The observation that males tend to have larger feet than women is not unusual. It’s possible that this is attributable to the fact that males, on average, are taller than women. It’s likely that at some time in your life, you’ve crossed across with a guy who had feet measuring 13 or larger. But would you be able to believe that there is such a size as 23? However, believe it or not, there is a 14-year-old boy called Eric Kilburn Jr. from Goodrich, Michigan who has those precise dimensions for his feet, and his mother Rebecca went all in on a worldwide search to discover the shoe that would match the dimensions of her son’s feet. They say that mothers would do whatever they can for their children, and she proved that saying to be true by doing all she could for him. Not only were the mother’s prayers answered so that her kid could find shoes that suited him, but her son also drew the notice of a basketball great! Eric is just 14 years old despite his towering height of 6 feet 10 inches. This indicates that the idea of his feet being larger and broader is not that far-fetched from the probability of them really happening. Even though he does not suffer from any internal health problems, he has previously through a number of painful surgeries on his feet in order to correct the issue of in-grown toenails. As a consequence of this, the nails on his two biggest toes had to be surgically removed permanently. But this was mainly to address the issue of the pain that he has been experiencing on his feet, which he described as being “hellish.” It has become an enormous challenge for her and her family to find affordable pairs of shoes that would fit Eric’s feet. They have even searched for shoe stores overseas that may be able to assist them, including one in Italy. An orthopedic expert made the kind offer to build a pair of personalized shoes for a patient, but each pair would cost $1,500.

At one time in his life, he was forced to put up with the discomfort of wearing Crocs for a period of two years since no other shoes would fit him.

Rebecca persuaded a family member of theirs to sell her six more pairs of shoes for the low price of $25 each when the friend located a pair of size 22 sneakers. Regrettably, none of them are able to accommodate him anymore.

Hence, she made the decision to contact shoe companies such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Under Armour, and Red Wing Shoes in the hope that they would be able to offer her son with pairs of shoes; nevertheless, her efforts were in vain.

They either responded to her with expressions of astonishment or laughter at her expense. Reportedly answering in unison, “We don’t produce that size,” they denied the claim.
As it had been several years since he had worn a pair of shoes on a daily basis, a friend of the family started a GoFundMe campaign in March of 2023 to collect funds in order to get him some new shoes. As of the 29th of March in 2023, they have collected more than $23,000 in donations.

Under Armour was one of the first shoe brands to reach out to the Kilburns and say that they would be flying to his hometown in Michigan to scan his feet for cleats and shoes. They also “expressed interest in growing along with Eric.” The Kilburns received several calls from different shoe brands, including Under Armour. Under Armour was among the first shoe brands to reach out to the Kilburns.

According to GoFundMe spokesperson Kara Pattison, the level of accomplishment achieved by this fundraising effort far exceeds any and all expectations.

Rebecca said that she could not be more grateful to everyone who has shown their support for them.

Rebecca said in an interview with MLive that “we’ve never encountered anything like this before.” “I can’t really fathom how fantastic that is.”

Eric is now competing for the title of the adolescent who has the biggest feet and hands in the Guinness World Book of Records, and he is certain that he will be successful in achieving this goal.

Eric said, “I believe my prospects are rather strong at this point.”

Rebecca has said that breaking the record is not her primary goal; rather, she wants to bring it to the attention of shoemakers that there are individuals like Eric who shouldn’t have to worry about finding shoes at an inexpensive price that fit them well.

On March 30, 2023, Eric’s request was granted when one of the first businesses that reached out to him, Under Armour, kept its word and went to Michigan to see him in person.

As if it weren’t special enough for Eric to get a brand executive to fly to personally meet him, he was also told that they would be making a special machine and tools to make him pairs of shoes that would fit him. As if that wasn’t enough, he was told that they would be making him shoes that would fit him. And the answer is that it will take around one and a half to two months to put everything into motion. Even if he will have to hold up for a little while longer, it seems like it will be well worth it.

Shortly after making his wish come true, Eric was graced with another gift in the form of an unexpected phone call from the legendary basketball player Shaquille O’Neal.

O’Neal said that he could relate with Eric’s position since O’Neal himself has size 22 feet. Eric is a basketball star. O’Neal said that when he was about the same age as Eric, his mother had a difficult time locating shoes that suited him as well.

He then went on to share the advice that he had gotten from him, stating, “Shaq said he gained $900 million by listening to his mum and dad, therefore he urged me to listen to my parents.”

According to Rebecca, O’Neal also promised to obtain Eric some dress shoes from a guy who creates shoes up to size 26, and Rebecca stated that O’Neal made the offer. O’Neal added that Eric could always reach him by phone if he had any questions or needed anything.

In the meanwhile, Reebok sent five different pairs of sneakers that were first designed for O’Neal.

Without a doubt, Eric found a buddy in O’Neal. Eric told USA Today that when he and the other person were messaging about shoes, the other person wrote, “There’s much more coming big guy. Love you.” “This is the pinnacle of it all.”

As Eric thought back to how he felt when O’Neal phoned him, he described it as if his “soul left my body for a second.” He added that he was “so surprised.”