Welcome to Porto! (’91-’93)

It was my first ever trip to Portugal which was beautiful apart from the fact that the Rockport office was across from a tuna canning plant which had a very strong odour. Each day the country manager Acacio Moutinho would collect me from the luxury of the Sheraton Porto and we would drive up to the factory for the day. It was great weather, good food and even better wine! A big change from travelling in Taiwan and Korea at that time and very welcome.

Rockport landing ’90

Luckily the young doctor spoke excellent English and after two pills and some rehydration powders I was sent home NT$300 lighter. Why am I telling you this? Eight weeks later Ray flew out to follow up on development and ended up in critical care for a week having eaten the Tuna fish sandwich. I had escaped lightly.

GUS and I, in the City ‘86

I came up with City ’86. I had a limited budget, but we could spend a little on new pattern work. I kept the back half of City, same counter foxing, heel tab and side stripe. New toe cap/ foxing with side support bars, close to the Classic Leather. Three piece facing to replace City’s expensive one piece affair. This echoed the GL6000’s shadow effect wrap around throat.

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.

Lesson learnt (April to May 1985)!

Work on what was to become the LX8500 and GL6000 began in April ’85 and was a combined plan to create a new $100 running shoe that was to be a SUPER Leather Classic running shoe and a premium stability shoe to sit above Phase1 and replace City in Europe.

All Change (Korea May ’85)

1985 was going to be a step change in Reebok design, not that any of us had made that decision or even a conscious thought to say we would do that, it was much more a gradual thing as drawings were drawn and sketches sketched.

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.

Not at first Sight!

‘Yeah Reebok, Aerobics’, ‘you got lucky there!’ or ‘that was easy’. Until, Denise Austin landed a slot on American Breakfast TV and finished her routine with the immortal line; “You can do this in the studio or at home” “bare feet or a pair of shoes like these!” She held her foot up to her beaming face and there was that Union Flag and the word REEBOK we had just been beamed into every home in America.

Discovering a passion.

Here beneath the warm California sun, shaded by palm trees, there was a new sport; ‘Aerobics’ or Aerobic Workout. Angel continued to talk how, Californian ladies were taking over dance studios and working out to music in groups.

Coming to America (October 1983)

Holiday of a lifetime, that was how it was billed. The furthest I’d ever been on a plane was Spain, that’s just two hours and I was off to America! A holiday in California, Disneyland, Universal Studios! New York, the Statue of Liberty, The Empire State Building, but, “first we’re going to Boston.”