When Shaquille O'Neal heard about what 13-year-old Zach Keith, who wears a size 18 shoe and can't afford the larger sneakers, was going through, he was determined to help.
Shaquille O'Neal knows what it's like to have big feet.
The basketball superstar wears a size 22 shoe and once upon a time his parents struggled to buy him shoes. So when he heard about what 13-year-old Zach Keith, who wears a size 18 shoe and can't afford the larger sneakers, was going through, he was determined to help.
"Mom couldn't afford shoes," O'Neal told WGCL-TV. "The kid had big feet and I just kind of reminisce back how that used to be me my mom and my dad."
Zach and O'Neal met at Friedman's Shoes in Atlanta, where O'Neal has shopped for years. Zach was a little starstruck.
"I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, like, it's really him,'" said Zach.
O'Neal then offered to buy Zach 10 pairs of shoes.
Zach's mom, Brittany Keith, couldn't believe it.
"This will help a lot," she said. "I won't so much have to worry about buying him dress shoes. He hasn't had a pair of dress shoes in about four or five years because it's been hard trying to find the ones that actually fit."
For O'Neal, it was about paying it forward. He said the owner of Friedman's, Bruce Teilhaber, has always helped him out too.
"I thought this was a good thing to do," he said. "Mom and kid plays basketball and Bruce did it for me and I just want to return the favor."
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