KangaROOS were designed by American architect and jogging enthusiast Bob Gamm. Gamm was a running enthusiast who would go ten kilometers a day, but preferred light athletic clothes without pockets. He designed the sneakers for his own personal use as a place to store his keys and money, then marketed them effectively. His marketing design was successful, leading to sales in excess of 700,000 pairs a month by the early 1980s.
Further refinements on the original design led to several significant innovations in athletic footwear. One such innovation, the Dynacoil, was a patented energy release system designed in the mid-1980s by former Nike designer and KangaROOS VP design Ray Tonkel with consultant Al Gross and tested by NASA. Many other athletic shoe manufacturers would later incorporate similar designs into their shoes. In the early- to mid-1980s many USA professional athletes wore ROOS football and baseball shoes as well as shoes for running and training. Notables included Clyde Drexler (Basketball), Walter Payton, O.J. Anderson, William (the Fridge) Perry (football), Ozzie Smith, Vince Coleman and Ron Darling (baseball), Kenyan, Irish and Welsh track stars as part of Team KangaROOS (running).
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