Beastin Founders Talk Reebok Pump Colab
There must be something good in the water over in Germany at the moment. Stores like Afew, The Good Will Out, Solebox, Firmament and Overkill are permanent points of reference for sneaker blogs, and the scene is well served by home grown streetwear labels. Case in point: Munich’s Beastin has just opened their second store and Reebok have rewarded their hustle by inviting them to the collaboration table. We caught up with Duki and Fu, Beastin’s founding brothers, to get the skinny on how their ‘Quiet Storm’ Omni Lite Pump came to be.
Interview by Pascal Prehn
How did this Reebok project come together?
Obviously a sneaker colab is something of a wet dream for everyone, so we were super happy when the good people at Reebok approached us about doing something rad together. If you grew up as a hip hop kid in the 90s – no matter if you were raised in Brooklyn or South Germany – you’ll know there are certain looks and key items that you never forget. The 90s ‘yacht club to the hood’ fashion movement was one of those looks. The concept behind the ‘Quiet Storm’ project was to give that a 2015 spin.
Were the 90s really the golden era for hip hop?
We’re going to say it, yes! And we’re going to say it again, Y-E-S! We never want to sound like those mid-30s ‘everything was better in my day’ guys – we hated those types when we were teenagers – but comparing Nas to Young Thug, Das EFX to Rae Sremmurd, or Raekwon to Fetty Wap is… well, it is what it is, if you catch my drift. Future is still on heavy rotation for us, though.
Yep, the debate will probably never be settled. After the Packer x Saucony ‘Snow Beach’, you’re bringing back the Helly Hansen thing. Coincidence?
We have been working on this project for so long – but, yes, it’s total coincidence. It’s kinda cool, though, the timing of it.
Tell us a bit about the design process.
An essential part of the Beastin success story is our focus on great quality and details. Naturally we wanted to apply these attributes to our colab.
Some of our ideas were tricky production problems to solve – clear soles are always a bitch and our piping idea was also hard to bring to life. We made sure the shoe has as few open edges as possible, so the all-over look is clean and as slim as it can be. The Reebok team was awesome and made sure the final product is 100% the way we wanted it.
Nice to see something other than a runner get some shine on a colab. Why the Omni Lite?
We used to play pro ball, so choosing an on-court silhouette was a must. We’re also huge Dominique Wilkins fans, so you know it was gonna be a Pump. But we didn’t want the shoe to be too tall or bulky, so the Omni Lite was our immediate choice.
What else is news?
We’re opening our second Beastin store in Munich at the end of the month and we’re working on our next collaboration. The new one is with a crew from Berlin, and it’s going to be killer.
The Reebok Classic X Beastin 'Quiet Storm' Pump Omni Lite is available now at the Beastin flagshipstore in Munich, Sneakers N Stuff (Sweden), Limited Edt. (Singapore), Titolo (Switzerland) and other selected international sneaker specialists.
