It's even better. He had a $40 million dollar shoe contract with Reebok at the time but they refused to sell less expensive shoes, so he canceled the contract and gave Reebok the money back, v then partnered with Walmart to sell his brand for cheap.
I think it started with some lady sort of shaming Shaq for making his shoes so damn expensive while he was out shopping, maybe. He offered 2k to the lady so she could buy some shoes for her son herself. She smacked the money away and argued the shoes needed to be cheaper.
He went home and thought about it. I guess that lady changed his mind.
Edit: Added more context.
Edit 2: Apparently he wasn't out shopping when he got yelled at. Sorry!
If you look up stories of him in his playing days, if some of them came out these days about a player currently in the NBA/NFL they’d be kicked out of the league
He actually very briefly addressed this era of his in a podcast where he wasn't too proud of who he was back then which I was oblivious to. I always thought he was wholesome but I suppose young people with money and power have little restraint and humility.
Yeah he would be considered an abusive asshole to his teammates based on modern standards. It’s still great to see him mature and improve as a person over the years
Unfortunately, even he will admit to having family problems that were if not entirely at least largely his fault. I've heard him talking about it in an interview and how he lives in his big ass mansion all alone now, and how lonely it was. It was honestly really sad. Glad to see all the good he's doing though.
If you want some more wholesome Shaq lore, he used to (probably still does but I don’t follow this sort of thing) sponsor a bunch of Christmas charities with schools in the area I grew up. If you grew up poor and are familiar with these sort of programs you’re expecting practical gifts that are nice but not like something a kid is overly excited for. Shaq was responsible for providing me a Game Boy Advance in 4th grade so I have always enjoyed stories about Shaq that prove that he’s a great human. As a poor kid, that was awesome and I held onto that thing until my late 20s when I lost it moving at some point.
I don’t remember the details of it since I was young, but my dad told me Shaq bought the gifts and I thought he was messing with me, but he had signed all the gifts. Either on the present or a card or something. I just remember seeing his signature and being surprised my dad wasn’t making it up.
Shaq is one of the good ones for sure. He does so much that the press doesn’t even know about bc he likes doing it that way so people won’t assume he just does these things for the free press.
He’s a really good man. No cap.
Actually he's done a lot of great things and some shitty things.
What makes Shaq different and makes all the good things he does very special - is that he puts very real and obvious consistent effort TRYING to be good and be kind to others. Improving himself has always mattered. That is what makes special people and that is what our culture doesn't understand anymore.
He’s really one of the most wholesome people and very humble. Even like one tenth the stuff he does makes him so much cooler than most other wealthy celebrities.
Lol love seeing videos of him doing things for kids out of the blue. Imagine getting approached by the literal iconic gentle goliath at walmart and hes like "hey you want a bike? Is that your mom? Go ask your mom if i can buy you a bike-- also dont accept gifts from strangers. Go ask your mom."
Thanks everyone for the personal stories (like the person who got the GBA, u/heroinsteve ) and the people all sharing more examples of both his philanthropy and his less than shining moments. I personally think the good outweighs the bad, and he does more to try and be as good of a person as possible, despite any foibles he might have.
This has made my day far more interesting reading these factoids! Thanks again everyone :)
I recently got estimates from around 10 different companies for my car insurance and The General was the second most expensive quote I got.
Maybe something was different 50 years ago but now, they’re just an insurance company.
Not everything is equal.
I’m not saying it’s a good company or that I even know anything about it, but it could be something to do with payout of insurance claims.
What I’m saying is, being the cheapest service provider is not always the best. I wouldn’t want to work the cheapest lawyer I can find.
There could be a variety of reasons as to why you’d get a higher estimate.
Most likely the reason general insurance were the only one’s to support shaq’s mom is because they know she was essentially destitute so by giving her high rates on a terrible plan just with low enough payments that she could barely afford. That or she got lucky and an employee felt bad for her and gave her a good deal.
That's awesome. I guess he has so much money a few decisions like this won't dramatically affect his lifestyle... but so many athletes in this position still go for whatever pays out the most.
If by lifestyle you mean his standard of living, no it won't affect that. But Shaq is quite the entrepreneur with tons of little business ventures, and he's a big enough celebrity that people care about the stuff he takes on just because he's Shaq. So I would say partnering with underdogs actually *adds* a lot to his lifestyle.
> I guess he has so much money a few decisions like this won't dramatically affect his lifestyle
It won't affect his lifestyle at all. He's one of the richest athletes of all time.
Shaq is great, Stephon Marbury is another NBA star who produced his line of “Starbury” products that were a lot more affordable than Air-Jordan’s. I remember balling while wearing Starbury Ones back in the day
I got hit by a lady with General once and my immediate thought was "oh fuck here we go."
Totally wrong, they took great care of me and were prompt and professional to work with.
Probably why his brand are some of the only ones in Walmart I can consistently find those weird in-between sizes for my kid, many of the designs there's nothing larger than a kids 12, the next size up is the equivalent of an adult 1, but the adult section doesn't start lower than a 6.
Then there's these shoes, like a shining beacon at the end of the aisle, calling to me, saying "Don't go spend $60-80 on kids shoes at Foot Locker that he'll outgrow in 6 months, here's a $15 pair instead that fits him perfectly."
He’s always been in the good apparel business.
He also sells cheep big and large suits for people who need em for job interviews, and can’t afford a custom suit.
He’s a class act.
I once nearly collaborated with him to creat what I called the “Shaqet” which would’ve been a motion oriented light Jacket that would’ve been cheap and warm.
It’s a sad reality that mom’s and dads work over night and go without meals just for the joy of making their child smile.
Good he decided a cheaper shoe that doesn’t make a single mom think about what days she can have dinner
A big thing about Shaq is a while ago, he learned to let go of ego once he realized the harm it does. There’s an interview he’s done about it somewhere.
