For 135 years, Holick’s Manufacturing has shaped one of Texas A&M University’s most recognizable traditions: The senior boots worn by members of the Corps of Cadets.
Inside the workshop, leather, thread and decades of history come together under the careful hands of apprentice-turned owner and master bootmaker Leo Belovoskey, who has spent more than 30 years continuing a tradition with deep Aggie roots.
“It’s tradition,” Belovoskey said. “Everybody wants to feel like they’re part of something.”
The history
Holick’s Manufacturing traces its origins to 1891, when founder Joseph Holick operated a shoe repair business in Bryan and would go on to become Texas A&M’s first Aggie Bandmaster. According to company history passed down through generations, Holick’s reputation for craftsmanship caught the attention of Texas A&M leadership, leading him to repair footwear for cadets on campus.
The relationship between the shop and the Corps of Cadets grew alongside the university itself.
By the early 1940s, Holick’s began producing what would become one of Texas A&M’s most iconic symbols: The senior boots. Before then, cadets often traveled to San Antonio to purchase boots elsewhere, Belovoskey said. Once production moved locally, the tradition became firmly tied to Bryan and College Station.
Over the decades, locations changed and the business survived a fire, industry shifts and evolving retail trends. Now in 2026, the business has operated for 135 years and 20 years at its current Bryan location, a rarity for modern small businesses.
Through it all, one principle remained unchanged: Build quality boots the traditional way.
“We’re all about the cadets and we’re all about making a good boot. We make it the same way that it’s been done forever,” Belovoskey said.
Each pair requires specialized skills rarely practiced today. While some machinery assists with preparation work, cutting, shaping and assembling the boots remain largely manual processes. It’s a slower method Belovoskey refuses to abandon.
“I know this sounds like I’m being proud, but I’m being honest, there is not another boot ... that I think holds a candle to ours,” he said. “We pour ourselves into these boots, we really do. So, [cadets] are getting a little piece of us.”
How we got here
Belovoskey’s own journey to Holick’s was anything but traditional.
Growing up in San Antonio, he described himself as a troubled teenager searching for direction. After leaving school and working overnight shifts at Fort Sam Houston, a period of spiritual reflection changed his life’s trajectory.
After embracing faith and searching for purpose, Belovoskey discovered a passion for working with leather through shoe repair. One day, inspired by a craftsman’s handmade footwear, it locked in that he wanted to become a bootmaker.
“I always wanted to work with my hands,” Belovoskey said.
Two years later, an unexpected phone call arrived.
His younger brother, then a Texas A&M cadet ordering senior boots, persistently encouraged Holick’s staff to interview him. The shop finally agreed.
Belovoskey immediately recognized the opportunity.
“I had a flashback to that prayer that I had prayed two years before,” he said.
He began working at Holick’s in 1991 under longtime owner Johnnie Holick, learning every step of the trade. Over time, the mentorship became deeply personal.
Belovoskey recalls one conversation when Holick, a respected bootmaker and businessman, praised his intelligence and craftsmanship. The compliment remains one of the most meaningful moments of Belovoskey’s life.
“I held Johnnie on a pedestal. I thought he was one of the most brilliant men that I ever met in my life,” he said.
Years later, when financial pressures nearly forced Belovoskey to leave, circumstances shifted again. With him serving as the last bootmaker capable of continuing production, ownership offered him the chance to buy the business. He accepted.
Respecting the craft
Today, Belovoskey serves as owner, operator and master bootmaker, overseeing a small team that continues the labor-intensive process of producing senior boots.
Holick’s has expanded its offerings over time by selling sabers, accessories and alternative boot options but the mission remains focused on serving cadets.
Unlike mass-produced footwear, Holick’s boots are built entirely by hand from start to finish. The process takes a lot of care and time and demands years of training.
“It’s very hard to find someone who can make boots,” Belovoskey said. “There’s more skillset involved.”
He remembers countless cadets who have passed through the shop, each carrying a different story. One cadet shared how his family chose the surname Honeysuckle after emancipation rather than keeping a former enslaver’s name. It was a moment Belovoskey said stayed with him for years.
What’s special about Holick’s
For many Texas A&M students, senior boots represent a rare, meaningful tradition. For that reason, Belovoskey believes that rarity makes the time spent in their boots more significant.
“They’re getting the highest quality that they can get their hands on,” Belovoskey said.
In a rapidly changing world, he said he believes tradition provides something tangible.
“[Tradition] is almost like something you can hold onto,” he said. “People want to belong to something good.”
That sense of belonging continues to draw generations of cadets through Holick’s doors, linking today’s students to those who came before them more than a century ago.
Day after day, Belovoskey returns to the workshop with the same focus: Shaping leather into boots that carry history forward.
“We just exist to make boots, man, it’s all we’re here for,” he said with a laugh.
More details
After 135 years, Holick’s Manufacturing remains not just a business, but a living piece of Aggie tradition, stitched together one pair at a time.
