Vintage? Reebok High Top

[Fifty150]

J W Foster & Sons (Athletic Shoes) Limited was an athletic shoe manufacturing company located in Bolton, England. Established by Joseph W. Foster in 1895, the company was a pioneer in the use of track spikes for runners and athletes, producing most of the highly-regarded running shoes in the 1920s.

Jeffrey William Foster (Jeff), joined J. W. Foster in 1948 and his younger brother Joseph William (Joe). later joined in 1952. In 1953 National Service took Jeff and Joe away for 2 years. Upon their return to J. W. Foster & Sons, they saw a business failing to react to the growth of rival manufacturers such as Adidas and Puma, which had successfully entered the market after World War II. Their requests to improve the family business went unheeded, so the two brothers established their own company, Reebok in Bury in November 1958. The name is Afrikaans for the grey rhebok, a type of African antelope.

J.W. Foster & Sons was absorbed by Reebok in 1976.

Reebok Freestyle is an athletic shoe style introduced in 1982 by Reebok. The shoe was made to accommodate aerobics workouts and was released during the height of the 1980s aerobics craze.[10] Fitness Instructor Denise Austin was one first to promote the shoe by wearing them at a sport and fitness exposition in Los Angeles. Following the debut and success of the Freestyle, Reebok began sponsoring clinics and workout programs throughout the 1980s and '90s. The shoes could be seen on the trainers of Jane Fonda workout videos and classes.

The Freestyle was a huge success but the only problem was that it was mainly marketed at women. Reebok needed a male equivalent to also cash in on the rise of the male gym goer courtesy of all action movie stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger & Sly Stallone with their testosterone enhanced physiques. Selling a certain pumped up physique without the advantage of steroids might have been a complete lie, but there was no deception about Reebok’s fitness range. In 1983 the brand introduced the Reebok Ex-O-Fit trainer as a new male equivalent of the Freestyle.

Urethra! I found it! This 40 year old style of shoe is still available. Maybe some of you guys think that vintage is something from 100 years ago. This is good enough for me. Plus, it's still being made, and I can buy it new. No way am I going to buy someone's 40 year old gym shoes off eBay.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

You wouldn't be able to wear those old sneakers anyway, even if you could find them and would want to wear them. Time has not be kind to sneaker components. The rubbers and plastics discolor and dry rot. The soles would crack and fall off within a day or two. Sneaker collectors collect them, not wear them. I wanted to find a couple of old models from when I was a kid, back when I thought they were uglier than ugly, but nostalgia gave me rose-colored glasses for them. I quickly found out that not only were they stupidly expensive and rare, but I also couldn't wear them even if I had the money to waste. But I do have a pair of hiking boots from the 80s that I wouldn't hesitate to use on a day hike. I'd never dare to wear them on a multi-day trip into the backcountry. I know I'd end up barefoot and carrying them out.

Thank goodness for retro fashion. If you wait around long enough, someone will likely reproduce the old style, and you'll even be able to wear them.