Angel Martinez can thankhis high school sports injuries for his career. As a distance runner in his teens, Martinez, now chairman and CEO of Deckers Outdoor Corp., knew that many of his injuries stemmed from the poor construction of his shoes. Armed with a zeal for the craft of a good athletic sneaker, he joined Reebok as the company's fourth employee in 1980. Martinez, 53, brings this same enthusiasm to his Goleta, Calif.-based firm helping to change the way athletes, and those who want to look like athletes, think about footwear. Whether it's kayakers donning Tevas or surfers keeping themselves warm with Uggs—or models who just want to look like surfers—they have all contributed to Deckers increasing its earnings-per-share estimate for 2008 to $6.53 from $6.44, and for 2009 to $8.00 from $7.66.

Q: How do you feel the economy is affecting the retail sector, and how has Deckers withstood it?

A: It's a difficult environment for retailers. Consumers have shown that they're used to buying commodity products on sale, and they can still buy lots of things cheaply in this economy. Those things that have been expensive, like clothing, are now fairly inexpensive. But people are willing to pay for high-value products. And our brands are authentic and perform as advertised. Shoe making is not just popping something in a mold. It's a craft. And people have an intrinsic understanding of that craft. Having models parade around in Uggs doesn't hurt either. Nor the tie to surfing.

Q: How important are the stories behind the company's brands?

A: Stories ground brands in authenticity; from Uggs, invented to keep surfers warm, to Tevas, invented by a river guide who needed adequate gear for runs down the Colorado River. All great brands have authenticity at their core.

Q: How have you protected the Ugg and Teva brands from over-saturation? A: It's part of a strategic intent. It's not healthy for a product to be ubiquitous in a mall. That can cause a price war. And then there's broadening of distribution, which leads to the need to keep [increasing] the volume. We do get copycats, but they are inferior products. If the consumer gets an imitation product for Christmas, it usually gets returned for ours on Jan. 2. That helps us, but we don't take it for granted.

Q: What's up ahead for Deckers?

A:Teva grew up as a sandal and we learned that being lightweight is important, as well as how the shoe holds up in water, staying sticky on wet surfaces. We're transferring that to a light hiker boot, and we've had a good response to the fall line—and we've never had a fall line before. With [the] Simple [brand], we found some early shoes were a little too crunchy on our first approach. But that's okay, we have to learn. Materials are improving, and there are beautiful things now with silk, bamboo and hemp. All that is more innovation.

Q: You just acquired the casual footwear maker Tsubo in May. Any other new acquisitions in the short term?

A: I've always said we're in a good position to take advantage of opportunities that come along, if the price is right. So far, nothing else whets our appetite.

Q: A few decades after high school, are you still running?

A: I do a lot of hiking, and have an elliptical machine I love. My knees are fine but the ankles are a mess. Let's just say that my mind writes checks that my body won't cash.