{"id":421077,"date":"2014-12-12T22:05:39","date_gmt":"2014-12-13T03:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/?p=421077"},"modified":"2019-01-03T11:01:56","modified_gmt":"2019-01-03T16:01:56","slug":"now-alife-ball-release-differs-2006","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/now-alife-ball-release-differs-2006\/","title":{"rendered":"Then & Now: How This ALIFE “Ball Out” Release Differs from 2006"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a world changing faster and faster year after year, month after month, and now even day after day, it is no surprise that when you examine the way things were in the business and culture of sneakers eight and a half years ago when the first ALIFE x Reebok Court Victory Pump “Ball Out”<\/strong> released in early 2006 and compare them to then end of 2014, you are sure to see alot of things aren’t the same.  While in the past we have made product comparisons on reissues, we aren’t doing that with this shoe.  Not this time.  In fact, the only subtle changes to the shoe in the 2014 have a good reason for them that we will get into later.<\/p>\n

Over the nearly nine years I have had the great fortune and opportunity presented to me to speak with and make friends with a ton of people in the sneaker world.  From stockroom boys at outlets to CEOs, one thing is a common thread with everyone I meet – they all have stories to tell.<\/p>\n

Just a couple of days ago I gave Jesse Villanueva<\/a> of the ALIFE crew to talk about their upcoming reissue of the ALIFE “Ball Out” Pump releasing tomorrow.  Before even asking details about the shoe, an hour passed by of talking about the then and now of sneakers and how the “Ball Out” plays into the history of everything in the world we live and work in.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The lay of the land in 2006.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It 2006 chasing sneakers was new to many, but wasn’t new to us.  For those of us who were into sneakers and obsessed with them in a weirdo sort of way, the thought of spending a healthy portion of our income on footwear was nothing out of the norm.  It was all very underground and low-key with little people outside of our circles understanding our obsession.<\/p>\n Sports Illustrated May 14, 1990 issue – “Your Sneakers Of Your Life”\n

Sure, you had the May 14, 1990 issue of Sports Illustrated titled “Your Sneakers or Your Life” and the year before the New York Post cover the release of the Pigeon Dunk dubbing it a “Sneaker frenzy”, but besides those two printed moments, the mainstream media was pretty much out of the loop with the underground sneaker culture.  But despite the outside world knowing much about the culture of kicks, the business was at a tipping point in 2006 primed for launch.<\/p>\n New York Post front page from February 23, 2005\n

ALIFE’s first footwear project came in 2003 when they joined forces with the relatively newly formed Adidas Originals to create four sneakers bearing their name, branding, and stamp of approval.  But even that initial set was far different from what was to come for their next sneaker project.<\/p>\n

By 2006, nicknames for sneakers were not new, but in history they had always been decided by the people.  Everything from the easiest to remember or most distinguishing color in the colorway listed on the box or the collaborating party, the names for shoes were rather simple and were just a way to distinguish one shoe from another when talking with someone about the shoes.  When ALIFE brought their version of the Reebok Court Victory Pump, they branded it into something bigger.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ball Out.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bling-bling era of hip hop was done, but 2006 was a time when the economy of New York City, like many places was on the up and up.  “Ballin'” was nothing to be ashamed of as many people at the time from Wall Street to street hustles were getting money.  Times were good.  REALLY good.  ALIFE’s use of the term “Ball Out” did what they do best drawing cultural connections of what was happening in the streets of New York to art, apparel, and sneakers.<\/p>\n Original ALIFE web flyer for the “Ball Out” from 2006 (via fixins<\/a>)\n

February 11, 2006 was the date that the ALIFE x Reebok Court Victory Pump “Ball Out” released in numbers so small that today brands wouldn’t even fathom producing a run so small due to its development costs.  The “Ball Out” Pump release was not the first for ALIFE, but it was a game changer.  Game changer not just for the Lower East Side spot, but for the concept of sneaker collabs and how they would be executed.<\/p>\n

ALIFE took the roots and heritage of the Reebok Court Victory Pump to tell a story about the shoe to consumers in a way that hadn’t been done before.  Up until its release, the few collaborations and limited editions of shoes pretty much came with limited executions with just color blocking swaps or maybe a stitched logo on one of the panels, but the ALIFE team took it one step up with the “Ball Out”.<\/p>\n

Most associated Reebok’s Pump technology with basketball.  Granted, the first Reebok Pump was a hoops shoe, shades were thrown Nike’s direction with “Pump Up – Air Out” commercials starring Dominique Wilkins and former Nike Athlete Bill Walton on network TV, and Dee Brown “pumped up” his kicks before winning the Dunk Contest in ’91, but ALIFE wanted to tell the story of the other sport and athlete that made the Reebok Pump technology what it was – Michael Chang.<\/p>\n Michael Chang in Reebok Court Victory Pump ad (via ClassicKicks<\/a>)\n

