Zubaz

Zubaz (/ˈzuːbæz/ is a brand of shorts and pants that became popular during the early 1990s.

In 1988, Bob Truax and Dan Stock began brainstorming a new kind of shorts for the heavy-lifting man. The pair developed a comfortably baggy pair of shorts with an elastic waistband. Zubaz was registered as a trademark in 1989. Initially, they were marketed as a comfortable, functional pair of shorts for weightlifting. Hegstrand and Laurinaitis used their professional wrestling personae as The Road Warriors to help popularize the pants in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

They hoped to make a pair of shorts that would stretch and expand with the body during a workout. In a short time, the shorts became wildly popular in the United States. The Zubaz company sold $100 million worth of products in 1991 alone. The company slogan was "Dare to be Different."

Although Zubaz began as a line of shorts, the brand was extended into long pants, caps, shirts, and even diapers. The pants are tapered at the ankle, with the outer part of the leg being longer than the inner part. They have an elastic waistband to allow for greater flexibility and movement. The pants were originally created in a zebra print, but later began to be sold in almost any design imaginable.

Regardless of the specific design, Zubaz are almost always bright, flashy, and often ostentatious. Zubaz designed the uniforms of several Arena Football League teams in the early 1990s, including the Tampa Bay Storm and the now-defunct New Orleans Night. However, these designs were considered outlandish and were soon replaced.

In a 1993 survey in Inside Sports magazine, Zubaz finished third in the voting for "Worst Thing to Happen in Sports" that year. Ahead of it were the retirement of Michael Jordan and the death of wrestler Dino Bravo.

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