REEBOK FREESTYLE FOREVER!

The celebrity endorsement surrounding the Freestyle wasn’t the kind of bullshit you see rappers pull these days, it was far more legit than anything ‘incentivised’ by a wad of green in brown paper bags. This shoe was so cool, celebrities wanted to be linked with it. Indeed they probably had their managers beg Reebok to be associated with it! Everybody wanted a piece of the action. Cybill Shepherd rocked up to the ’85 Emmys wearing a killer black gown and a pair of bright orange Freestyles.

Reebok also sponsored the LA Lakers Cheerleaders and has subsequently been credited with boosting Paula Abdul’s fame, who was in the squad at the time. And who could forget the iconic Reebok Dance ads stating ‘Girls want to be in her shoes but she wants to be in ours.’ Later ads also starred supermodel Cindy Crawford, the equivalent in today’s terms to Kate Moss signing a deal to rep the Dunk. Damn hard to believe, but wouldn’t it be rad?

My personal fave Freestyle fad was coined by none other than the teen ‘80s queen herself, Ms Punky Brewster. Known for her crazy hats and out-there sense of style, Punks was the perfect poster-girl for the younger generation of Freestyle followers. She developed a trademark for wearing two different coloured Freestyles at once, mixing it up with a bit of yellow and red or orange and white. Eat your heart out Airwalk NTS!