A Look Back at the Reebok Aztrek

Christian Tresser’s First Ever Shoe Design

The Aztrek traces its roots back to one of the footwear industry’s most underrated designers.

In the early 1980s, Christian Tresser was a talented young footballer with professional dreams of the beautiful game. Sadly, however, things took a turn for the worse in 1985 when the North American Soccer League went kaput and Tresser decided to leave his dreams of on-pitch glory behind. Driven by his penchant for art and design, as well as a serendipitous meeting with a footwear consultant at his father’s automotive workshop, Tresser — who was enrolled in the Academy of Art in San Francisco at the time — was hired to produce footwear illustrations. The hire turned out to be perfect for the former footballer as Tresser had the opportunity to marry two of his greatest passions: sport and design.

Tresser’s natural eye for fluid contours eventually led to a job at Reebok. The sportswear giant was brimming with the likes of engineers, biochemists, and industrial designers at the time, and Tresser was a welcome addition to the team. He may have been a relative greenhorn when it came to footwear design, but his artistic training gave him a decided edge and distinct lens through which to combine expression, technology and design. After filling his portfolio with a bevy of concepts, Tresser tackled his first ever footwear project for Reebok: the Aztrek.

Pinnacle Performance

The Aztrek may have taken its name from the Aztec of 1979, but there was nothing 1970s about the 1990s design it spawned. Whereas the original Aztec donned a nylon upper with suede and leather overlays, D-ring speed lacing, a dual-density midsole, and a simplistic moulded rubber outsole, the Aztrek improved on its old school predecessor in every imaginable way.

Designed specifically for the trail, the rugged kicks were built atop a diamond stud outsole that ensured off-roaders would stay sure-footed no matter the terrain. What was above those diamond studs, however, was infinitely more important to the shoe: Hexalite cushioning.

First employed by Michael Chang’s iconic Court Victory Pump, Hexalite was Reebok’s answer to Nike Air in the early 90s. Inspired by lightweight strength of honeycomb, Hexalite saw Reebok moving away from its cylindrical ERS tech of the era in favour of impact-resistant hexagons of shock-absorbing polythermal elastomers. The technology was employed to great effect in the Aztrek and was not only four times more durable than traditional Eva foam cushioning, but could also absorb 23% more energy. Ultimately, Hexalite was a key selling point for the trail runner, making the Aztrek the hallmark of Reebok’s Pinnacle Performance lineup

‘X’ Marks The Spot

That Pinnacle Performance cushioning tech, however, would have been pointless without the right upper. Thankfully, with Tresser’s ability to express speed through product design, the Hexalite and diamond studs were coupled with a modern upper construction to match. Out was the nylon of 1979’s Aztec, and in was breathable mesh with synthetic suede overlays.

What really set the upper apart, though, was the way the design centred around the toe box. While bold hues like citron and teal decorated the standard Vector Logo, the streaks of the logo itself plummeted toward a toe that boldly bucked the slimmed-down trend of the time. As if to call even more attention to the unique design, an ellipses of 3M reflective was utilised to reflect surrounding light and also tied in with additional applications to the overlay that stretched around the heel. Last, but certainly not least, a bold ‘X’ of overlaying suede hit the toe and was even swathed in contrasting shades on most colourways of the shoe, to help mark the footwear’s most distinct shape.