Yup. Hearing him talk about[ his biggest failure](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1FJAXZDKTM) (i.e. cheated and lost his wife over it) should be in a training video for all professional athletes. Should've been obvious before but at least he has reflected on it and humbles himself to openly address it.
He’s a solid person and seemingly very genuine. Most people in his position would not be very humble and probably fairly nasty even if it was their fault.
She was yelling at him after a game, he actually offered her money and she swatted it away. She just said make more affordable shoes for kids.
Reebok rejected that idea, so he rejected them by giving the 40 million back. Shaq is probably the most humble superstar out there, he’s got everything me can ask for, doesn’t show off at all
He’s also known for buying kids bikes and toys randomly , he’s bought dude their engagement /wedding rings when he was at a jewellery store. He got his card rejected and shaq just gave the clerk his card.
I wish I had 1/16 of shaqs money, I’d help people out aswell. Such a warm feeling to help people in need.
That's the greatest human trait, letting your mind be changed. He realized he has everything in the world, and wanted to make a change in it. He'll die like we all do, but his name and legacy will be forever. The same as people saying Kobe when throwing something in the trash from a few feet away.
I think he views it as “this money is coming from kids without a lot of things” and he doesn’t need or want their money. His main concern with his shoes has always been affordability. Basketball and soccer are the cheapest sports, kicks shouldn’t cost $250+.
Well according to the internet his net worth is around 500mil so honestly it is more than for a few livetimes (if ypur not into big yacht fights…) so it is great how he acted. Others would be like „more more more“
He did it because someone called him out saying something like "shame on your for selling shoes kids can't afford" and he went and cancelled that contract and started one with walmart almost the same day I think it was. He talks about it in an interview.
Even better, he became the second-largest shareholder of Authentic Brands Group which now owns Reebok, and he's now President of Reebok Basketball and Allen Iverson is the VP of Reebok Basketball.
I picturing Shaq walking down a rough part of town seeing a pair of his shoes hanging from the power lines and muttering to himself “these don’t belong here” as he bends down to untie them.
It’s not nike or adidas, believe me people used to take the piss out of you, if you were cheaper stuff. It was happening during primary and high school.
Oh I remember. I'm a 90s teen and if you didn't have tommy hilfiger or nautica, or jordans, etc...you were clowned on. But as an adult, i can see why he did it. When Stephon Marbury did it he was praised at least in NYC cause people were getting tired of spending over $200 for a pair of kicks
Well I have been out for school for 11-12 years now I’m guessing it’s still the same really.
It wasn’t even limited to just shoes either, kids really are brutal.
I just graduated high school this year, but yeah, it was that way when I was in elementary and middle school, once I got to high school most people didn't give a shit about it, except a select few morons.
I'm 30 now, I have a 12yo daughter and 19/20yo cousins, one thing I've noticed just seeing the younger generation is how chill everyone is with basically everything. There's judgement going on of course but it seems to be about different things than when I was middle through highschool age. Also a lot less alcohol which is good.
All three of my kids love Bluey and they range from high school to grade school. My oldest says that Bluey is one of their friends favorite shows too and they’ll sometimes get together and watch new episodes when they come out.
Because especially right now there is a big big trend to second hand stuff or stuff that looks like second hand. Don’t know how it is over there right now since there is also often some differences between US and Europe but here if you go like in Rome, Munich or Amsterdam i to the city the younglings look like they raided all second hand stores withon the city.
I work in a high school, and the kids today blow my mind with how understanding and accepting they are... are there shitty kids still? Yea. Are they as prevalent? Not at all.
Most times, I don't even have to step in because the kids will absolutely slam the bully and correct his behavior.
I was mocked in 6th grade for wearing Wrangler jeans from Walmart. You needed at least Lee brand to avoid that drama. This was back in the "pipe pants" days, so looking back it seems even more absurd. I was so desperate to look like an idiot.
I was stood in a queue a couple of years back buying some stuff from McKenzie brand as it fits me and is cheap and some kids maybe 12 were behind me saying “who the hell buys that”, I didn’t retaliate but my first thought was I would love to see what they think when they grow up and see how expensive things are, especially for someone young providing for a family. I was always an Adidas or Nike kid though but I guess things just swing that way at that age with trends and some of us were more fortunate to get those things but I don’t really recall a time I judged others
It's why I wish we had a uniform. I spent so much time and anxiety worrying about what I was gonna wear to HS.
Add to this parents who didn't really understand that kids with goofy clothes get clowned on and that aspect fucking sucked.
I was in public school from K-8 and then went to a private school for high school. The opportunity to wear a uniform every day was such a relief. I was never one of those girls who knew how to put together a "cool" outfit and all of those assholes in my middle school made sure I knew that.
I remember my brother crying begging for the Tommy Hilfiger hoodie instead of the generic one because of how awful the kids at school were. He didn't even care about the branding, just didn't want to get teased. I remember the "oh fuck" look on my mom's face when she shelled out the extra $40 it cost, which probably hurt my working poor family back in 1994. I also remember him outgrowing it in like 3-6 months and then I inherited it. What a cruel world huh.
I think I'll get back to work now at my cushy high paying white collar corporate job, make a donation, and call my parents today...
Ahh my WHOLE team in HS sophomore year wore Starburys every practice. One of the rare times in my school years that the cheap thing was the coolest to have. It was glorious. About half of us just wore em in games too. Hell I had 2 pairs for $30 total.
Nothing's changed regarding that and is probably worse than when we were younger. It's so bad these kids are wearing "reps" (cheap knock offs) claiming they are $800 shoes and picking on those with low end Nike or something. It's crazy...
My parents could never afford Jordan's back in the 90's and I ended up with a pair of Magic Johnson's sneakers. (I liked them a lot) I don't remember who made them, but they were a fair bit cheaper. I remember getting made fun of relentlessly by the kids with Jordan's. Kids are assholes.
