UK shoemaker back in business to disrupt footwear market with AI

Joe Foster, right, who founded the sports brand Reebok in 1958 with his brother Jeff, left, works on football boots in this photo. Courtesy of Joe Foster

For Koreans who grew up in the 1980s, any mention of global sports brand Reebok brings back memories of an iconic TV commercial that played on a loop in their minds.

In the ad, Lee Jong-won, a then-unknown model, appeared in a black sleeveless jersey emblazoned with the word “Reebok.” His flawless athletic dance performance — jaw-dropping and powerful — captivated viewers across the country. The routine was said to be inspired by Mikhail Baryshnikov’s dramatic opening dance in the critically acclaimed 1985 film “White Nights.”

The TV commercial was a turning point in Lee’s career, launching him into stardom. Virtually overnight, he became one of the most sought-after actors in the country, riding the wave of the Reebok ad’s viral popularity. By the 1990s, the British footwear brand had become a must-have among trendy young Koreans.

What’s less known, however, is that Reebok’s global rise had a strong Korean connection: Its shoes were produced by manufacturers based in the southeastern port city of Busan.

“In 1979, I met with three factories in Busan and was amazed at the quality of their products — at prices far below what we could manage in the U.K.,” Joe Foster, the British entrepreneur who co-founded Reebok with his brother Jeff, said in an email interview with The Korea Times.

At the time, Foster was searching for a manufacturer outside the U.K. that could produce 20,000 pairs of shoes, as Reebok was preparing to enter the U.S. market.

“Our factory in the U.K. was small, and I knew that if we received a five-star rating from Runners’ World magazine for our Aztec model, we wouldn’t be able to fulfill a 20,000-pair order quickly enough,” he explained. “I contacted a sourcing agent in the U.K., who told me South Korea was now the best option.”

Foster vividly recalls his eventful first trip to Korea. Unknowingly, he found himself caught in the crosscurrents of Asia’s turbulent geopolitics. His flight, Pan Am 2, stopped in Tehran for refueling — just days before the American hostage crisis erupted. That standoff, sparked by Iranian students’ seizure of the U.S. Embassy, would last 444 days and involve the detention of 50 Americans, including the chargé d’affaires.

Korea, too, was experiencing political upheaval. President Park Chung-hee, who had ruled the country for nearly two decades after seizing power in a military coup, was assassinated by his own aide on Oct. 26, 1979, prompting a declaration of martial law.

Foster’s itinerary was directly impacted. After landing in Hong Kong, he was advised to reroute to Taiwan, where his sourcing agent had temporarily relocated, instead of flying directly to Korea. A day later than planned, Foster and his team finally arrived in Seoul, then made their way to Busan to meet with local manufacturers. The meetings went well, and he left feeling optimistic about the partnership.

Joe Foster poses in an AI-generated shoe produced by Florida-based startup Syntilay. He joined the U.S. footwear startup as an adviser. Courtesy of Syntilay

Shoemaking runs in Foster’s blood. His grandfather founded the family business, J.W. Foster & Sons, in 1895, pioneering the development of spiked running shoes. Despite its promising beginnings, the business began to falter under the leadership of Foster’s father and uncle, who lacked a clear vision for its future.

Joe and his brother Jeff made numerous attempts to modernize and revitalize the brand, but their ideas were dismissed. Frustrated and determined to forge their own path, the brothers broke away and founded their own footwear company in 1958 — what would eventually become Reebok.

From the start, Foster had his sights set on the U.S. market, knowing it was the key to making a global impact in the footwear industry. But it was no easy feat for a small U.K.-based running shoe brand to gain a foothold in the competitive American market.

Beginning in 1968, Foster attended the National Sporting Goods of America trade show for 11 consecutive years, tirelessly seeking distributors and buyers. His efforts were met with repeated setbacks.

“During this time, I had six failed distribution agreements,” Foster recalled. But persistence paid off. In 1979, he finally connected with Paul Fireman, who was then running his family’s outdoor sporting goods business. Fireman agreed to become Reebok’s U.S. distributor, and his business instincts proved invaluable. Reebok rapidly grew into a formidable competitor in the American market.

By the mid-1980s, Reebok had surpassed Nike to become the top athletic brand in the U.S. In 1989, Reebok reported $1.82 billion in sales — edging out Nike’s $1.71 billion.

This success coincided with the aerobics boom, which began in the U.S. and soon swept across the globe. Reebok capitalized on the trend with the launch of the Freestyle, a sneaker specifically designed and marketed for women engaging in aerobics.

“With volume demand coming from the U.S., I decided it would be better to have a production team there to oversee South Korean manufacturing,” Foster said. “I appointed two people in the U.K. to continue producing special models.”

That strategic decision — to shift production and design leadership to the U.S. — proved pivotal. When the aerobics craze hit, Reebok was able to respond swiftly with a product tailor-made for the moment. Reebok’s revenue spiked from $9 million to $900 million in just four years and the brand leapfrogged Adidas and Nike to become the world’s No. 1 sports brand.

He retired from Reebok in 1989, stepping away at the peak of the company’s success.

Syntilay's AI-designed shoe/ Courtesy of Syntilay

Decades after reshaping the athletic footwear landscape, Foster is stepping back into the shoe business — this time, with a futuristic twist. He is now aiming to pioneer artificial intelligence (AI)-designed footwear, partnering as an adviser with Florida-based startup Syntilay.

Founded by CEO Ben Weiss, Syntilay specializes in AI-generated shoes and recently launched what it claims to be the world’s first AI-designed sneaker, now available for purchase online.

Foster played a key role in bringing the innovative product to market.

“Joe has been involved in every aspect of the project — from overseeing design and helping with marketing to setting the overall pace for the company,” Weiss said. “He’s an integral part of the team, and his wisdom is profound. He scaled Reebok into the best-selling shoe brand in the world without many resources. That kind of go-getter energy is exactly what we want to embody.”

Weiss, who describes himself as an entrepreneur building the future of AI-designed sneakers, emphasized how the technology has streamlined the product development process.

“With AI, we can go from concept to release in three months instead of the typical 18,” he explained. “Seventy percent of our design process is automated. We use AI to generate the initial concept direction, have a designer sketch it out, then develop a 3D shape using AI and apply generative AI for the patterns and textures. It gives designers more time to be creative and experimental.”

Syntilay’s shoes are also mold-free and printed on demand, making each pair uniquely customized and tailored to order.

Foster, reflecting on the role of AI in design, sees the technology as a tool to augment human creativity, not replace it.

“AI offers new and faster pathways, assisting rather than replacing human designers,” he said. “You can take a design and ask AI to produce variations, saving time and adding originality. The biggest advantage is in idea development and product creation, especially when paired with 3D printing. However, until 3D printers become significantly faster — which is still a ways off — mass production will remain traditional.”

Just as his grandfather revolutionized sports with spiked running shoes in the late 1800s, Foster is once again aiming to disrupt the global footwear industry, four decades after Reebok’s wild success in the U.S. — this time with AI at the helm.

In the 1980s, Reebok, Foster’s brainchild, shook up the U.S. market during the aerobics boom, eventually outpacing Nike. Whether the 90-year-old entrepreneur can recreate that level of success with AI-generated shoes remains to be seen — but his vision and drive remain as sharp as ever.

From left are Ben Weiss, CEO at Syntilay, Joe Foster's wife Julie, Joe and Farley Weiss, chairman at Syntilay., at a restaurant in Florida last year. Courtesy of Ben Weiss