14-year-old Eric Kilburn Jr. had a unique predicament. The young boy has a very rare shoe size especially for his age – size 23 for men! This means the little boy is unable to get stylish shoes like his peers and often has to settle for anything that fits.
But then a mega-star heard his plea. And having been in ‘similar shoes,’ he decided to help out. Keep reading to learn more about this wonderful story.
Young Eric Kilburn Jr. is a student at Goodrich High School. The 14-year-old has a predicament that not many people face; his feet are too big for ordinary shoes. At 14 years old, he is already 6 feet 10 inches tall and fits into a men’s size 23 shoe!
The teenager is expected to grow for two more years. But his family is already struggling with finding him the right shoes. A friend of the family struck gold in Arizona when she was able to find six pairs of size 22 basketball shoes. The shoes had been made for a fringe NBA player Tacko Fall who measured 7’6 in height!
But as the boy grows, the shoes only started to become tighter and tighter and his family sets on a mission to find him new shoes once again!
The teenager’s parents have exhausted all their options to find the right size shoe and hence decided to take their efforts public in hopes of getting some help or leads on shoes for their growing son!
They had his current size 22 shoes professionally resized. The young teen routinely gets blisters and had to get his toenails medically removed in order to make sure he does not get repeat ingrown toenails because of his shoes.
The teenager requires shoes sized 23 or 24 but the family is unable to locate even a single pair of such shoes for him.
After his latest shoe measurement, the family was able to locate a pair of shoes for him which cost $1,500. To get two pairs, one for everyday wear and another a little fancier in sizes 23 or 24, the family would be looking at having to spend about $3,000 or more!
After hitting walls at every end, his parents asked the teenager for permission to put his story out there publicly. They were granted permission by the young boy for a very simple reason. The young man said, “I just want shoes.” “There’s nothing else behind it. I just need shoes because once I grow out of these, I’ll have nothing to wear – no sandals, no crocs, no anything.”
The family launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to opt for custom shoes for their boy. The campaign and story went viral. Professional footwear designers from Under Armour, Puma, CAT, and more reached out offering to design custom shoes for the teenager.
But other than that, there was one more phone call the young man got which the family could not believe. He received a call from NBA hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal!
The former professional athlete revealed that when he was Kilburn Jr.’s age, he was in the same boat. And hence he knew he wanted to help. He shared that his team would be overnighting five pairs of Reebok shoes originally made for Shaq himself!
The NBA superstar said he would be sending over shoes, gear and more to the young man so he could feel comfortable. Killburn Jr.’s mother Rebecca Killburn shared how kind Shaq was and how friendly he sounded even over the phone.
The shoes made for Shaq have more room for the teenager’s toes. While they are a size 22, they seem to be more wider. His mother said, “What kid doesn’t want to say that they are wearing Shaquille O’Neal’s shoes? He would squeeze those feet in there and happily wear them,” Rebecca said.
Shaq’s team at Reebok sent five different designs, which was a luxury for a kid who could never be picky about shoes. The shoes came with a note that read, “Eric — Hoping these shoes we created for Shaq could be fit and offer you some relief. We have a few more things headed your way, but wanted to get these to you ASAP. Know that we’re here to help and behind you every step of the way!”
Shaq had been tagged in the teenager story many times since the former basketball player has often talked about the struggles of finding the correct footwear which fits.
It is so heartwarming to see Shaquille O’Neal go out of his way to help this young man in a predicament similar to his own. He really has not forgotten where he comes from!
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