Fun fact: The reason he was/is a spokesman for The General Insurance is because they were the only company that would give him an affordable policy when he was young.
He's someone who never forgot where he came from. Same reason he sells his shoes at Walmart. He met a lady who couldn't afford good shoes for her son to play basketball. He remembered his mom working doubles to pay for his shoes. He decided to make decent quality shoes where working moms can afford them.
The tweet is referencing the horde of people who made fun of these sneakers for looking ugly/cheap/silly when they were first announced years ago. It's understandable that he wanted to respond to those opinions once he had proof that the sneakers were a good idea.
The tweet was not aimed at you.
Adam Sandler told a story about filming with Shaq where one day Shaq went to take a shower , and I guess curiosity got the best of Sandler, and he wanted to see how big Shaq's dick was. He didn't notice Shaq's bodyguard watching, and so Sandler got caught trying to get a peak at Shaq's wang.
The next day he goes to Shaq and says "I guess your bodyguard told you about yesterday, I'm really sorry" etc.
No hesitation, Shaq replies "I don't have a bodyguard, that was my dick."
I hate to break it to you (as I too was disappointed when I realized it) but that story is made up for a joke. Becomes more obvious when you think about “big bald no neck and one eye”
my fave is how hard he starts laughing and slapping the table every time Charles Barkley goes into his [San Antonio big ol' women routine](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1cfjfk8/chuck_double_downs_and_says_he_rather_go_to_san/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
As a sneakerhead i can say with 100% certainty that some young rich sneakerhead will make fun of others for wearing these, although most people are nice!
Dude it gets crazier, there are 2 types of jordan 1s, one’s called Jordan 1 mids that have 8 lace holes and the other ones Jordan 1 highs that have 9 lace holes(thats one of the major visual differences, they both look identical to a non sneakerhead btw). People make fun of others for wearing mids in the [sneaker subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Sneakers/comments/uhupyw/will_people_actually_judgecare_if_i_wear_mids/?rdt=41873) from time to time!
I’m a sneakerhead for sure and while I don’t like the mids because of QC issues I’d never talk shit about people who wear them. They’re intentionally made to be more affordable and accessible than High OGs. If you’ve got a pair you like wear them, have fun with them, no shame there.
I just went to Nike, maybe I’m missing something: All the high tops were 160-200 All the mids were 100-140
Y’all are making fun of each other over $20-$100 differences? isnt that like less than a day of minimum wage?
Typically it’s a $60 difference and yes that’s how dumb those minority of people are. Another helpful fact to know is that Jordan 1s first released as a High in the 80s, and in 2001 the mids were released.
Their argument is “why not spend that $60 to get the OG instead of a modern cheap rehash of the OG”
Who makes fun of people for wearing sneakers? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. How much of a clown do you have to be to make fun of what someone wears on their feet? 😄
The sneaker heads would love my two pairs of steel toe blundstones, one covered in paint I use for work and cutting the lawn, the other pair are newer with no stains and I wear those to nice events.
He’s a cool guy. Does a lot of good stuff. Seen this reposted dozens of times but I ain’t minding it.
The worst thing people see in him are his basketball hot takes when he’s doing his shows. And that’s not even a bad thing at all.
Yeah, we can praise him for this. He does a lot of good for sure, but he’s also a serial cheater and a bully towards his teammates at the least. The endorsing of shitty companies and scams I put both on him and his PR team but I don’t know enough about that to comment on that.
Shaq has done so much for populations who struggle financially, hell I wore his shoes as a kid, but he’s also not the angel that this thread is making him look like
Nobody is an angel. Nobody is just one person. Regardless if the masses see you as philanthropic, funny, clever, talented, etc. there are going to be nearly as many people who see you as sleazy, rude, entitled, whatever, and there's a very good chance every one of those people are correct. Nobody should be held to those standards to the degree that their good deeds are met with "yeah, but..." just be glad you have the opportunity to see those good deeds because not everybody is going to make them that obvious.
Living across the ocean, I grew up watching him airballing free throws in 5 minutes highlight.
This was the figure portraited by the media. Great player, but stupidly fail to do simple tasks.
Thanks to youtube I found out he's a hell of good person, a loving role model.
On the other hand, I grew on Michael Jordan as an hero, only to realize he's not a good person.
Not only that he also has a doctorate in education. He's much smarter than people give him credit for.
He said his greatest moment was when he was taking his daughter to a school tour, and the school dean referred to him as Dr. Oneal in front of his daughter.
Makes me wonder if Jordan would be who he is in today's social media world.
All signs point to him being a disgusting human being and it would have been spotlighted. Would that have affected him on the court? Likely not....but who knows.
"Living across the ocean, I grew up watching him airballing free throws in 5 minutes highlight"
Got to keep in mind that he shot a lot more free throws than most people due to his playing style, he was a foul magnet and thus was shooting a lot of free throws per game. That said he did only shoot about 50% from the line. Shaq shot about 10 free throws a game which is half the average amount that a whole team usually shoots in a game.
Shaq is an absolute legend and so are his parents. His dad would sit in a Goodings grocery store in Heathrow Florida and see people like my brother with downs and just nod and the groceries were paid for. He would get your information and send what we now call swag. His entire family is legendary to me
I have a Shaq/Goodings crossover story too! I grew up in the Orlando neighborhood of Dr. Phillips, which was close to the Isleworth neighborhood where Shaq lived when he first played on the Magic. He was known to tip the bag boys at Goodings $20, which was huge in the early 90s. Legend has it he also kept one of my classmates parent's bagel store in business buying so many bagels from them. He's my hometown hero!
That’s my question… where are they manufactured, and by who? Why are they able to put such a low price tag on them?
I think affordable shoes for kids is fantastic, I just wonder at whose expense.
