Four generations of leathercraft. One brand carrying it forward.
The thread
The leather in a Gaucho Ninja boot did not begin with the brand. It began roughly a century ago in Argentina, with my great-grandfather Luis Pereyra — a gaucho and a saddler, working in an era when a horse was the way you moved through the world.
When the car arrived, the saddlery quietened. Luis moved to Buenos Aires and became a jack of all trades, but the leather did not leave the family. His daughter, my great-aunt, became a shoemaker. My father, Oscar Serra, made leather bags in his youth and returned to leather in college, alongside a working life as an artist and photographer.
I am the fourth.
I taught myself the rest. The cutting, the lasting, the stitching, the welt — learned at a bench, slowly, over years, with hands that already knew where to start.
This is not an unbroken workshop. It is an unbroken line of hands. Four generations of one family, one craft, and one brand carrying it forward.
The first pair
In 2009, I cut my first pair of tabi — the traditional Japanese split-toe shoe — for a fellow martial artist. I had been training in Bujinkan since 2004, and the longer I trained, the more obvious it became that standard shoes were designed against the foot, not with it.
"My experience as a martial artist made me realise the importance of feeling with my feet. Standard shoes are made for exactly the opposite purpose: not to feel anything. My aim is to make gloves for feet."
The tabi was the beginning. I did not know it was called barefoot footwear at the time. I only knew it was honest.
Gaucho Ninja | Human Shape
New documentary by Finn Beales
Director And Photographer: Finn Beales
Dop: Guy Stephens
Second Camera: Luke Atkinson
Sfx: James Beagley
A backpack, then a workshop
Before there was a brand, there was a backpack. I travelled across Canada, the Amazon, Bolivia, Peru, Australia and Southeast Asia, carrying a small leather kit. Each place taught me something — about movement, about materials, about the kind of shoe a foot actually wants to wear.
In 2015, with a small inheritance from my grandmother, I settled in a medieval town north of Catalonia and opened a workshop. The Etsy shop went up the same year. The first orders came from people who had been looking for what I had been quietly making.
Two years later, in 2017, I moved the workshop to the Herefordshire countryside, where my wife Hattie and I built a home — an oak roundhouse — and raised our twin boys, Tilo and Stanley.
For eight years, every pair was cut by my own hand.
Where the work lives now
In 2023, the work opened up. Demand had outgrown one bench, and the choice was either to compromise on quality or to bring in hands I trusted.
Today, design and direction live in Herefordshire. The making is shared with a small, hand-picked circle of artisan workshops in Spain, China and Turkey. Portugal was part of the circle for a time and is no longer.
Every workshop is selected for the same reason I would have made the shoe myself: because the people there know what they are doing, and because they care.
No anonymous factories. No machine-made shortcuts dressed as heritage.
The work that earned its place
Over the years, the work has been recognised — most often for the same things we set out to make true.
Multiple Global Footwear Awards, year on year, in fashion sneakers, sustainable footwear, medical footwear and footwear innovation. The Carpenter — our Goodyear-welted barefoot safety boot — became the first in the world to hold both EN ISO 20345 and ASTM F2413 certifications in a zero-drop, foot-shaped construction.
Bespoke commissions have travelled further than I expected: some pairs priced over £2,000, individually made to a single foot. Collaborations with Loewe and Vivobarefoot brought the craft into rooms it would not otherwise have entered.
In 2025, the documentary Human Shape, directed by Finn Beales, traced the work from bench to wearer.
We mention these things briefly, because they are not the story. The story is the bench.
THE TEAM
Hattie Duke,
Co-Director. Twenty-five years as a Waldorf and Forest School teacher; today running Hearthlight, a biographical counselling and nature-based practice in our local woodland, alongside the family and the business.
Karen Morris Dawson
COO. Joined the family in 2015, the business in 2022. Customer support, finance, logistics and the everyday systems that keep the work moving.
Siani Driver — Social Media Manager. From Gloucester, mother of three children, a skillful and talented communicator.
Carolina Olmos — Marketing Consultant. From Argentina, living in Barcelona, mother of two children. She draws the strategies for the company.
Andy Gregory — Ninja and professional videographer. He is GN's content maker.
Malcolm Williams — Footwear Consultant. Sixty years in footwear. Quiet counsel.
Mike Rickword — Webmaster, IceComms.
Why this work, and not another
We make footwear designed by nature, crafted by hand, built to last a lifetime — and repairable for the next one.
We work this way because the alternative is a season of wear and a landfill afterwards. Because feet are not boxes to be jammed into shoes. Because a craft handed down four generations deserves more than a season's attention span.
If that sounds quiet, it is. Quiet is the work.
Made slowly. Made to last.
The commitment
- Connection to Nature: We believe in fostering a deep respect for the environment by using natural materials and sustainable practices in every step of our craft.
Craftsmanship & Excellence: We are dedicated to the highest standards of quality and detail, ensuring every pair of shoes is a masterpiece of handcraft and innovation.
Fairness & Integrity: We operate transparently and ethically, valuing trust, fairness, and respect in every relationship with our clients, partners, and team.
Innovation with Tradition: We honor centuries-old shoemaking techniques while embracing new technologies to improve comfort, durability, and design.
Empowerment & Wellbeing: We create footwear that enables freedom of movement, supports health, and encourages a mindful connection between body, footwear, and the environment.
Why Gaucho Ninja?
Opting for Gaucho Ninja means endorsing a brand that epitomises quality, sustainability, and the conservation of a craft that has transcended generations. It’s about donning shoes that feel natural, promote health, and foster a connection with the earth, all while advancing a legacy of authentic gaucho spirit enriched with global influences and ethical practices.
Lisandro Serra Delmar and Gaucho Ninja continue to resonate with those who not only value exquisite leatherwork but also prioritise foot health and, consequently, their overall wellbeing. As a custodian of his family's tradition and as an innovator, Lisandro invites everyone to walk a path that has been travelled for centuries, yet is tailored for today's needs with every meticulous stitch.