Q&A With Reebok’s Nico Bono On The New Instapump Fury Zone

Reebok is returning to the performance basketball market for the first time in years with the Reebok Instapump Fury Zone and Nice Kicks chatted with Nico Bono, Product Marketing Manager for Classics, about the sneaker and the design, as well as what’s in the future for Reebok.

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NK: Curious to know, when did the design process begin for the sneaker?

Research and initial designs for this new model date back to early 2020. 

We were digging into our brand archive in preparation for the Pump Omni Zone II re-launch in Spring ’21, trying to nail the shape, height, textures, and every other small detail that made that model special in order to celebrate the 30^thAnniversary of Dee Brown’s iconic no-look dunk. This sparked some additional Pump curiosity and research within the archive, which we were fortunate to do before the pandemic hit and the office locked down. The vision was to combine elements of our Pump Basketball heritage with our innovative Instapump Fury design language and slip-on construction to create a modern aesthetic that was uniquely Reebok. Shoutout to the designer of this model, Joey Benedetto [no longer with Reebok], who shared this vision and brought the design to life. 

After two long years and countless pandemic-related delays, we are super excited to finally launch the Instapump Fury Zone. 

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NK: Reebok’s Pump technology dates back to the 80s, has the tech pretty much been the same since then, or are there any updates Pump has had for 2022?

The idea and function of Pump—pumping air into a chamber for a customized fit—has not changed dramatically over the years. That said, there have been several different interpretations of Pump by Reebok since 1989 (when the tech was introduced commercially). Most of the models that featured Pump from 1989-1994 had chambers built into the tongue that hugged the foot—providing additional lockdown beyond traditional laces. Examples of this internal Pump application are the Pump Omni Zone II and the Court Victory Pump, just to name two. 

In 1994, the Instapump Fury hit the market and put the bladder front-and-center, completely replacing the need for laces and giving the model a totally futuristic design. The concept of Pumped up air and customized fit was similar to its predecessors in theory but the design, application, and functionality was completely new. We learned from the foundation of this idea. The goal wasn’t to develop a new version of Pump per se, but to modify the existing tech to fit this modernized design language, hug the foot properly, and give the consumer a new, fresh interpretation of Pump. Developing new bladder shapes is a rather complex and difficult process, which is probably why there have not been a ton of modified Pump models over the years. Our developer, Connie Chiueh, was super supportive in helping to develop the new bladder pattern for this project, helping to bring the vision over the finish line. 

NK: There are design inspirations and homages to past Reebok basketball sneakers, can you go into detail about them?

We looked at a ton of older Pump models while working on this project, so there were definitely subtleties taken into account from a variety of models. That said, a few stood out more than others. Not a basketball sneaker, but obviously the Instapump Fury was a major inspiration as that model has really transcended time and still looks modern even though it was released almost 30 years ago.

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The second major influence was the Pump Omni Zone II. The TPU gesture of the Omni helped to inform the shape of the Pump bladder on the Instapump Fury Zone. We wanted to utilize the Pump bladder as a “cage” of sorts to provide lateral stability in a similar way TPU has been used on performance product in the past.

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The most obscure archive reference, and probably my personal favorite, is the Instapump Romulus. As far as I know, this was our first laceless basketball shoe and carried the torch for Instapump Fury from the running space into the basketball category in 1995. When we saw and held this piece of our history in hand, we knew we had to work to continue our Pump legacy in the basketball category. Lastly, I have to mention the ATR Pump worn by AI in the 2005 All-Star game that featured an external bladder. This was another obscure but super cool design and one of the few non-signature models worn by Iverson during his career.

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NK: The colorway looks to be inspired by the Reebok Pump Omni Zone II that Dee Brown famously wore during the ‘91 Dunk Contest, can we expect more colorways that take from Reebok’s iconic history?

For sure. As a brand, we want to make sure we are tapping into our rich history and telling our memorable brand stories to the next generation. We definitely wanted to pay homage to Dee with this launch color since he really cemented Pump into both basketball and sneaker culture. We probably wouldn’t be able to launch a shoe like this without Dee Brown helping to make Pump a household name. In addition, this model’s color blocking lends itself well to adopt some of the more interesting Fury colorways of the past, such as Citron and Brazen Berry. Brazen Berry is definitely the sleeper of the colorways yet to come. 

NK: What’s your favorite detail about the Instapump Fury Zone?

It’s less about the specific details for me but rather the overall design and what this shoe represents. It’s a uniquely REEBOK design. Polarizing as it may be, this could never be mistaken for any other brand. That is part of what is so special about this model in the current sneaker landscape. There are a lot of brands in the basketball space right now that are putting out generic designs and creating a “sea-of-sameness” on footwear walls across the world. This shoe was designed to carry on our unique and rich history, and it is special to be a part of that Reebok brand legacy.  

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NK: The Instapump Fury Zone is the first new basketball sneaker from Reebok in a while, what can we expect down the road from Reebok basketball?

There are a lot of exciting things happening within the brand right now…you’ll just have to stay tuned.

The Reebok Instapump Fury Zone is set to drop on February 18th via Reebok.com and at select retailers for $150.

And for those in Cleveland for All-Star Weekend, Reebok is releasing the Instapump Fury Zone at its immersive retrofuture “Bok Door” experience which is taking place February 18-19 in downtown Cleveland and the likes of Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, Dee Brown, Myles Garrett, and more are set to make an appearance. Click here for the RSVP link.

Much thanks to Nico Bono and Jason Silva at Reebok for setting this up and taking the time out of their busy schedules to chat with us.