The Pump by Reebok was a unique innovation in sportswear when it first came out. The pump has found its way into a number of sports through equipment like baseball gloves and hockey and inline skates but here we’re only concerned with the most prolific integration – the Pump shoe. The idea behind the technology was that athletes could get better performance by filling the area around the foot with air to provide a truly custom fit. The original pump basketball shoe was a collaboration between Paul Litchfield at Reebok and an industrial design firm called Design Continuum. Dominique Wilkins became one of the first NBA stars to play in the shoe when he laced them up in his 1989 season with the Atlanta Hawks. During the ’89 season his scoring average dropped from his career high (30.7 ppg) the year before to 26.2 but you could hardly blame the shoes. Reebok enjoyed a great endorsement when Dee Brown won the 1991 NBA all star weekend slam dunk competition while wearing a pair of pumps. Last week Reebok and The Pump celebrated its 20th anniversary. To mark the occasion Reebok released a reissue of the original colourways (the “Bringback” pack) and teamed up with 20 shoe boutiques around the world to create some new, attractive releases. From Hawaii to Hong Kong, each location had the chance to design an exclusive colourway of the original silhouette. Toronto’s Stolen Riches was selected to be the only Canadian collaborator and, like their contemporaries from Stockholm, decided to offer a design fit for the “harsh” Toronto winters. The shoe has been treated with Teflon to resist snow and water and, with a grey pinstripe pattern covering most areas, is reminiscent of a snowboard boot. I, for one, think the design and the choice of colours is top shelf but understand this shoe may have the look only someone from this part of the globe can appreciate. You can find a nice kicks article with all the anniversary collaboration colourways by clicking here. Which is your favorite look?
Only 31 pairs of each shoe were available to pick up at midnight release parties at the design locations. Some locations offered the shoes via a lottery while most went the traditional “first come, first serve” route. If you were one of those sneakerheads who absolutely had to have them you were probably on Queen Street, west of Bathurst lining up with Maxcak and me. Originally, braving the rain and paying the near $300.00 price tag was beyond us. When Maxcak told me the lineup two hours before the drop was pretty light, I jumped out of my PJs into a rain coat and raced from Oakville to join the action. The crew at Stolen Riches obviously appreciated people coming out for the event, offering drinks and food to all. A DJ was also on hand spinning a good mix of old and new tracks. After waiting in line for around an hour and a half I was happy to get a pair of what could be an iconic shoe. Included in the package was also a Reebok Pump Toronto tee to complete the look. I am looking forward to the return of the warm weather and breaking necks when I rock them downtown. If you’re in the majority group of people and weren’t there on Thursday night, you can scour the ‘Bay to pick up a pair using the high cash, low effort method. If that is out of the question you’ll have to make sure you're first in line when the 40th anniversary collabs drop in 2029.
