(WWJ) - A Genesee County teen's call for help in finding comfortable footwear for his record-breaking feet has been answered by Under Armor, who said the shoes will be the largest the company has ever made.
As reported by the MLive-The Flint Journal, 14-year-old Eric Kilburn Jr., of Goodrich, will finally start off on the "right foot" after he struggled to find shoes that fit his size 23 or bigger.
His family said in a post to GoFundMe that they were lucky enough to stumble across a stockpile of shoes at the Nike outlet in sizes 21 and 22.
"For the first time in a long while he had shoes that fit well and looked cool," they wrote, but their triumph was short-lived after watching the teen quickly outgrow the 21s and move into the 22s.
Soon the size 22 shoes were even too small.
"After some research, it was discovered that the shoes found at the outlet were made for Tacko Fall, the NBA player with some of the biggest feet in the game," organizers wrote. "Shaquille O’Neal is the same size at a US 22. Eric needs a US 23 (maybe 24).The largest feet in the world at the moment are a US 26. According to Guinness Book of World Records the largest feet of any teenager was a 16-year-old in a size 20."
Kilburn's family said Tacko Fall's shoes are what the teen currently wears. They have been professionally stretched to try and accommodate his feet, but they hurt to walk in and cause blisters.
"He’s been measured by an orthopedic specialist," the GoFundMe post said, confirming the Kilburn's massive foot size. "One pair of shoes will cost over $1500 (average US household spends about $400 a year on shoes)."
The 6-foot-10 Goodrich High School freshman's journey went viral earlier this month and caught the attention of sporting brand Under Armour, who reached out with an offer to make a custom pair of shoes and football cleats.
Puma also contacted the family to make sneakers and basketball shoes for Kilburn.
“Been worried so long what I would do if I grew out of (size) 22′s, but Under Armour has come up with a solution,” Kilburn told MLive-The Flint Journal. “ It means everything to me, just having shoes that don’t cause blisters or just pain on my feet would mean everything. It would mean the world.”
On Sunday, March 26, the first step in producing the footwear began with the Kilburn family meeting up with Robb Cropp, senior director of Footwear Development at Under Armour, at Bridgewood Church in Clarkston.
The teen had a 3D rendering on his feet done, which Cropp said would allow Under Armour to create a mold and build the custom shoes.
Cropp added the company's decision to help the teen was "the right thing to do."
"We wanted to make sure that Eric had cleats to be able to play and perform on the field and then also I knew we need to make him some shoes that he could wear around town and just do what every person should be able to do," the senior director stated.
Cropp said the special shoes will take six to eight weeks to make and the cleats will be completed just in time for football season.
Killburn, who has lived most of his life in pain due to shoes that were too small, called the moment life-changing.
“I just feel like a huge weight has been dropped off of my shoulders,” the teen said. “This was the first step in getting me some shoes.”
The 14-year-old's mother, Rebecca Kilburn, created the Facebook group "Big Shoe Network" in an effort to help other families who are struggling through similar issues. The group, created on March 18, already has over 1,500 members and Rebecca hopes to start a non-profit in the future.
The family's GoFundMe page has raised over $23,000 with the money going to a fund account for Kilburn to be able to purchase shoes and clothes in his correct size into adulthood.
"This isn’t a problem just for now," the post added, This is a problem for the rest of the time Eric has these feet."
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Eric Kilburn Jr. is from Clarkson, Michigan. He in fact lives in Goodrich, a village in Genesee County.