Michael Chang, the Hoboken, New Jersey born and future International Tennis Hall of Famer was just 17 years old when he set the record for being the younger athlete to ever win a Grand Slam on the pro tennis circuit.  In 1989, Chang defeated the Adidas signature athlete Stefan Edberg to win the French Open.  Reebok Tennis was officially on the map.  The following year, the brand introduced Reebok Pump technology to their tennis line and had Michael Chang involved with the global ad campaign.<\/p>\n

Taking the tennis theme, ALIFE covered the shoe in the fuzzy tennis ball material to illustrate to anyone who questioned what was the roots of the Reebok Pump sneaker.<\/p>\n

As a sucker for history of sneakers, design, and sports, the “Ball Out” ALIFE Reebok Pumps caught my attention from jump because they were the first collaboration sneaker that told a story in a way that resonated with consumers in a new way.  Rather than just selling a limited run of sneakers, for the first time, ALIFE built a themed collection around a collaborative project with accessories, T-shirts, and in-store displays to make the shoe’s debut not just a release but an event.<\/p>\n

Not only did the ALIFE “Ball Out” Reebok Pumps connect on the wavelength of consumers with the use of colors and materials, but the back story of history through the shoe was a story that many heads wanted to tell one another.  There was no Instagram to share pics, no twitter to tweet a link, and Facebook was still just reserved for folks with .edu email addresses, but ALIFE had created a story that was told and retold through the community that was viral in the sneaker subculture.<\/p>\n

With the release in a limited run of only 84 pairs dropping in store only at their shop on Rivington and the word spreading about the shoes around the globe, demand for the shoes was insane.  So limited in numbers that eBay hunting took dedication and if they did land at Flight Club, they frequently held a four digit price tag.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Keep Ballin.<\/strong><\/p>\n ALIFE x Reebok Court Victory Pump in Orange and White\n

With so much attention on the shoes, crazy resale prices, and consumers looking for more, the time couldn’t have been better for the next release by ALIFE of the “Ball Out” Reebok Pumps.  Once again taking inspiration from tennis balls, the second release of the collaborative project between ALIFE and Reebok brought the shoes in orange and white – the two other colors of Tennis balls you would find throughout history.  Releasing on Black Friday, November 24, 2006, the shoes were again an instant sell out with a chase that soon followed.  A year following that launch came the Black\/Neon and Pink colorways of the “Ball Outs” that were yet again another gone in a flash drop.<\/p>\n ALIFE x Reebok Court Victory Ball Out Pink and Black\n

Since the debut the brand has had many collaborations with a long list of brands, but if you ask folks at the Rivington Club, this is one of their favorites.<\/p>\n

On a tradeshow floor at the Reebok booth, a casual conversation between ALIFE and a Reebok director got onto the topic of the “Ball Out” and a return and reissue of the shoe.  As Jesse said to me, “we wanted to bring it back, but wanted it to be different from the first drop out of respect to the OG heads.”<\/p>\n

Jesse and many of his colleagues at ALIFE come from an era before retro, re-retro, and re-re-re-re-re-retro of the same exact shoe.  Even if there is a slight change that isn’t noticeable to anyone else, it was important to them that this bringback of the original colorway of the “Ball Out” Court Victory Pumps would be different from the first run.<\/p>\n

What makes the 2014 release of the “Ball Out” Pump even more special to me (still have a DS pair), is that the red stitching of the ALIFE cursive logo is exactly how the first sample ever produced was done.  In essence, tomorrow’s “Ball Out” release is just like the initial concept that was sketched back in 2005.<\/p>\n

The ALIFE x Reebok Court Victory Pump “Ball Out” releases exclusively at Alife Rivington Club and online at rivingtonclub.nyc for $200 – the OG price.<\/p>\n ALIFE x Reebok Court Victory Pump “Ball Out” 2014\n ALIFE x Reebok Court Victory Pump “Ball Out” 2014\n ALIFE x Reebok Court Victory Pump “Ball Out” 2014\n ALIFE x Reebok Court Victory Pump “Ball Out” 2014\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a world changing faster and faster year after year, month after month, and now even day after day, it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":149,"featured_media":421079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,1225458],"tags":[1225478,1213069,1100],"cultivate_rss":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow the ALIFE "Ball Out" 2014 Release is Different From 2006<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ALOT has changed in sneaker culture from 2006 from the first ALIFE Ball Out until now, the 2014 ALIFE x Reebok Court Victory Ball Out.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.snkrsday.com\/now-alife-ball-release-differs-2006\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" 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