For a decade and a half, Reebok’s iconic cross-training shoe has been a staple of the health world.
Final up to date on January twenty third, 2025
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I nonetheless bear in mind the primary time I walked right into a CrossFit gymnasium.
The 12 months was 2008. I used to be a university rower in London, Ontario, and we heard that CrossFit London had Idea 2 rowing machines.
I felt like a child in a sweet store once I walked into the 800-square-foot gymnasium and noticed a category of six folks throwing barbells round and rocking kipping pull-ups, a motion I used to be acquainted with due to my gymnastics background as a child.
- I additionally observed their sneakers: The room was dominated by Converse All-Stars – “Chucks.”
“What’s happening right here,” I believed.
I later discovered that, whereas not supreme, Chucks had been most CrossFit fanatic’s shoe of alternative on the time as a result of they’d a flatter sole than your typical working shoe or cross-training shoe, which was useful for weightlifting.
They weren’t nice for CrossFit, however they had been higher than the rest out there on the time, when most individuals had by no means heard of CrossFit, not to mention developed a shoe for it.
The next 12 months, a brand new shoe emerged that CrossFit athletes flocked to: Vibram 5 Fingers.
- Bear in mind those? They had been like gloves on your ft and took 5 minutes to placed on as you tried to shove your naked toes into the person toe slots.
I purchased myself a pair, wore them twice, after which needed to throw them out as a result of I couldn’t take the stench that was festering from carrying sneakers with out socks.
Three years into my CrossFit journey, Reebok got here to the rescue and launched the primary Reebok Nano, which grew to become the official shoe of the 2011 CrossFit Video games.
Lastly, a shoe particular for CrossFit.
And identical to that, the Nano swept in, and by the top of 2011, you couldn’t even name your self a CrossFit athlete in the event you didn’t personal a pair of Nanos.
Reebok Nanos From 2011-2025
Since 2011, we’ve got seen 14 extra iterations of the Nano come to market.
- The Nano 2.0 was launched in 2012, and it had a barely wider toe field than the primary mannequin.
- The Nano 3.0 adopted in 2013. It included a protecting layer in the midst of the only real to stop fraying from rope climbs.
- A 12 months later, in 2014, the Nano 4.0 was launched on the 2014 CrossFit Video games, that includes a protecting layer on the entrance of the shoe and an enhanced toe-wrap for extra sturdiness, in addition to a extra inflexible sole for higher grip and stability.
Since then, every new model of the Nano has continued to evolve alongside the game itself, one thing Reebok is happy with.
- “We’ve stayed related via our continued dedication to supply athletes with what they’re in search of — the game has advanced, and so has the Nano franchise to provide athletes essentially the most elite coaching shoe in the marketplace,” Tal Brief, the product director at Reebok, mentioned.
Though the CrossFit shoe market is rather more aggressive than it was in 2011, the Reebok Nano continues to be simply as related as ever 15 years later.
The brand new Nano X5s, that are out there for buy in the present day, January 24, aren’t any exception.
- They function a DualResponse midsole and decoupled MetaSplit outsole to reinforce efficiency and supply assist all through any kind of exercise, whether or not it’s a heavy carry or a conditioning session.
- Different options of the brand new Nano X5 are efficiency consolation collars and a premium Flexweave higher that helps with safety, consolation, and breathability.
“The most recent mannequin really pays homage to the iterations that got here earlier than it,” Brief mentioned, “[It takes lessons] and a few fan-favorite options to create the most recent Official Shoe of Health that units a brand new trade commonplace.”
In the end, as loads of shoe and attire manufacturers have come and gone within the CrossFit world since 2011, the Reebok Nano has change into a mainstay.
Fifteen years for the reason that first Nano grew to become the dominant shoe of CrossFit, you possibly can nonetheless go into any CrossFit affiliate or purposeful health gymnasium wherever on the earth and see the shoe adorning the ft of numerous hard-working athletes.
Nanos on the CrossFit Video games
As increasingly more manufacturers began creating coaching sneakers designed for CrossFit athletes, it’s price noting that the unique G.O.A.T — four-time particular person and sixt-time workforce CrossFit Video games champion Wealthy Froning — has all the time worn Nanos.
- Froning even has his personal Nano, which has 4 iterations: the Nano X1-X4 Froning.
Value noting: From 2014 to 2018, CrossFit mandated all athletes put on Reebok sneakers on the Video games, as they had been the title sponsor. However even after they lifted this rule, the Nano continued to be worn by lots of the athletes, together with podium finishers.
- In 2019, the complete girls’s podium was made up of Nano-wearing girls: Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, Kristin Holte, and Jamie Greene [now Simmonds].
- Two years later, in 2021, with an much more aggressive shoe sport unfolding, each Pat Vellner and Brent Fikowski stood on the CrossFit Video games podium after competing in Nanos. They had been joined by Annie Thorisdottir on the ladies’s facet.
Quick-forward to in the present day, and Reebok Nanos can nonetheless be discovered on the competitors ground at any elite-level CrossFit competitors.
The Massive Image
CrossFit athletes have a couple of issues in frequent: We love measurable progress, we like to endure collectively, and we’ve got all the time taken our sneakers critically.
In 2011, Reebok modified the sport and set a brand new commonplace in CrossFit footwear. This allow us to transfer away from the less-than-optimal shoe choices on the time and offered us with a footwear resolution that has allowed the game to evolve to the place it’s in the present day.
A decade-and-a-half in the past, Reebok captured the hearts (and ft) of the complete CrossFit group, and it’s protected to say they nonetheless have a stronghold over each in the present day.
The Reebok Nano X5 is now! Take a look at the launch colorways right here.
Featured picture: Reebok