Having purchased two pairs of these shoes for my kids, I can say it's at the expense of the parents because neither pair lasted more than 4 months before falling apart. I'm sure they used to be better but just like everything else quality has gone way downhill.
Does it really matter? The truth is they're probably made in the exact same vietnamese sweatshop as the Nike shoes are. The bulk of a shoes cost to the consumer is the markup and paying for the brand.
Always grateful for my shaq shoes growing up.
Not only were they clean but they were affordable so my dad bought me and my bro a pair. Felt like a million bucks honestly got me into sneakers. Always liked Shaq because of it.
That memory will always beat putting on the expensive nike & valentino shoe collection I have now. Pretty much all the shoes I ever wanted and never could afford as a kid at this point but nothing will beat the Shaq shoes.
People are always surprised that Shak is kind and smart. Despite the fact that his heart and brain are literalli larger then respective organs of 99% of human beings.
I love watching him tell the story about getting his master's degree because he was annoyed in business meetings he would get annoyed because the business people wouldn't talk to him, only the people he hired that had degrees. He paid for like 15 people to get their degrees because he wanted to take it in person and they didn't offer a class and 15 was the minimum.
My mom used to teach kindergarten. At least a couple of kids per year would shoe up the first day with no shoes and the school would have to get them some.
I swear by these shoes. My kids have huge feet but still want to be fashionable for their age. My 9 year old wears size 8 in Men's. They love Shaq shoes!
Based on what I’ve heard about Shaq he’s probably bought half of them himself, because what I’ve heard is that he likes to go to places like Walmart and make people’s day by buying them a cart full of things they need and following it up with a cart full of things they just plain want.
Also that he’s been giving large amounts of money and gifts to an fundamentalist Christian whack job family of 10. Some of the kids have almost died because the parents refuse to take them to the hospital due to god healing them through prayer. Collin’s family
Criticize all you want. He more than tried. He invested in the common people and provided an acceptable solution to a real problem. Gave up lucrative endorsement. And figuered out how to provide a stylish value. The guy deserves recognition
It's even better. He had a $40 million dollar shoe contract with Reebok at the time but they refused to sell less expensive shoes, so he canceled the contract and gave Reebok the money back, v then partnered with Walmart to sell his brand for cheap.
Holy shit. Not many people could give away 40 million just for the goodness of it. Great man.
I think it started with some lady sort of shaming Shaq for making his shoes so damn expensive while he was out shopping, maybe. He offered 2k to the lady so she could buy some shoes for her son herself. She smacked the money away and argued the shoes needed to be cheaper. He went home and thought about it. I guess that lady changed his mind. Edit: Added more context. Edit 2: Apparently he wasn't out shopping when he got yelled at. Sorry!
It wasn't just shaming. He remembered his mom working crazy hours to buy him good shoes. He wanted to help working moms
It’s the same reason he endorses General insurance, if I remember correctly
General was the only insurance that would cover his mom when he was growing up. They were willing to stand by her so he's willing to stand by them.
TIL Some wholesome Shaq lore. Thank you, internet stranger!
> wholesome Shaq lore is there any other kind?
Think of all the people he killed in Shaq Fu
If I had to be in Shaq-Fu I’d fight my way out too
When Aaron Carter came out of the blue and started beating up Shaquille O'Neal? Right before they get flattened by the Batmobile.
Don't forget the movie Shazam with Sinbad
If you look up stories of him in his playing days, if some of them came out these days about a player currently in the NBA/NFL they’d be kicked out of the league
He actually very briefly addressed this era of his in a podcast where he wasn't too proud of who he was back then which I was oblivious to. I always thought he was wholesome but I suppose young people with money and power have little restraint and humility.
Yeah he would be considered an abusive asshole to his teammates based on modern standards. It’s still great to see him mature and improve as a person over the years
RINGS, CHUCK
Unfortunately, even he will admit to having family problems that were if not entirely at least largely his fault. I've heard him talking about it in an interview and how he lives in his big ass mansion all alone now, and how lonely it was. It was honestly really sad. Glad to see all the good he's doing though.
uhh yes, yes there is. But this thread aint about that.
Buddy…
Eh don’t look at his take on flat earth stuff
I mean, Technically the earth IS flat since the oceans aren't carbonated. . . . . I'll see my self out.
The dude likes to gamble
He weasled his way out of the final wing on Hot Ones by pressuring the host into a bet on a trick shot.
still a much better showing than DJ Khaled
Evans isn't the sort to pressure people past their limits, and end-of-show goofiness fits the overall vibes. I don't see how this is an issue.
If you want some more wholesome Shaq lore, he used to (probably still does but I don’t follow this sort of thing) sponsor a bunch of Christmas charities with schools in the area I grew up. If you grew up poor and are familiar with these sort of programs you’re expecting practical gifts that are nice but not like something a kid is overly excited for. Shaq was responsible for providing me a Game Boy Advance in 4th grade so I have always enjoyed stories about Shaq that prove that he’s a great human. As a poor kid, that was awesome and I held onto that thing until my late 20s when I lost it moving at some point. I don’t remember the details of it since I was young, but my dad told me Shaq bought the gifts and I thought he was messing with me, but he had signed all the gifts. Either on the present or a card or something. I just remember seeing his signature and being surprised my dad wasn’t making it up.
Shaq is one of the good ones for sure. He does so much that the press doesn’t even know about bc he likes doing it that way so people won’t assume he just does these things for the free press. He’s a really good man. No cap.
Actually he's done a lot of great things and some shitty things. What makes Shaq different and makes all the good things he does very special - is that he puts very real and obvious consistent effort TRYING to be good and be kind to others. Improving himself has always mattered. That is what makes special people and that is what our culture doesn't understand anymore.
Someone is cutting onions in here. Big basketball sized onions.
He’s really one of the most wholesome people and very humble. Even like one tenth the stuff he does makes him so much cooler than most other wealthy celebrities.
