Under Armour have made their largest pair of shoes ever - and are set to give them to a teenager in the United States.
Eric Kilrburn Jr. hails from Ortonville, Michigan and had been wearing size 22 shoes to fit his feet, but even they were too small. Donning trainers gave him painful blisters and ingrown toenails given the average American male wears size 10.5 shoes, so mother Rebecca recently reached out and called for help to find the right sized shoes.
Under Armour quickly responded and is now set to gift the 14-year-old - who stands at 6ft 10in and has larger feet than NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal - with a pair of custom trainers. Eric and his family met with Under Armour’s senior director of Footwear Development, Robb Cropp, on March 26.
During the meeting, the company rendered a 3D scan of Eric’s feet and a mould was created to ensure designers nailed his size. In footage posted to MLive, Cropp measured Eric’s foot and declared: “This is my biggest foot ever, that is for sure. I've been doing this about 30 years and I've never had anyone this size.”
In the footage, Eric revealed how touched he was by Under Armour’s gesture, suggesting the offer ‘means everything to him’. He added: “Just having shoes that don't cause blisters or pain on my feet would mean the world. It felt great just knowing that this is the first step in the line of getting new shoes.”
There will now be a wait of up to eight weeks as Under Armour finalise the company’s biggest-ever creation. The company also offered to make Eric a pair of cleats in time for the return of the football season later this year.
Puma are also looking to get involved, ensuring Eric is set to receive trainers, basketball shoes and football cleats. Mauri, an Italian company, have offered to make dress shoes for school and more formal occasions in the teenager’s life.
His mother Rebecca praised Under Armour for being so willing to help her son, while she revealed the brands’ generosity has truly helped. She said: “It's restored my faith in humanity. I hit so many dead ends with people laughing when I called to ask about shoes. It was a very lonely feeling. And now we're overflowing with support, generosity and kindness.”
At one point, Eric’s battle to find proper fitting clothes got so bad he was forced to wear Crocs for two years, even during bitterly cold Michigan winters, as other custom options were simply too expensive at $1,500. While his mother offered to buy her son a pair, Eric felt uncomfortable wearing them because they only came with Velcro fasteners.
A GoFundMe was set up for the family and has so far raised almost $23,000 for Eric and his family. Rebecca also started a Facebook group - the ‘Big Shoe Network' - to help others find large shoes that they can purchase.
