CHICAGO – After signing a huge deal with Reebok in October of 2023, Angel Reese has been taking both the court and the sneaker game by storm. Reese said former LSU and NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal helped make this all possible after he became Reebok’s President of Basketball. The brand announced that Angel will have her own line of sneakers and apparel. While that is in the works, the “Chi Barbie” has tapped custom designer Marvin Baroota to customize her Reeboks.
For those unfamiliar with Marvin, he is the founder of SoLegit Customs. He’s designed cleats for some of your favorite NFL athletes like Tyrann Mathieu and Danny Trevathan. Marvin has also partnered with the NFL for their “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign. He’s widely known for his work with NFL athletes but is embracing his creativity with Angel Reese.
“How I got in touch with Angel was through Shaquille O’Neal’s son, Shareef, who said, ‘Hey, I’m trying to do some stuff for Angel; she’s going to be coming to Chicago,’ so he connected me.”
Marvin says it only took an hour before he heard from Reese, and they began to get things in motion. He says Angel knew right out the gate the designs she wanted. The debut design from SoLegit Customs was her Barbie sneaker. Reese was affectionately known as “The Bayou Barbie” by fans during her time at LSU, so that was a no-brainer. The next design would be an homage to her home state of Maryland, with a custom flag design sneaker. Then, she went on to have a design that replicated their Sky Town jersey.
After telling Marvin what she wanted for the first three designs, he says Angel told him, “do what you want after that.” The next design may have been the most talked about thus far: The Joker. This comes after a press conference where Reese said she’ll embrace the “bad guy” role if it’s a means to help elevate the women’s game and her teammates. Marvin says he mentioned it to her, she loved it, and he immediately got to work.
“I’ll take that role. I’ll take the ‘bad guy’ role, and I’ll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates…”
Typically, it can take anywhere from 2-3 weeks to receive your custom pair of kicks from SoLegit Customs, but for Angel, the turnaround can be anywhere from 24-72 hours. Marvin says it took him about 15 hours to get the “Joker” customs finished. He said he was up until about 5 a.m. because the team was leaving the next day for the game. The good thing, though, is he has all of Reese’s shoes on hand, so he doesn’t have to wait for delivery and can start designing at any time.
Marvin has a lot more designs he has to complete before the end of the season. He mentioned pitching to Angel the idea of Batman and Robin, and maybe some more Chicago-inspired designs. Although he’s very creative and has been doing this since 2016, he says that they are going to give fans an opportunity to suggest designs. He said it’ll likely be on Twitter, so fans should look out there. Marvin did mention a few other athletes he’d love to design for: Caitlin Clark, Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, and four-time NBA champion Steph Curry.
Celebrities aren’t the only sneakerheads he creates custom designs for. His business is open to all paying customers. Here’s the process of how you can get your own pair of custom kicks from SoLegit Customs.
How to Inquire:
Visit the website solegitscustoms.com and click the “contact” section. Or, for a quicker response, send Marvin a DM on Instagram @MarvinBaroota.
How Much is a Custom Pair:
Every pair that is personalized and that is not in the SoLegit Collection is priced differently. It will also depend on if you send in your own shoes to be designed, or if Marvin needs to order them.
How Long Does it Take:
It typically takes 2-3 weeks but can change. If it appears to be a longer process, Marvin will communicate with you.
Brandolyn Hellams is a journalist and producer in Atlanta, who covers sports and entertainment.
