction on the craftsmanship of transforming leather into custom shoes. At age 14, Zinke left home to see the world and learn, to travel and earn… then “my own shop” someday. It is from this commitment to footwear that Corefit Orthotics was born.

Comparison of shops and methods

After leaving home at the age of 14 to earn, travel and learn, his first job brought more experience and confidence. With it came a thirst for knowledge and adventure. Each new shop he worked for was carefully chosen and could be a “book” to read, digest, for future use. Shoemakers traveled in those days like wandering minstrels. It was the accepted thing. Working from shop to shop, then from town to town, three weeks here, two months there, each new shop owner, his standards and methods, was an interesting study. a newcomer look at the boss’s work, equal his standard, or leave! A life maxim “Observe, Remember, Then Compare” assisted young Zinke to develop a second interest: that of reviewing previous associations of shops and men. It was interesting to see that even after two or three years some shops had made marvelous advancement while others had deteriorated through either carelessness or lack of vision for the future. Having worked for very careless employers and extremely critical ones__all experiences had a value. They showed him what type of business proved most successful. It naturally served him later in establishing business methods, policies, standards of shoe service and the beginning of Corefit Orthotics.

Comparison of shops and methods

After leaving home at the age of 14 to earn, travel and learn, his first job brought more experience and confidence. With it came a thirst for knowledge and adventure. Each new shop he worked for was carefully chosen and could be a “book” to read, digest, for future use. Shoemakers traveled in those days like wandering minstrels. It was the accepted thing. Working from shop to shop, then from town to town, three weeks here, two months there, each new shop owner, his standards and methods, was an interesting study. a newcomer look at the boss’s work, equal his standard, or leave! A life maxim “Observe, Remember, Then Compare” assisted young Zinke to develop a second interest: that of reviewing previous associations of shops and men. It was interesting to see that even after two or three years some shops had made marvelous advancement while others had deteriorated through either carelessness or lack of vision for the future. Having worked for very careless employers and extremely critical ones__all experiences had a value. They showed him what type of business proved most successful. It naturally served him later in establishing business methods, policies, standards of shoe service and the beginnings of the Corefit Orthotics brand.

Corefit Custom Insoles Advertisement Circa 1946

“Custom footwear feel…”

Our goal at Corefit Orthotics remains unchanged since the first pair of self moldable “Zinke’s Foot Form Supports” were handcrafted: to produce an affordable, self moldable orthotic insert. Mr. Zinke crafted custom made shoes ”with contoured insoles, formed to fit the foot.” Unlike mass-produced shoes, which had mostly flat insoles, his custom made shoes left a wearer feeling as though they were walking “on soft earth” instead of pavement. He then thought, “Why not create an customizable insert that can be inserted into standard footwear, giving wearers comfort that is only derived from custom-made shoes?” A team was then commissioned to developed our custom moldable insert, which would turn out to be evolutionary.

Corefit inserts both stabilize and support the weight bearing areas of the foot…cradling the heel and supporting the longitudinal and metatarsal arches; providing solid comfort and relieving the pain associated with many foot disorders. It is a custom moldable device that is a superior foot support, doing the job more affordably than podiatrist fitted orthotics that can sell for $300 and upward. Many tasks are best done by hand, and as a family owned company, we’re able to preserve the traditional and complex hand-finishing skills that make our orthotics effective.

Our national network of Zinke’s Shoe Repair locations was divested by our California Leather Jobbing parent company in September 2003. Its flagship product, Zinke’s Foot Form Supports, was then rebranded Corefit Custom Orthotics.

“Wanna improve your foot health? Corefit Custom Inserts do just that…”
Kevin Harrington – Shark Tank Investor & Corefit Custom Orthotics® Brand Partner