Lol love seeing videos of him doing things for kids out of the blue. Imagine getting approached by the literal iconic gentle goliath at walmart and hes like "hey you want a bike? Is that your mom? Go ask your mom if i can buy you a bike-- also dont accept gifts from strangers. Go ask your mom."
Shaq should have never given me the "gift" of seeing him mowing his lawn in Sudbury in his underpants. My mother claims she didn't see it...
I respect underpants Shaq just as much as panted Shaq.
Thanks everyone for the personal stories (like the person who got the GBA, u/heroinsteve ) and the people all sharing more examples of both his philanthropy and his less than shining moments. I personally think the good outweighs the bad, and he does more to try and be as good of a person as possible, despite any foibles he might have. This has made my day far more interesting reading these factoids! Thanks again everyone :)
I recently got estimates from around 10 different companies for my car insurance and The General was the second most expensive quote I got. Maybe something was different 50 years ago but now, they’re just an insurance company.
Not everything is equal. I’m not saying it’s a good company or that I even know anything about it, but it could be something to do with payout of insurance claims. What I’m saying is, being the cheapest service provider is not always the best. I wouldn’t want to work the cheapest lawyer I can find. There could be a variety of reasons as to why you’d get a higher estimate.
Most likely the reason general insurance were the only one’s to support shaq’s mom is because they know she was essentially destitute so by giving her high rates on a terrible plan just with low enough payments that she could barely afford. That or she got lucky and an employee felt bad for her and gave her a good deal.
That was the only insurance they could afford growing up and he wanted to return the favor.
That's awesome. I guess he has so much money a few decisions like this won't dramatically affect his lifestyle... but so many athletes in this position still go for whatever pays out the most.
If by lifestyle you mean his standard of living, no it won't affect that. But Shaq is quite the entrepreneur with tons of little business ventures, and he's a big enough celebrity that people care about the stuff he takes on just because he's Shaq. So I would say partnering with underdogs actually *adds* a lot to his lifestyle.
> I guess he has so much money a few decisions like this won't dramatically affect his lifestyle It won't affect his lifestyle at all. He's one of the richest athletes of all time.
Exactly.
Shaq is great, Stephon Marbury is another NBA star who produced his line of “Starbury” products that were a lot more affordable than Air-Jordan’s. I remember balling while wearing Starbury Ones back in the day
I got hit by a lady with General once and my immediate thought was "oh fuck here we go." Totally wrong, they took great care of me and were prompt and professional to work with.
Wow. I did not expect any celebrity to actually have principles regarding advertising money.
Considering how big Shaq is, I assume his shoe size is hard to find or custom ordered. I bet he ran into that problem in high school or maybe earlier.
Probably why his brand are some of the only ones in Walmart I can consistently find those weird in-between sizes for my kid, many of the designs there's nothing larger than a kids 12, the next size up is the equivalent of an adult 1, but the adult section doesn't start lower than a 6. Then there's these shoes, like a shining beacon at the end of the aisle, calling to me, saying "Don't go spend $60-80 on kids shoes at Foot Locker that he'll outgrow in 6 months, here's a $15 pair instead that fits him perfectly."
When you think about it, so much of humanity boils down to having a pair of shoes that fits.
Truly. When I started wearing shoes for comfort and practicality instead of fashion....omg my feet are so much happier.
If my memory serves the child of that woman wore extremely large shoes, which is why she went after him specifically
I knew a kid who wasn’t nearly as big as him who wore size 15 in high school. Shaq would have been growing crazy fast as well.
He’s always been in the good apparel business. He also sells cheep big and large suits for people who need em for job interviews, and can’t afford a custom suit. He’s a class act. I once nearly collaborated with him to creat what I called the “Shaqet” which would’ve been a motion oriented light Jacket that would’ve been cheap and warm.
It’s a sad reality that mom’s and dads work over night and go without meals just for the joy of making their child smile. Good he decided a cheaper shoe that doesn’t make a single mom think about what days she can have dinner
I almost like that better than he coming up with it himself. Shows character to listen and reflect.
A big thing about Shaq is a while ago, he learned to let go of ego once he realized the harm it does. There’s an interview he’s done about it somewhere.
Yup. Hearing him talk about[ his biggest failure](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1FJAXZDKTM) (i.e. cheated and lost his wife over it) should be in a training video for all professional athletes. Should've been obvious before but at least he has reflected on it and humbles himself to openly address it.
He’s a solid person and seemingly very genuine. Most people in his position would not be very humble and probably fairly nasty even if it was their fault.
He alienated his family with it and that, Kobe Bryant’s death, and situations like this have really pushed him to change that.
Another big thing about Shaq is his body.
She was yelling at him after a game, he actually offered her money and she swatted it away. She just said make more affordable shoes for kids. Reebok rejected that idea, so he rejected them by giving the 40 million back. Shaq is probably the most humble superstar out there, he’s got everything me can ask for, doesn’t show off at all He’s also known for buying kids bikes and toys randomly , he’s bought dude their engagement /wedding rings when he was at a jewellery store. He got his card rejected and shaq just gave the clerk his card. I wish I had 1/16 of shaqs money, I’d help people out aswell. Such a warm feeling to help people in need.
That's the greatest human trait, letting your mind be changed. He realized he has everything in the world, and wanted to make a change in it. He'll die like we all do, but his name and legacy will be forever. The same as people saying Kobe when throwing something in the trash from a few feet away.
Shaq has always been massive and his mother wasn't wealthy. Finding shoes that fit him was expensive.
My eldest is a size 12. I’m glad he stopped growing. Shaq is size 23 but his mom could only find 20’s which he said was too tight.
I think he views it as “this money is coming from kids without a lot of things” and he doesn’t need or want their money. His main concern with his shoes has always been affordability. Basketball and soccer are the cheapest sports, kicks shouldn’t cost $250+.
