Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle. In 1890 in Holcombe Brook, a small village 6 miles north east of Bolton, United Kingdom, Joseph William Foster was making a living producing regular running shoes when he came up with the idea to create a novelty spiked running shoe.