The launch of WNBA star Angel Reese’s first signature shoe with Reebok, the Angel Reese 1, was an overwhelming success. Despite releasing three colorways in its debut, all items sold out in mere hours.
Among the three colorways of her signature shoe, the first to sell out was the pink “mebounds” colorway. Looking back at the term itself, it was coined by Angel’s critics for her grabbing offensive rebounds off of her own misses. But while her naysayers found it laughable, Reese turned it into something very profitable.
“So the ‘mebounds,’ if you know, you know. They tried to clown me for rebounds, and what did I do? I made it a bag off of it. Six figures plus. Thank you. So y’all can try again, cuz I need another idea for some more colorways. So just keep it coming,” she said.
Turning a negative comment into profit
During her interview with Elle last month, Reese revealed that she did not know about the word “mebounds” until they started appearing on her social media comments section. But instead of getting hurt or offended by the criticism, she trademarked it last June and then figured out how to turn a joke into a source of income.
Last July, Reese began selling merchandise via her website featuring the word, including $45 T-shirts that went viral and almost immediately sold out. Angel also sold “mebounds” sweatshirts and hats, with part of the profits going to “The Angel C. Reese Foundation,” which helps fight cyberbullying.
“I didn’t even know about ‘mebounds’ until I got on TikTok and people were spamming it in my comments,” Angel said. “And then I was like, well, might as well make some money off of it. And we made a lot of money off of it. It’s important to maximize the moment and turn a negative into a positive. We clearly did that. Also, to be able to give some of the money to my foundation for cyberbullying was great. It was like killing two birds with one stone.”
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The Reese 1 announced a sixth colorway coming
After the sell-out of “Mebounds”, “Diamond Dust” and “Receipts Ready” on September 18th, Reese is set to roll out a Baltimore Ravens-inspired purple-colored shoe dubbed “Charm City” this month. Then, a colorway called “Tiago King Reese,” named after her pet dog, will hit the market in November. A sixth version, “Giving Grace,” will also debut next month.
“‘Giving Grace’ is more than just a shoe name — it’s a reflection of who I am and the journey I’ve walked,” she explained. “This colorway represents the strength to keep moving when the road is uncertain, the courage to rise after setbacks, and the kindness to extend grace to others as well as yourself. These shoes tell my story, and I hope they inspire others to walk in grace, strength, and resilience.”Â
There’s no bigger example of Angel’s resilience, though, than turning the criticism and a supposed weakness in her game into a business opportunity and capitalizing on it by making a huge profit. Now that’s a double-blackeye to her critics, too.
Related: “He probably could have retired six years ago, and people would still say the same thing” – Austin Reaves says LeBron is the best player ever to touch the basketball
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 5, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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