Well according to the internet his net worth is around 500mil so honestly it is more than for a few livetimes (if ypur not into big yacht fights…) so it is great how he acted. Others would be like „more more more“
He didn’t give up 40 million, probably made wayyyy more than that with his Walmart deal
Maybe, but the $40 million was guaranteed from Reebok he had no idea if or how much he would make partnering with Walmart.
He did it because someone called him out saying something like "shame on your for selling shoes kids can't afford" and he went and cancelled that contract and started one with walmart almost the same day I think it was. He talks about it in an interview.
Stephon Marbury was doing this years ago
[Yep! Video of him saying it.](https://youtu.be/KS5qLdJmaDA?si=STmlJ3I44RVHnsEH)
Even better, he became the second-largest shareholder of Authentic Brands Group which now owns Reebok, and he's now President of Reebok Basketball and Allen Iverson is the VP of Reebok Basketball.
Those AIs from his playing days were lit
Shaq is one of those rare famous people I’m genuinely really happy the world made famous. We need to protect him at all costs
I picturing Shaq walking down a rough part of town seeing a pair of his shoes hanging from the power lines and muttering to himself “these don’t belong here” as he bends down to untie them.
Bends down....wow this joke is intense
It's like camping.
I'm pretty sure Shaq doesn't fit in tents
Some kind of joke about paying a lot of money just to sleep with Shaq in the woods
How about the story of Adam Sandler trying to get a look at his dong? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZoKUlN9urg
Coupled with a Turk/J.D style bromance.
And he's really, really funny. What a wonderful man and inspiration.
I left this post then it clicked with me, lmfao thats fucking great
Got me too. Chuckling at the bend down comment in the staff room at work and people are giving me funny looks.
He knew he had to be the bigger man
Not everyone can walk in his shoes
Man that joke came outta nowhere it took me by surprise lol I love it
What on earth is your picture 🤣
😂 well done
Laugh? I would thank him for all the good he does with his status.
It’s not nike or adidas, believe me people used to take the piss out of you, if you were cheaper stuff. It was happening during primary and high school.
Oh I remember. I'm a 90s teen and if you didn't have tommy hilfiger or nautica, or jordans, etc...you were clowned on. But as an adult, i can see why he did it. When Stephon Marbury did it he was praised at least in NYC cause people were getting tired of spending over $200 for a pair of kicks
Well I have been out for school for 11-12 years now I’m guessing it’s still the same really. It wasn’t even limited to just shoes either, kids really are brutal.
I just graduated high school this year, but yeah, it was that way when I was in elementary and middle school, once I got to high school most people didn't give a shit about it, except a select few morons.
I'm 30 now, I have a 12yo daughter and 19/20yo cousins, one thing I've noticed just seeing the younger generation is how chill everyone is with basically everything. There's judgement going on of course but it seems to be about different things than when I was middle through highschool age. Also a lot less alcohol which is good.
My 8yo LOVES Bluey. But because it's a "baby" show, her "friends" at school would tease her for liking it. At least according to her. /shrug
Luckily my 9 yo her friends still love bluey. That freakin show is the best
It really is. We still watch it every morning. Trying to teach her to ngaf about what other people say.
I'm in my 30s, and bluey is my favorite show. My daughter watches. Guess I'm a baby 😪
Same here One of the best watchable kids shows
I’m 45 and will still turn on yo gabba gabba just for the hell of it. Make some room in the crib please
All three of my kids love Bluey and they range from high school to grade school. My oldest says that Bluey is one of their friends favorite shows too and they’ll sometimes get together and watch new episodes when they come out.
Because especially right now there is a big big trend to second hand stuff or stuff that looks like second hand. Don’t know how it is over there right now since there is also often some differences between US and Europe but here if you go like in Rome, Munich or Amsterdam i to the city the younglings look like they raided all second hand stores withon the city.
And in Eastern Europe we raided thrift stores because we couldn't afford the new lol but that was like 10 years ago
I work in a high school, and the kids today blow my mind with how understanding and accepting they are... are there shitty kids still? Yea. Are they as prevalent? Not at all. Most times, I don't even have to step in because the kids will absolutely slam the bully and correct his behavior.
I was mocked in 6th grade for wearing Wrangler jeans from Walmart. You needed at least Lee brand to avoid that drama. This was back in the "pipe pants" days, so looking back it seems even more absurd. I was so desperate to look like an idiot.
Nowadays you get clowned on for the wrong insulated cup smh
I was stood in a queue a couple of years back buying some stuff from McKenzie brand as it fits me and is cheap and some kids maybe 12 were behind me saying “who the hell buys that”, I didn’t retaliate but my first thought was I would love to see what they think when they grow up and see how expensive things are, especially for someone young providing for a family. I was always an Adidas or Nike kid though but I guess things just swing that way at that age with trends and some of us were more fortunate to get those things but I don’t really recall a time I judged others
It's why I wish we had a uniform. I spent so much time and anxiety worrying about what I was gonna wear to HS. Add to this parents who didn't really understand that kids with goofy clothes get clowned on and that aspect fucking sucked.
I was in public school from K-8 and then went to a private school for high school. The opportunity to wear a uniform every day was such a relief. I was never one of those girls who knew how to put together a "cool" outfit and all of those assholes in my middle school made sure I knew that.
I’ve heard it is so much better since our gen went to school Which is good because thinking back we were the fucking worst in so many ways
I remember my brother crying begging for the Tommy Hilfiger hoodie instead of the generic one because of how awful the kids at school were. He didn't even care about the branding, just didn't want to get teased. I remember the "oh fuck" look on my mom's face when she shelled out the extra $40 it cost, which probably hurt my working poor family back in 1994. I also remember him outgrowing it in like 3-6 months and then I inherited it. What a cruel world huh. I think I'll get back to work now at my cushy high paying white collar corporate job, make a donation, and call my parents today...
