WHEN ASTROS SLUGGER Alex Bregman and his then fiancé Reagan Howard sat down with CityBook Executive Publisher Lisa Holthouse in the summer of 2020 for an exclusive cover-story interview, Reagan hinted that she had an entrepreneurial trick up her sleeve. "When I was little I used to make and sell horse treats," she said at the time. "I would package them in containers and go around to all of the horse feed stores in Canada. I have always had an entrepreneur spirit, and I always have something in the works."
In recent weeks, the enthusiastic businesswoman, now Reagan Bregman, has spilled the beans, officially announcing the launch of her new line of athleisure clothing for women call Exiza.
"Our initial launch will be the Summer Collection that consists of biker shorts, leggings, a strappy bra, ribbed tank and a limited-edition hoodie," she explains. The pretty, sherbet-colored pieces are designed to comfortably fit a variety of body types and are priced at about $100.
Reagan and Alex Bregman were photographed by Steve Visneau for 'Houston CityBook' in 2020.
Houston-based Exiza has a unique commitment to what the About page on its website calls "ethical local manufacturing and ethical practices." This means making sure the brand partners with reputable U.S. manufacturers paying workers fair wages.
"Exiza … promotes exercise to feel good, sustain mental health and live a happy, fun life," reads the website. "We believe in activity as a form of self-care. We believe that removing the pressure to perform and to achieve an aesthetic outcome frees us to be confident in ourselves as we are and to move for the love of our bodies."
Reagan's journey to her Exiza venture has been long in the making, as she told CityBook last year. "At school [at Texas A&M] I did so many things," she noted. "One was Panama Global Business Brigades, where I led a group of students to Panama near the border of Columbia. We went to small businesses to teach them things like how to market, about inventory, how to stock or do calculations. It was like small-business consulting. I later moved to Austin and worked for Oracle and Google doing sales after a short Houston internship in marketing."
Reagan, who also has experience as a fashion model, "was born in Louisiana, moved to Trinidad and Tobago for about a year, then to Spain, then Canada" as a child. An offshore drilling rig manager's daughter, she lived many childhood years in the Canadian province of Newfoundland before eventually settling down in Katy. She married Alex in December 2020.