This Kid's Feet Are So Huge That Reebok Gifted Him Shoes Made for Shaq
Eric Kilburn Jr., a high school freshman, requires a size 23 shoe.
Impossible to find shoes that fit properly, Kilburn's family turned to the press to find custom pairs.
Several sneaker companies stepped up in big ways to save the day.
When Eric Kilburn Jr. plays football for Goodrich High School in Michigan, he does so without cleats. His shoulder pads are ill-fitting. And the Schutt F7 helmet he wears is not a style choice, but a necessity.
That's because the 14-year-old high school freshman is 6-foot-10, with a size 23 shoe. And while some may think that prodigious size is a positive for a young athlete, it can add a lot of stress to a young man's day to day life. At an age where everyone is struggling to "fit in," that anxiety can be amplified when you literally can't find clothes that fit.
Thankfully, several companies have stepped up to ensure Kilburn gets the clothes he needs to succeed, in the classroom and the football field, and feel more comfortable in his day-to- day life.
The New York Post reports that Under Armour, after presumably being made aware of Kilburn's plight from an interview his family gave to The Flint Journal went viral, reached out to the boy to offer a solution. The family met with Robb Cropp, senior director of Footwear Development at Under Armour, in late March so that Cropp could get a 3D scan of young Kilburn's feet. This was so that Under Armour could produce a custom shoe for the boy, who was previously relying on size 22 shoes that had been artificially stretched beyond their size.
Sportskeeda reports that Puma has also stepped up to produce custom kicks for Kilburn. Of course, being the subject of all that scanning and custom-ordering might unintentionally stand to make a kid who already stands out feel even more on their own. So Reebok stepped in to set Kilburn up with a call from someone who knows a thing or two about big shoes: Shaquille O'Neal.
The basketball legend made a phone call to Kilburn to relay the struggles he and his mother went through when he was having trouble finding shoes that fit as a youth. Shaq even offered some advice to the young athlete, according to Sportskeeda:
"Shaq said he made $900 million by listening to his mom and dad, so he told me to listen to my parents."
Reebok has been one of the companies Shaq has turned to to produce size 22 sneakers for him, and he and Reebok paid it forward by sending Kilburn five pairs of sneakers the company had produced for Shaq. The young man was reportedly overwhelmed, joyously exclaiming to his mother, "Mom, I don't remember getting to ever choose what I wanted to wear like this before, there's so many options!"
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