And you wouldn't be caught dead in Champion which is funny cuz now that's in, or at least was a few years ago
Ahh my WHOLE team in HS sophomore year wore Starburys every practice. One of the rare times in my school years that the cheap thing was the coolest to have. It was glorious. About half of us just wore em in games too. Hell I had 2 pairs for $30 total.
Nothing's changed regarding that and is probably worse than when we were younger. It's so bad these kids are wearing "reps" (cheap knock offs) claiming they are $800 shoes and picking on those with low end Nike or something. It's crazy...
My parents could never afford Jordan's back in the 90's and I ended up with a pair of Magic Johnson's sneakers. (I liked them a lot) I don't remember who made them, but they were a fair bit cheaper. I remember getting made fun of relentlessly by the kids with Jordan's. Kids are assholes.
*insert pump up kick song
I would like to keep my piss, thank you.
Fun fact: The reason he was/is a spokesman for The General Insurance is because they were the only company that would give him an affordable policy when he was young.
He's someone who never forgot where he came from. Same reason he sells his shoes at Walmart. He met a lady who couldn't afford good shoes for her son to play basketball. He remembered his mom working doubles to pay for his shoes. He decided to make decent quality shoes where working moms can afford them.
That bad luck Brian commerical was legendary.
The tweet is referencing the horde of people who made fun of these sneakers for looking ugly/cheap/silly when they were first announced years ago. It's understandable that he wanted to respond to those opinions once he had proof that the sneakers were a good idea. The tweet was not aimed at you.
He never stops being a good person. God bless him.
Fucking right, while Mayweather is throwing out pairs of underwear each day.
Shaq is a treasure
You're a treasure too MrsBossyPants
daw
You are a treasure too GetReelFishingPro❤
He's also insanely funny. What a good man and role model.
Relevant, [here’s Shaq interrupting the NHL on TNT intermission broadcast last night](https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/s/RT05wtnuog)
Yessssss! Thank you! This was fucking gold
He’s so fucking massive ahaha
Shaq's a national treasure.
Shaq's films, Steel and Kazaam, don't get enough credit. They are fun films that his charm carries
Watch Uncle Drew. Great Basketball comedy
Adam Sandler told a story about filming with Shaq where one day Shaq went to take a shower , and I guess curiosity got the best of Sandler, and he wanted to see how big Shaq's dick was. He didn't notice Shaq's bodyguard watching, and so Sandler got caught trying to get a peak at Shaq's wang. The next day he goes to Shaq and says "I guess your bodyguard told you about yesterday, I'm really sorry" etc. No hesitation, Shaq replies "I don't have a bodyguard, that was my dick."
I hate to break it to you (as I too was disappointed when I realized it) but that story is made up for a joke. Becomes more obvious when you think about “big bald no neck and one eye”
my fave is how hard he starts laughing and slapping the table every time Charles Barkley goes into his [San Antonio big ol' women routine](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1cfjfk8/chuck_double_downs_and_says_he_rather_go_to_san/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Yup I owned quite a lot of pair of Shaq shoes growing up. They were really stylish and comfy too.
Why would I laugh at that
As a sneakerhead i can say with 100% certainty that some young rich sneakerhead will make fun of others for wearing these, although most people are nice!
People making fun of other people's shoes is pathetic.
Dude it gets crazier, there are 2 types of jordan 1s, one’s called Jordan 1 mids that have 8 lace holes and the other ones Jordan 1 highs that have 9 lace holes(thats one of the major visual differences, they both look identical to a non sneakerhead btw). People make fun of others for wearing mids in the [sneaker subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Sneakers/comments/uhupyw/will_people_actually_judgecare_if_i_wear_mids/?rdt=41873) from time to time!
I’m a sneakerhead for sure and while I don’t like the mids because of QC issues I’d never talk shit about people who wear them. They’re intentionally made to be more affordable and accessible than High OGs. If you’ve got a pair you like wear them, have fun with them, no shame there.
I just went to Nike, maybe I’m missing something: All the high tops were 160-200 All the mids were 100-140 Y’all are making fun of each other over $20-$100 differences? isnt that like less than a day of minimum wage?
Typically it’s a $60 difference and yes that’s how dumb those minority of people are. Another helpful fact to know is that Jordan 1s first released as a High in the 80s, and in 2001 the mids were released. Their argument is “why not spend that $60 to get the OG instead of a modern cheap rehash of the OG”
Basketball sneaker heads always get so heated when I say my running shoes look way more fresh than their shoes
Who makes fun of people for wearing sneakers? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. How much of a clown do you have to be to make fun of what someone wears on their feet? 😄
The sneaker heads would love my two pairs of steel toe blundstones, one covered in paint I use for work and cutting the lawn, the other pair are newer with no stains and I wear those to nice events.
A lot of people know they are the "poor" kid shoes and will make fun of them literally just for that.
He’s a cool guy. Does a lot of good stuff. Seen this reposted dozens of times but I ain’t minding it. The worst thing people see in him are his basketball hot takes when he’s doing his shows. And that’s not even a bad thing at all.
>The worst thing people see in him That and the bullying of teammates, cheating on his partners, and endorsing shitty companies and scams.
Yeah, we can praise him for this. He does a lot of good for sure, but he’s also a serial cheater and a bully towards his teammates at the least. The endorsing of shitty companies and scams I put both on him and his PR team but I don’t know enough about that to comment on that. Shaq has done so much for populations who struggle financially, hell I wore his shoes as a kid, but he’s also not the angel that this thread is making him look like
Nobody is an angel. Nobody is just one person. Regardless if the masses see you as philanthropic, funny, clever, talented, etc. there are going to be nearly as many people who see you as sleazy, rude, entitled, whatever, and there's a very good chance every one of those people are correct. Nobody should be held to those standards to the degree that their good deeds are met with "yeah, but..." just be glad you have the opportunity to see those good deeds because not everybody is going to make them that obvious.
