company's feature athlete. Hockey star Wayne Gretzky was also signed as an endorser while he was still playing with the Los Angeles Kings, and eventually would have his own line of street hockey shoes before his endorsement contract expired. Unlike other athletic shoe companies of the day, LA Gear was not averse to going outside of sports to find endorsement contracts. One of the earliest celebrities to sign an endorsement deal with the company was singer Belinda Carlisle, who appeared in a series of print ads for LA Gear when the brand first began to become popular (as seen in this ad). Two of the most notable celebrities to endorse the shoes were Michael Jackson, who promoted shoes for both men and women, and Paula Abdul, who was signed away from Reebok in 1991 and whose shoe became one of the biggest sellers of the early 1990s. The company helped set the trend of having non-sports celebrities endorsing athletic brands. Designs Catapult: The LA Gear equivalent of Air Jordans, a high-end basketball shoe and training shoe line. The original spokesman for the line was Karl Malone. Regulator: The inflatable shoe craze of the early 1990s spawned this shoe, LA Gear's answer to the Reebok Pump. The shoe featured a large pumping button on the tongue (larger than the Reebok Pump's) and a switch on top that deflated the shoe when pushed to the right. LA Lights: One of LA Gear's most successful lines, which came out in 1992. LA Gear launched its kids line of LA Lights at Foot Locker and Kids Foot Locker at $50 retail. LA Gear was selling over 5 million pairs of Kids "LA Lights" per year in the 1990s despite other brands selling lighted technology in the lower distribution channels. Light technology for kids has been one of the most successful launches in the athletic shoe industry with over a 100 million pairs sold in all distribution channels. The shoes were also used as survival gear to locate stranded individuals and children during blizzards, leading to increased demand prior to storms. LA Tech: In 1992 LA Gear began marketing "Light Gear" CrossRunner shoes with red LED lights in the heels, and once a wearer's heel hit the ground the lights would light up and continue to do so with every step. LA Gear went further in 1993 by introducing the Leap Gear line of performance