Sneaker News 
The Reebok Instapump Fury is one of those timeless classics that will always be “in” during any time of year. With the shoe continuing its monster cult status in Asia, Reebok has moved forward with a slick “spin-off” of sorts called the Fury Adapt; although it sheds the Pump technology and the signature air pump and bladder on the upper, the Fury Adapt has no problem attracting glances thanks to its sleek and sporty design. Better yet, we got a chance to chat with Wayne Russell, the designer behind the Fury Adapt model. The Reebok Fury Adapt is available now in two distinct original Instapump colorways (the OG “Citron” and “Berry”) with an MSRP of $100, so check out an up-close look at the shoes as well our interview with Wayne.
Can you talk about your history and how you came to work for Reebok?
I just celebrated my 8-year anniversary at Reebok. I really can’t believe it’s been that long.
It seems like yesterday that I was sketching Iverson sneakers in high school. Now I design shoes for a living. As cliché as it sounds, it’s a dream come true.
What are your memories of the original Instapump Fury?
I remember the colors! Red. Greenish yellow neon. Black. WHAT? It was unlike anything I had seen. The color definitely caught my eyes. The rest of the shoe just sealed the deal. The Instapump Fury seemed to be from a different planet, but in a good way. I love shoes that make a statement. The OG Fury did that many times over.
Can you talk about the cult-following of the Instapump Fury?
The Instapump Fury is the epitome of polarizing. I embrace the brilliance of its “weirdness” and I suspect that my fellow Fury fans agree. It’s a one of kind shoe. The decoupled midsole. The Pump bladder. The bold color. INCREDIBLE.
What was the design brief you were given in regards to the Reebok Fury Adapt?
There really was no brief. It was more of a hallway discussion with a project manager by the name of Greg Korbas. Previously there was a Ventilator Adapt that seemed to work and Greg, more or less, asked “What would a Fury Adapt look like?” From then on it became a side project for me. He essentially just left me alone to figure it out, which was nice.
What is the goal/purpose of this shoe?
The goal was to create a shoe that was more in line with contemporary tastes. This is the main reason for utilizing a bootie construction and TPU cage. That also explains the shape. The Fury Adapt is a lot sleeker than the OG Fury. We wanted a slimmed down shape and we even borrowed a last from the running team.
Can you talk about the design cues and material usage on the Fury Adapt?
If you look closely you can see that the cage of the Fury Adapt is inspired by the shape of the Pump bladder. The Pump bladder was a detail that just couldn’t go unreferenced. I tried to sprinkle in a few other cues on the shoe as well. The midsole and outsole are heavily inspired by the two Instapump Fury, the OG and the “derivative” Fury.
As far as the materials are concerned, we kept it really simple for the initial release. Later on you’ll start to see a variety of material options including an all over leather version.
What are your favorite design cues of the shoe?
I would have to say that my favorite part of the shoe is the looped eyelets of the TPU cage. It seems like an innocuous detail but it took a lot of time and effort to get those loops to pass testing. Typically, a cage of that nature will simply utilize holes but I was really after a slightly more unique execution. Thanks to my developer Lisa Guo for all of her hard work. She really went above and beyond to make sure the shoe turned out the way I envisioned it.
