Somewhere in the Hysteria rave archives is a photograph from 1999 of a raver wearing a Reebok Vector beanie. Twenty-seven years later, at A$AP Rocky's Manchester show, I spotted a kid who couldn't have been much older than 20 wearing a Reebok Vector trucker sideways. Different generations, different occasions, but the same logo.
Raver at Hysteria 26 1999 via Jungle Rave Era
Palace x Reebok Classic via @fucksisson
Same Vector, Different Generation
Growing up in the UK means having memories of Reebok. One way or another, you will have come across the brand, whether that’s the shoes you wore to P.E, seeing the Vector logo on your uncle’s track jacket or seeing your mates cutting about town in them while you were growing up.
My journey into loving footwear is dotted with a number of Reebok milestones, because no matter how deep into the culture I found myself, I would always return to the brand. One of my first big sneaker purchases was the Palace x Reebok Classic. I’d seen them all over The Basement, where every post had people raving about them. I snagged the last pair of UK12s off the END website that evening and proceeded to wear them into the ground during my college and University years.
Sideways Reebok Vector hat at A$AP Rock Shoe Manchester 2026
Even as my tastes changed over the years, I’d keep seeing the most interesting characters wearing Reebok.
Different generations, different occasions, but the same logo.
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Steezy kid styling Workouts at Manchester Carnival 2026
From Bolton to the Dancefloor
Born in Bolton, Reebok travelled remarkably quickly: from five-star Runner's World reviews at the end of the '70s to the American aerobics boom of the '80s. But some of its most enduring footwear stories would be written back home.
Just like all the most popular trainers, Reebok’s workout-centric footwear went on to live a second life outside of sportswear. People weren’t precious about them either, wearing them for a kick abouts, raves and on the terraces. By the '90s, Reebok wasn't confined to people's feet either. Its Vector logo sat across shirts of clubs such as Bolton and Liverpool, while Bolton’s new home was christened the Reebok Stadium in 1997, a name that became so embedded in the club’s identity that “The Reebok” still evokes that era today.
After the turn of the millennium, Reebok’s ventures into music became more apparent. Iconic UK artist, The Streets would rap, “Let’s put our Classics on and have a little dance shall we”, in his Let’s Push Things Forward track from 2002, a line that would place him next to the likes of Jay-Z and 50 Cent in Reebok’s 2005 I Am What I Am campaign. Mike Skinner was a perfect fit for the brand and represented one of Reebok’s many strong cultural collaborations. Luckily, the brand’s eye for who to connect with in the UK only grew throughout the following decades.
Full Circle felt less like Reebok constructing a history than finally opening up one that was already there.
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MC Bushkin and Ewen Spencer at the "Oh My Mosch" Book launch with Reebok
Rhy McKee aka @cakenotcrumbs talking at Reebok Full Circle event
Around a decade later, Skepta would spit, “you were looking way too cold in your Reebok Ice” on 2016’s Ladies Hit Squad. Later that year, he collected the Mercury Prize for Konnichiwa, dressed almost entirely in black, with a pair of black Reebok Workouts on his feet. Here was an artist being rewarded for an album that stripped things back to his musical roots, wearing a shoe that felt every bit as North London as Skepta himself.
The UK’s Reebok library is extensive, and those who managed to see the Full Circle activation would have felt that. Seeing Ewen Spencer’s photography among the basement halls of Phonica Records was a perfect reminder of how prominent the brand was among the UK’s rave scene. Full Circle felt less like Reebok constructing a history than finally opening up one that was already there.
Skepta wearing Workouts at Woohaa in 2016 via 3voor12
Original Reebok Workout OG via Reebok
Palace x Reebok Classic from 2013 via @kwillsofficial
Footpatrol x Reebok Instapump Fury 94 via @me.yah
In Good Company
Look at Reebok’s library of UK collaborations and it is just as strong. A shoe is only as good as its story, and picking the right person to tell that story is never as simple as it seems. But consistently picking the right people and brands to partner with is even harder.
However, this is where Reebok seems to shine, working with the likes of the late Gary Warnett on his prison-themed Classic Leathers, the ‘Outside In’ collection with Garbstore that balances a tasteful yet conceptual twist on archival classics, or the Palace Skateboard collaboration in 2013 which not only represents its first footwear collaboration, but transformed the Workout into a skate-appropriate piece of footwear.
via @fffiles
Story mfg x Reebok Club C via END.
Garbstore x Reebok Workout via @charliedavs_
Hanon's Belly's Gonna Get Ya Campaign via Hanon
This knack continued as Reebok worked closely with the now-closed Hanon shop, allowing the Scottish retailer to proudly represent its home city of Aberdeen. Projects like the “3 Castles” Classic Leather, alongside its more tongue-in-cheek “Belly’s Gonna Get Ya” Workout, a nod to Reebok’s 2000 advert, showed how even the brand’s own British history could be reinterpreted through a distinctly Scottish lens.
Fast forward to the 2020s, and Reebok let the beautifully crafted Story mfg. grow mycelium out of its Club C, while Mike Skinner finally got his own version of the Classic Leather in 2024, The Streets beautifully inserted into the sidewall window.
The Streets wearing his Rebbok x END. collaboration via END
Time and time again, Reebok’s selection of UK voices perfectly fit into the brand’s overarching narrative, and while they may not have been the loudest in the room, they were confident in what they represented.
A shoe is only as good as its story, and picking the right person to tell that story is never as simple as it seems.
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MC Bushkin on the mic at his "Oh My Mosch" Reebok book launch
K-Trap and MC Bushkin outside The Reebok Arms
K-Trap in the Workout Campaign via Reebok
The Next Generation
Today, K-Trap is the latest representation of Reebok’s UK voice. He is the echo of what Mike Skinner’s I Am What I Am represented twenty years ago. Here, Reebok chose an artist who the people would argue is the latest contender for a UK anthem with his hit Warm, placing him front and centre of its new Workout campaign.
The video feature was so quintessentially British, it could have only been premiered at a pub, one aptly renamed The Reeboks Arms. Alongside Trapo was North London MC Bushkin, the man behind Heartless Crew, and Eastender’s icon Laila Morse, making up a generational mosaic of the nation’s pop culture.
K-Trap at the Reebok Workout campaign premier
Decade after decade, Reebok persists as a familiar part of UK culture, one that wore a Vector beanie to the rave in ’99 and now rocks the same logo sideways at the biggest concerts. If you’re lucky enough to get your own version of the Classic Leather or Workout one day, just remember you’ve got team UK behind you.
Decade after decade, Reebok persists as a familiar part of UK culture.
