YO! REEBOK PUMP UP, AIR OUT!

There is a recent chapter that needs to be acknowledged. 2004 saw the premiere of Pump 2.0 on the Fury 2 and ATR basketball shoe. The new G-Unit Pump also indicated that Fiddy and crew were intent on bringing back a little of that 1991 aspiration to the scene. Even skater Stevie Williams opted for Pump on his DGK Pump pro-model in 2006. Reebok’s retro program also ground out some Pump highlights in recent years including stellar collabs with Rolland Berry, John Maeda, the Commonwealth store in Virginia, Boston’s own Bodega, Ubiq in Philly and of course Atmos, the jedi shoe masters of Tokyo.

The Reebok Pump Omni Hex Ride designed with NY retailer Orchard St also indicated that Pump was still a viable performance aid. Stand by for a phalanx of anniversary models later in the year, about which we are sworn to secrecy.

Will we ever see another period of creativity, sneaker brand warfare and bizarre one-upmanship like the first chapter in the Pump story? Doubtful. Things are shrewder, safer and positively blander in comparison. The Pump system and all the attention surrounding it deserves much, much more than to remain a footnote in accounts of just how outrageous the late ‘80s and early ‘90s were. This was the boomtime for Reebok, and the end results were some of the most exciting shoes of the decade.