Meet Matthew Walzer: The man who inspired Nike’s hands-free sneakers

As a teen with cerebral palsy, Matthew Walzer was unable to tie his shoes — prompting him to ask Nike for help. Yahoo Life sits down with Walzer to discuss his motivation behind the viral letter, how the developments with Nike have changed his life, and his hopes for a more inclusive future.

Video Transcript

MATTHEW WALZER: Ultimately, what we want is something that looks to the naked eye like every other shoe out there. Some people might feel self-conscious about being in a wheelchair or having canes or using a walker. To have shoes and clothing that makes us feel cool and confident, that means everything.

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I was born two months premature with cerebral palsy. In my particular case, it does affect my walking, balance, and fine motor skills. I always struggle with simple tasks. The biggest thing that I could never do was tie my shoes. Going into my junior high school, I wrote this letter to Nike because I wanted to go away to school. I wanted to have independence with being able to put on my own shoes.

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Dear Mr. Parker, I have a brain injury that caused me to have cerebral palsy. And of all the challenges I have overcome in my life, there's one that I am still trying to master, tying my shoes. My dream is to go to the college of my choice without having to worry about someone coming to tie my shoes every day. Bill Bowerman said it best, "If you have a body, you're an athlete." I believe everyone, no matter what their physical, economic, or social circumstances may be, deserves to call themselves an athlete and deserves to have a sense of freedom and independence.

The letter went viral within a day of me posting it online. Nike called me from the Olympics in London in 2012 and told me that they loved my letter and they wanted to help. They would send me rear entry prototypes. I would give them feedback on what materials needed to be improved or some more padding needed to be added for support.

The first shoe that they sent me was a 2012 Hyperdunk basketball shoe. It had a zipper up the middle and a Velcro strap. And had my name, Walzer, on the pull tab. At 17 years old, I put my own shoes on independently for the first time in my life.

My college experience was tremendous. And the shoes were really the starting point for that. Everything that I collaborated with them on ultimately led to the release of the first Flyease in 2015. Nike flew my family and I out to Los Angeles. And I met Tobie for the first time. This man truly changed my life and changed the lives of countless other people. All of a sudden, I hear someone say, hey, Matt. I turn around, and there's LeBron. To have LeBron behind the original launch was incredible.

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I'm extremely excited to try to Go Flyease once they come out. It's definitely a step in the right direction. And it's going to help so many people more than Flyease already has. It's just going to continue to break down more barriers for people with physical challenges.

It's unbelievable what one letter has done for the shoe industry and for people with disabilities. I want people that are watching this and reading this to look at my letter and my journey as a guiding example. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, whether you're black, white, Hispanic, disabled, gay, straight, transgender. Any one person can change the world.

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