Sports are a proving ground where every challenge becomes an opportunity to grow stronger, a fact that for one very unique Michigan sophomore proved true on and off the field.
Eric Kilburn Jr. was born a normal 8-pound baby boy, but has grown into a well-spoken giant of a young man with what might be the largest feet ever recorded in a human teenager.
His unique growth rate has certainly given the 6-foot-10 defensive tackle at Goodrich High School an advantage, but also created trouble finding shoes that could contain his feet which seemed to grow a size every 6 months.
At 15 years old he was wearing size 22 shoes—the largest which any sporting company had ever needed to make. But soon, even these were too small, and in lieu of constantly suffering blisters and muscle deformations in his feet, Eric’s mother Rebecca was left with no other choice but to order specially-made orthopedic shoes at a cost of $1,500 per pair.
Direct pleas to sporting goods companies fell on deaf ears, but a friend who started a $3,500 fundraiser to get two of these expensive shoes for Eric created something truly special.
The fundraiser was reported on by Hometown Life, and the story quickly went viral, attracting the attention of PR firms of Puma and Under Armour, as well as the king of big-boy generosity—Shaquille O’Neil.
Representatives of the two companies arrived at Goodrich High to measure Eric’s feet, and after a lengthy process donated 4 pairs of cleats and 2 pairs of trainers to the school, who gave them to Eric as a gift in order to maintain his status as an amateur athlete.
“I got my cleats before conditioning practice and it was an immediate difference,” Eric told USA Today, following up on the Homelife story. “It’s insane how much more traction I got. It’s mind-boggling.”
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The companies declined to specify whether the shoes were size 23 because there are no industry specifications for shoes that big; and in any case, Eric’s feet are wider than a normal estimate for a size above 22. Under Armour and Puma simply referred to them as “Eric Kilburn-size.”
At the Martians’ first JV football scrimmage this season at Goodrich High School, Mom Rebecca got to watch her son play without any impediments to his mobility, and in the Michigan rain, she wept.
“Just seeing him perform to the best of his ability was a gift,” she said. “It was full circle emotion and just happiness to see him have the same advantages as other kids on the field do.”
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The story doesn’t end there, as Shaquille O’Neil, who has helped several very large young men find shoes and suits that fit, sent a care package of shoes and clothes to the family, as well as his personal tailor who measured Eric for two suits; one for prom and another for homecoming lined with purple and red paisley.
Reebok, Shaq’s personal sponsor, sent along the shoes with a letter that said “Eric—Hoping these shoes could be a fit and offer you some relief… Know that we’re here to help and behind you every step of the way!”
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Shaq wears size 22 shoes, and so unfortunately—and unbelievably—Eric will not be able to make use of them.
Rebecca is determined to pay all this kindness forward, and is in the process of setting up bigshoenetwork.org to help other teens like her son find shoes that fit, with a focus on getting them into households who can’t afford the high price tag of oversized shoes for teen sports.
WATCH the measuring process and hear what the Kilburns had to say…
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