Turn your mind to Safety

2 years work, job done? No way!  When we tested these boots to be waterproof especially to Australian standards, they simply flew off the machine like a balloon. 

Fell backwards into the Muck (2000-2003)

“Dad, my toes are cold” little Abi, just turned four chimed up! “Mine too!” big sister added.  “Bethany’s cold too!” they sang in chorus. Jan and I soldiered on pretending we hadn’t heard them.  30 minutes later we had given up and sat warming cold toes in front of the fire!

Loosing Confidence, (86 -87)

Ironic that when Angel Martinez had given that speech to us at Pine Isle in February ’86 and talked about being in front. Reebok’s senior management had at that moment, looked over their shoulder, blinked and lost confidence. The resumption of that confidence took three years before in late ’89 Reebok again began to promote on merit from within.

Wade-Smith (Summer ‘86)

Wade Smith was owned and run by Robert Wade-Smith assisted by a young guy by the name of Chris Lee. Ironically, Chris would leave Wade-Smith in 1999 to be the Creative Director of Product at Reebok for two years. Wade-Smith was a small store in ’86 but was a mecca for trainer nuts, especially Adidas City Series, Gazelle, Trimtab etc. For us to be accepted into this inner sanctum was an honour, even if we didn’t realise at the time.

European comeback (Super Show, Feb ’86).

Reebok was on a high, the biggest athletic brand in the USA, built on aerobics and men’s fitness two categories that hadn’t existed three years before and now dominated the American market. Our competitors Nike, number two in the USA and Adidas in Europe had not seen it coming and been dumbstruck by our growth.

Around the World in 30days (1985)

For fans of Douglas Adams who will be aware of his book ‘The restaurant at the end of the Galaxy’ I can only describe Anchorage as ‘The airport at the end of the Galaxy!’ A long glass corridor with gates at each side the airport was miles from Anchorage and sat in the middle of raised taxiways which had deep pits surrounding them. I decided to explore and headed off to the far end past display cases of stuffed Moose, stuffed Bears, stuffed wolves in fact every type of fauna in Alaska including a family of Inuit on a sledge pulled by stuffed dogs. Bizarre!

SIZZLIN’ HOT REEBOK (September ’84)

We were inundated with enquires from around the world, we were on fire, Reebok was Sizzlin’ Hot.

SOLD (March 1984)

Much has been said by those involved about the sale of the Reebok brand by my father to Reebok USA. I know however the company was up for sale within weeks of my Uncle’s death.

Into the City! (March 1984)

City was to be our most modern trainer. Bob Johnson had returned as Factory Manager and he convinced my Dad we had to have a Strobel sewing machine in order to make the sock lasted shoes like our competition. This was an evil machine with a needle that shot out straight at the user.

Grandad’s desk (December ’83)

It was in a bad way, veneer cracked and pieces missing. We loaded it and reported back to Bradley Fold with our haul and took my dad through what we had found.