After a solid 6 month hiatus, I have returned and have plenty to share.  First up to the plate is my latest pair of kicks just in time for spring.  I have had my eye on the Air Pegasus 89s for awhile, however this style is super hard to find in the states and does not get much re-issue love from Nike.  Luckily I was able to snag them on eBay from the UK.

Although I was only 6 years old when the original Reebok Pumps came out, they remain a strong childhood memory.  Before Reebok came out with the Pumps, they were struggling to keep up with Nike and their ever popular Nike Airs.  In 1989, The Pump gave Reebok an identity of their own led by the ad campaign of their first athlete spokesman, Dominique Wilkins.  The Pump went on to achieve basketball greatness when Dee Brown wore them for his winning dunk at the 1991 NBA All-Star Dunk Contest.  Personally as young tennis star, I was drawn to the Pumps because they were worn by tennis sensation Michael Chang, who at 17 became the youngest man ever to win a grand slam.  Although his speed and tenacity might have won him the French Open, i’m pretty sure the Pumps had something to do with it.  After years of salivating over them as a kid, they slowly faded away as new sneaker fads came and went.

Because they came with a very steep price tag of $175 in the early 90s, not too many kids were able to convince their parents that they needed a pair.  Although I always dreamed of racing around the tennis court in some squeaky clean Pumps, I never did manage to get a pair in the 90s.  Years passed and I quickly forgot about them, but thanks to the popularity of retro things these days, Reebok has been remaking their classic Pumps in limited numbers over the past few years.  Now some 20 or so years after I first laid eyes on this magical sneaker that you could pump up with air, I now have a pair of my own.  Thanks to a ridiculously good deal on Gilt Group, I am now the proud new owner of the New York Knicks edition Pumps  (shown in the first picture).  Oh and sorry the deal is over on Gilt, but you can still find the new Reebok “Bringback” Pumps at fine sneaker shops around or online.

I forgot how amazing the early 90s were…….check out Chang in this TV ad: