While the Nike VaporMax looks contemporary and modern in today’s sneaker landscape, Reebok got to the VaporMax Air unit concept well over a decade ago.

The sneaker pictured here was plucked straight out of the Reebok archive and put on display at Garbstore in London for a Reebok exhibition. Dubbed the Reebok Diamond Contact Run, the white-gloved sneaker dates back to Reebok’s DMX Diamond Collection from 2004.

However, the Reebok Diamond Contact Run Leather actually debuted a couple years earlier in 2002 and retailed for an astronomically high $200 (that’s $293 in today’s money), so it’s similar to the VaporMax in several respects.

Reebok’s DMX cushioning was also built atop air; in the DMX Run 10 (which recently returned without the true DMX cushioning system), air would flow from forefoot to the heel via a connected air bladder when the forefoot was depressed. When the heel was depressed, air would flow to the forefoot to cushion the next step.

Perhaps Reebok was just too far ahead of its time when it developed this sneaker…

What do you think about the Diamond Contact Run? Sound off in the comments.

Image via DeFY NY