“Why do you make shoes that kids can’t even afford?” This one question changed Shaquille O’Neal’s perspective on being a role model for the next generation. Hearing the plea of a frustrated mom led Lakers legend to scrap his deal with Reebok and launch his own affordable sneakers. The year was 1998, and the Lakers legend walked away from Reebok’s then-deal of $40 million. Since then, Shaq’s brand of shoes has been flying off the shelves at Walmart. It’s not only profits that the brand cares about.
During a 2021 interview, Shaq revealed just how big his budget-friendly brand has become. “I was in all stores and my price point for the shoes was $29-$19, and since then we sold over 400 million pairs.” Even today, it is affordably priced in the range of $15 and $30. Last year in September, it even launched in Poland. Which shoes are the acceptance of the brand and Shaquille O’Neal’s ideology of launching affordable shoes.
“So excited. Today is the day of delivery. We call them our Shaq shoes. Shaquille O’Neal was kind enough to help us put a new pair of shoes on all of our 2,000 kids, and you see the shoes lined up here, and I think we have 14 pallets of shoes, and you talk about a blessing, and these kids are absolutely gonna go crazy.” The Instagram page ‘Hot Freestyle’ with over 3.9 million followers added a post recently. The narrator in the video was thankful to the Shaq brand for sending shoes to the Grace Camp organization.
“What we do is we just teach these kids how to serve others, and we serve them. We wash their feet. We put a new pair of shoes and socks on every child, and you can see here we’re unloading a semi-truck of shoes for Camp Grace, and we’ve been doing this now, this is our seventh year.” Despite doing it for 7 years of helping under-served youth, the narrator explained it was their first brand label shoe collaboration.
Previously, his generosity extended to giving away bikes, scooters, and even laptops to strangers. Now it’s the 2000 kids who will have plenty of joy wearing these shoes. However, Shaq’s own kids had a problem and demanded to wear a rival brand. But the 4x NBA champion turned this situation into a win-win for everybody.
Shaquille O’Neal’s son Jordan’s demand was fulfilled with a strict condition
Despite being a Hall of Famer and now the President of Reebok basketball operations, Shaq’s kids were not on board with his shoes. During a recent episode of his Big Podcast, the Hall of Famer laughed while admitting, “Listen, I hate it to this day when they used to call me and say, ‘Hey, Dad, could you buy me some Jordans?’” Even Shaq was caught off guard with the request. O’Neal asked what was truly wrong with the Shaq brand shoes, and the answer was even more surprising.
“Oh, the Shaqs are at Walmart, Dad. They’re cheap. I’m like, what?” he recalled. Even though Shaquille O’Neal arranged the Michael Jordan kicks for his kids, it was after setting a rule in motion. “Well, you’re gonna have to donate ten pairs of your old shoes,’” Shaq shared on The Jordan Harbinger Show. That’s what his sons did, and the Big Aristotle was proud of them. “We don’t even talk basketball… what’s important to me is that they build, but I started.”
Even the O’Neal kids continued the tradition of donating or giving away to the people in need. Let’s not forget the Shaquille O’Neal foundation’s continued efforts to provide a safe space to help underserved youth, primarily from Atlanta, Georgia, and the Las Vegas region.
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