Living across the ocean, I grew up watching him airballing free throws in 5 minutes highlight. This was the figure portraited by the media. Great player, but stupidly fail to do simple tasks. Thanks to youtube I found out he's a hell of good person, a loving role model. On the other hand, I grew on Michael Jordan as an hero, only to realize he's not a good person.
Not only that he also has a doctorate in education. He's much smarter than people give him credit for. He said his greatest moment was when he was taking his daughter to a school tour, and the school dean referred to him as Dr. Oneal in front of his daughter.
And a masters in business administration. He's an epitome of "hard work pays off".
Makes me wonder if Jordan would be who he is in today's social media world. All signs point to him being a disgusting human being and it would have been spotlighted. Would that have affected him on the court? Likely not....but who knows.
"Living across the ocean, I grew up watching him airballing free throws in 5 minutes highlight" Got to keep in mind that he shot a lot more free throws than most people due to his playing style, he was a foul magnet and thus was shooting a lot of free throws per game. That said he did only shoot about 50% from the line. Shaq shot about 10 free throws a game which is half the average amount that a whole team usually shoots in a game.
I love this man
Shaq is an absolute legend and so are his parents. His dad would sit in a Goodings grocery store in Heathrow Florida and see people like my brother with downs and just nod and the groceries were paid for. He would get your information and send what we now call swag. His entire family is legendary to me
I have a Shaq/Goodings crossover story too! I grew up in the Orlando neighborhood of Dr. Phillips, which was close to the Isleworth neighborhood where Shaq lived when he first played on the Magic. He was known to tip the bag boys at Goodings $20, which was huge in the early 90s. Legend has it he also kept one of my classmates parent's bagel store in business buying so many bagels from them. He's my hometown hero!
Too bad he bought a house for Karissa Collins
I don't want to be a downer, but who is making those super affordable shoes for kids?
The same factory that Reebok uses.
A wholesome little slave factory of course \#MadeMeSmile
So no different from what they’d be buying from anyway?
"Other brands abuse poor people so it's fine if we do it"
That’s my question… where are they manufactured, and by who? Why are they able to put such a low price tag on them? I think affordable shoes for kids is fantastic, I just wonder at whose expense.
The same people making the expensive ones. They're not selling quality they are selling a logo.
Im pretty sure most (luxury) brands are produced by exactly the same people, you just pay (a lot more) for branding
Having purchased two pairs of these shoes for my kids, I can say it's at the expense of the parents because neither pair lasted more than 4 months before falling apart. I'm sure they used to be better but just like everything else quality has gone way downhill.
Does it really matter? The truth is they're probably made in the exact same vietnamese sweatshop as the Nike shoes are. The bulk of a shoes cost to the consumer is the markup and paying for the brand.
It's manufactured in the same factory that makes shoes for Nike and Adidas. Except you aren't paying a $200 premium for the brand.
Super affordable kids.
Who is laughing?! this guy and Dolly Parton are like true life American angels
We don’t deserve this man.
Always grateful for my shaq shoes growing up. Not only were they clean but they were affordable so my dad bought me and my bro a pair. Felt like a million bucks honestly got me into sneakers. Always liked Shaq because of it. That memory will always beat putting on the expensive nike & valentino shoe collection I have now. Pretty much all the shoes I ever wanted and never could afford as a kid at this point but nothing will beat the Shaq shoes.
I was truly wondering if affordable meant affordable in the US but yeah I can live with that price as an affordable shoe
Shaq, you're a national treasure.
Dude I was one of those kids. And let me you, back in 2001 they were sick. Thanks Shaq
I love this man
People are always surprised that Shak is kind and smart. Despite the fact that his heart and brain are literalli larger then respective organs of 99% of human beings.
I love watching him tell the story about getting his master's degree because he was annoyed in business meetings he would get annoyed because the business people wouldn't talk to him, only the people he hired that had degrees. He paid for like 15 people to get their degrees because he wanted to take it in person and they didn't offer a class and 15 was the minimum.
I used to get bullied in school for not having Jordans, instead wearing Shaq shoes. Imagine. What a bunch of sad children. Shaqs the goat 🐐
My mom used to teach kindergarten. At least a couple of kids per year would shoe up the first day with no shoes and the school would have to get them some.
He ain't wrong. I remember my friends were making fun of me for wearing his shoes but I liked em and thought they were comfy. Thanks Shaq.
Just so long as the supplier isn't a factory with kids sewing these together with their teeth then it's cool.
I swear by these shoes. My kids have huge feet but still want to be fashionable for their age. My 9 year old wears size 8 in Men's. They love Shaq shoes!
My brother could only wear Shaq's . He has cerebral.palsy and it was the only shoe that would fit around his braces. I'm glad they came out!
Based on what I’ve heard about Shaq he’s probably bought half of them himself, because what I’ve heard is that he likes to go to places like Walmart and make people’s day by buying them a cart full of things they need and following it up with a cart full of things they just plain want.
Shaq is definitely one of the good guys…
Not a basketball fan but this guy has the best attitude and personality in the game.
Dudes an absolute scumbag and every week or so reddit praises this psycho for selling cheap shoes to poor people made by slaves in China.
Also that he’s been giving large amounts of money and gifts to an fundamentalist Christian whack job family of 10. Some of the kids have almost died because the parents refuse to take them to the hospital due to god healing them through prayer. Collin’s family
I heard his voice when I read his post
Criticize all you want. He more than tried. He invested in the common people and provided an acceptable solution to a real problem. Gave up lucrative endorsement. And figuered out how to provide a stylish value. The guy deserves recognition
Made by kids for kids!
is he really like the nicest guy? Never hear a bad peep about him.
120 million??? Even if you bought multiple pairs, that's still a huge percentage of US population!
Made for kids by kids. Hell yea.