Reebok

Reebok was founded in 1958 and was named after an African Gazelle. The company maintained averagely until the late 1970s when they were discovered at a trade show by Paul Fireman. Fireman purchased the Reebok license and introduced the brand to the United States in 1979 and sales began to boom.

In 1982, Reebok introduced the first athletic shoe designed especially for women, The Freestyle, which has remained one of the most popular and best selling shoes for the company. Throughout the 1980s Reebok was a leader in the athletic footwear and apparel for growing trends like the popularity of aerobics. In the late 1980s Reebok introduced what has become one of the most popular technologies amongst sneakerheads, The Pump. The Reebok Pump uses an inflatable air bag that surrounds the foot and is inflatable by the Pump system, which provides a custom fit. Reebok Pump technology was combined with other popular technologies from Reebok, such as Hexalite and DMX. These technologies could be seen throughout signature shoes for Reebok athletes in the 1990s that included Michael Chang, Allen Iverson and Venus Williams.

In recent years Reebok has turned to another technology to carry the brand. Zig technology has become a popular cushioning system across many sports for Reebok. This "energy drink for your feet" has led to many running shoe designs and also become a part of Reebok basketball shoes and sponsored athlete, John Wall.