How Adidas Is Changing the Way We Think About Running Shoes

Don’t call it a comeback. Running shoes have been a mainstay on sneaker shelves for decades, and these days, they’ve reemerged as a street staple. In the United States, running sneakers have replaced basketball shoes and trainers as essentials for the stylish set. This is due in part to the retro runner wave that washed ashore a few years ago from enthusiasts in Europe, but more than that, there’s a brand that’s been an even bigger catalyst for the trend: Adidas.

Adidas has been at the forefront of the U.S. runner explosion, carving a niche with the help of its Boost (and now, Bounce) cushioning. While every sneaker brand has touted one of their proprietary technologies as a game changer at one point or another, Adidas managed to not only deliver, but exceed even the highest of expectations. More than just comfort, Adidas’ new cushioning tech has helped the brand recapture the attention of sneakerheads and build off of that to change the way we perceive running shoes altogether.

This shift can be traced back to Feb. 13, 2013, when Adidas unveiled the Energy Boost performance running sneaker at events in New York City and Herzogenaurach, Germany. This was the first time the public had seen Boost cushioning, a TPU-based compound made up of thousands of small capsules that was originally developed by German chemical production company BASF. “Boost changes running forever,” Adidas said at the Energy Boost’s unveiling. With next-level energy return capabilities and long-lasting durability that could perform at both extremely high and low temperatures, it was apparent that Adidas was onto something. But how would it be able to win over the everyday sneaker enthusiast looking for a comfortable, casual shoe? 

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