Crocs are neither plastic, nor rubber. They’re made out of a foam resin called Croslite, which your dad would probably say “sounds like a diet version of cross fit, ha ha.” The material shifts form when heated, making it lightweight, comfortable, and able to mold around the wearer’s feet.
All of this set itself to be the prime dad shoe — it’s inexpensive, sounds “futuristic” (“oh the shoes MERGE WITH MY FEET”) and is comfortable yet unstylish. These traits are exactly what dads crave.
The first crocs were sold in 2002 at a boating show in Ft. Lauderdale.
Clearly, the founders knew that these shoes would resonate with dads, as “boating show in Ft. Lauderdale” is literally the highest concentration of dads you can have in one place before everyone merges into a single Cosby sweater.