Vice Style

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Did you know that Reebok originally started out in a sleepy village outside of Bolton, Lancashire in 1890? It wouldn't have become the Reebok everyone now knows unless one Paul B. Fireman had got hold of the rights to sell them in America, where despite higher prices than the competing Nike and adidas products, the label became huge. Reebok cashed in on the 80s aerobics craze, releasing the iconic Freestyle in 1985, which saw massive popularity. People even wore different colors on each foot in a bid to get noticed.

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These were followed by a similar model for men, the Ex-o-fit, and then the Workout. 1987 brought the world the Reebok Classic. Using the Freestyle and Workout as a template, the Classic was Reebok's take on a cross training shoe, but kept its color and styling pretty neutral, originally only coming in black or white, hence the name. Ever heard the term "54 11 Reeboks" in rap songs? That's a reference to the price of a pair of Freestyles in the state of New York ($49.99 with $4.12 tax= $54.11).

Like everyone else, Reebok had been left behind in the technology stakes by Nike's Air technology, particularly once the air bubbles went visible in 1987. Reebok already had ERS (Energy Return System), a cushioning system using Dupont Hytrel, one of the most resilient materials known to man. They also had Hexalite cushioning, a honeycomb-style cushioning made from a material four times more durable than the EVA foam normally used in running shoe soles. Both, however, struggled to capture the public's imagination in the way Nike's Air did.

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Enter Reebok's Pump. Originally only for basketball, Pump had a pump-up tongue that cradled the foot like a newborn baby in its cot. The world went wild for Pump, and it became almost as popular away from its intended sport as Reebok's Freestyle shoes had half a decade before. Thrashers, hip-hoppers, you name it: everyone wanted some. They were also very, very expensive at the time. Pumps became the muggers’ second favorite shoe after Nike’s Jordan. Others imitated with their own inflatable footwear: Nike had the Air Pressure and Air Command Force, and LA Gear even jumped on the bandwagon with the straight up rip-off, the Regulator. Dee Brown won the 1991 Dunk Contest in the Pump Omni and Michael Chang even had his own signature tennis Pump called the Court Victory. There was also an outdoor version called the Blacktop Pump and a running version featuring dual Pump.

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While proving insanely popular in the early 90s, The Pump’s appeal suffered as the first wave of retro sportswear became big in the mid nineties. Reebok’s still available Classic lines were, however, perfectly placed to serve this new market. Still massively popular today, Classics were a big 'lad' shoe in the 90s. It wasn't uncommon to see expensive designer gear like Polo, Armani or Versace paired with a crisp pair of Classics. During this period the Classic was the most common footprint found at crime scenes in the UK. Back home in Ireland the guys would rip the Union Jack flag off the shoes. The Classic was legendary skater Stevie Williams' shoe of choice, leading him to found a skate line for Reebok. Hell, Mike Skinner of The Streets even had his own signature Workout!

Reebok didn’t stop innovating, and this period saw the cutaway ultra-lightweight Graphlite sole technology and the Insta Pump. Both technologies featured on some of the earlier Shaq O'Neal models and required a gauge to pump the shoe, as opposed to the orange basketball seen on the tongues of late 80s pumps. They also featured on the Jackie Chan-endorsed Insta Pump Fury, which became very popular with Asian sneaker collectors. Another of Reebok's ultra lightweight shoe technologies was DMX, which, though nothing to do with the barking rapper, was probably the most comfortable cushioning system any shoe manufacturer ever managed. Reebok were also responsible for the fold-up shoe craze of the early 2000s with their Travel Trainer, a shoe dispensed in vending machines in Japan. Which brings us to Reebok's current technologies: Kinetic Fit, Hex Ride, DMX Max and 3D Ultralite.

For a lot of people, all this talk of tech couldn't be more boring, with good color combinations, sharp design and reasonable comfort being enough to hold their interest in a pair of shoes. But if a few weird obsessives didn't care, sports shoes wouldn't have advanced beyond the rubber plimsolls first sold by tire manufacturers.

PHOTOS: DANIEL MUHINDI
STYLING: SAM VOULTERS
TEXT: THE ORACLE
HAIR: HIROSHI MATSUSHITA
MAKE-UP: XABIER CELAYA
MODELS: BILLIE, EMMANUEL, GEORGINA AT ELITE, MARIAM & ADE AT D1, TOBY, NAOMI