- For as long as I can
remember, Nike and Adidas have always been the top
sportswear brands in America. Nike especially has always been the go-to brand for athletes. Think of LeBron James,
Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant. But during the late '80s and early '90s, this wasn't the case. A brand called Reebok had just come out with a new technology
that blew everyone's mind. I'm talking about maybe the most nostalgic
footwear innovation ever. That's right ladies and gentlemen, I'm talking about the iconic Reebok Pump. Welcome back to the channel everyone. If you're new here, my name is Bryan and my brother, Nacho, and I
make videos on sneaker history and all things related to sneaker culture. So if you're into sneakers
and I get the feeling you are, 'cause you clicked on this video, then please consider
subscribing to this channel because we make videos
like this all the time and you won't wanna miss an upload. All right guys, with that out of the way, let's get into the video. In the early 1980s, a new trend emerged in North America, aerobics. Americans, and especially American women, were starting to become
passionate about staying fit at home with Jane Fonda and
Richard Simmons VHS tapes. Meanwhile, Paul Fireman, an
outdoors equipment wholesaler, had recently discovered
Reebok at a trade show. He saw enormous potential in the company and acquired the exclusive rights to Reebok in North America. With the aerobic market on the rise, Paul Fireman saw an inflection point. What if Reebok created the
first ever aerobics shoe? Enter the Reebok Freestyle. Their timing couldn't
have been more perfect. Sales for the Reebok
Freestyle were unprecedented. Reebok decided to use
the newly acquired funds to tap into the lifestyle
market, but with a twist. You see, during the mid 80s, Americans were more
body-conscious than ever. Celebrities, for the
first time in history, not only had, but showed
off their chiseled bodies. Casual athletic apparel
was at an all time high and Reebok wanted its share of the market. All through the decade of the '80s, Reebok released tons of silhouettes that we know now as their
Reebok Classic line. But like all trends eventually do, the aerobics and casual
athletic hype died out. Sales began to decline and
Reebok found themselves failing to their competitors. They needed to innovate fast. They needed something that would rival Nike's Air Technology, which was rapidly growing in popularity, not only in sportswear,
but in fashion, too. - Great defense starts with
your feet and I have MVP feet. That's why I play in the Pump from Reebok. When I'm pumped up, I
get support, protection and custom fit that's unbeatable. I may hotdog, but when
it comes to protection, this is no bull. Pump up and Air out. - [Announcer] Switch to the
greatest sports performance shoe in the world, the Reebok Pump. Pump up and Air out. (upbeat music) - This is Paul Litchfield. In 1989, Paul Litchfield, along with Reebok's
Advanced Concepts team, developed what we know
today as Pump technology. The Reebok Pump debuted in two colorways, both featured the iconic orange
basketball on the tongue, which operated the pump system, both came in high quality leather, and one came in white and blue and the other, black and gray. The idea to place inflatable air bladders in performance shoes was
inspired by air splints. Air splints are used to immobilize arm and leg fractures by
using even air pressure around the limb to create stability. Litchfield took this concept
and applied it to footwear. It was genius. The idea was that the air bladder would provide a custom
fit for every customer, since not one foot is the same. Not only was it groundbreaking in design, sales went through the roof and it turned the industry on its head. The original prototype for the Pump was called the Pro Pump,
which had a dial to adjust the amount of air pressure
you wanted in the air bag. The actual pump mechanism
was in the heel of the shoe, so as you walked, the shoe would pump up. Man, how futuristic is that! As you walk, the shoe would pump up. The Reebok Pump retailed at
$170 when it first came out, which is an insane price, almost double the cost of
any Jordan shoe in 1989. Reebok was worried about
this because at the time, Nike and Reebok were at war and the Pump actually
released the same year as Nike's own pump-infused
shoe, The Nike Air Pressure. Can you guess who won that battle? I'd never even heard of
the Nike Air Pressure until doing research for this video. Reebok's marketing for
the Pump was aggressive, with their Pump up and Air Out campaign taking a direct jab at Nike. And their marketing efforts paid off too, by 1990 Reebok sales brought in a whopping $500 million in revenue. On the endorsement side of things, Reebok strategically outfitted
Michael Jordan's rival, Dominique Wilkins, in Pumps. But it would be the
1991 Dunk Contest legend that would catapult the
Reebok Pump to icon status. Reebok athlete, Dee Brown,
from the Boston Celtics, took it to a whole nother level,
when in front of millions, he pumped up his shoe before every dunk in the contest that year. He won with an iconic
no-look one-handed dunk. It became the poster for the Reebok Pumps. Sales were astronomical and it wasn't long before they surpassed a
billion dollars in revenue. Check out this clip of Sinbad promoting the Reebok Blacktop in 1991. - Wear my Blacktop shoes,
built for the outdoor game. Let me tell you about the outdoor game, there ain't no rules. These white lines you see on
the ground, symbolize nothing. They mean nothing. It means if you park
your cars for a party, put 'em in the line. How do you know when you're out-of-bounds, when you're outdoors? Let me tell you, if you run
into them people on the bench, you went too far. When you run into that
pole, you took a charge you should not have
taken, you were stupid. That's the outdoor game. Reebok Blacktop shoes, you seen it, now go play outside. That's why the outdoor game is different than the indoor game. Pain, Jack, I'm talking about pain. - By the time Shaquille O'Neal signed with Reebok in 1992, six million pairs of
the Pump had been sold. What lay ahead for Reebok,
well, we all know what happened. Nike reigned supreme, but obviously, Reebok kept innovating on the technology. Releasing classics like the Instapump Fury and Shaq's signature line, with shoes like the
Shaqnosis and the Shaq Attaq. Although the Shaqnosis didn't
feature Pump 'til much later. The Instapump and Reebok Shaq series are gonna get their own
videos respectively, so be on the lookout for that. It may seem like the legacy of the Pump only lives on through nostalgia, but the Pump actually never left. In 2015, Reebok released their
modern version of the Pump, called the Reebok Z Pump Fusion, which is basically a sock style shoe, where the air bladder
wraps around your foot and you pump it up to create a custom fit. I'm super curious to know
how they feel on feet. I've never tried them on, but if you have, please leave me a comment
below and let me know. All right, guys, I'll leave you with something really
cool, check out this video from the Nice Kicks' YouTube
channel of DJ Senatore. He's the biggest Reebok
Pump collector in the world. It's super cool. I think you would enjoy it, so go ahead and click on
that and check that out. Also, if you haven't check
out our Facebook group, we just started one, it's
called Sneaker Enthusiasts. There's a link in the description box and I'll see you guys over in that group. I'd love to get to know you guys better. Me and Nacho are both
moderating the group, so yeah, check it out. All right, guys, peace. See you guys next time. Maybe in a couple of weeks. Be safe. (upbeat music)
