14-year-old boy with size 23 feet has to have specially-designed shoes made for him

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By Nasima Khatun

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A teenager with size 23 feet has to have specially-designed shoes made for him because he can't find them on the market.

Eric Kilburn Jr, a 6-foot-10 high school freshman, has partnered up with a fashion brand in order to make him custom shoes after he recently told The Flint Journal that he was exhausted with looking for a pair that fit him - I mean, when you've got size 23 feet, it must be a chore.

He told the outlet that he "just want shoes."

"There’s nothing else behind it. I just need shoes because once I grow out of these, I’ll have nothing to wear – no sandals, no crocs, no anything," he added.

The teen was also worried about certain aspects of his frame, but he kept a positive attitude.

"It was a weird experience realizing like, 'Oh, I’m going to be stuck like this forever.’ Like I’m never not going to see the tops of the shelves in the store," Kilburn said. "I’m never not going to see the top of people’s heads wherever I go. It just kind of sat with me and settled for a bit after realizing that I was going to be this tall... I was completely fine with it."

The 14-year-old, who also goes by the nickname 'Big E', is a football player on his school's team where he plays the position of defensive tackle and even his uniform has been altered especially for him.

He wears a Schutt F7 helmet, the only manufacturer that can cater to the teen's formidable size.

At first, the Kilburn family took their plea to the internet via a GoFundMe campaign to pay for a pair of $1,500 custom shoes if they could not find any alternatives.

However, his worries have now been settled after he collaborated with Under Armour to help design a pair of shoes that actually work for him.

Other brand deals with both Nike and Adidas fell through so it was a nice change to see someone actually put their words into action.

As per the New York Post, on Sunday, the Kilburn family met with Robb Cropp who is the senior director of Footwear Development at Under Armour, at Bridgewood Church in Clarkston in order to get a 3D rendering of the teenager’s feet.

Speaking of the 14-year-old, Cropp said that this was the "biggest foot ever."

"This is my biggest foot ever, that is for sure," he said.

Kilburn said that he had "been worried for so long what I would do if I grew out of [size] 22′s" which was a unique find at a Nike outlet store. "But Under Armour has come up with a solution."

"It means everything to me," he continued, "just having shoes that don’t cause blisters or just pain on my feet would mean everything. It would mean the world."

Under Armour also offered to make the 14-year-old a new pair of football cleats right on time for the upcoming school sports season.

Kilburn, who played three games this past season at Goodrich High School, has been recovering from a high ankle sprain that kept him out of action for a while.

We're glad he finally got what he was looking for!

Featured Image Credit: Wavebreak Media ltd / Alamy

14-year-old boy with size 23 feet has to have specially-designed shoes made for him

vt-author-image

By Nasima Khatun

Article saved!Article saved!

A teenager with size 23 feet has to have specially-designed shoes made for him because he can't find them on the market.

Eric Kilburn Jr, a 6-foot-10 high school freshman, has partnered up with a fashion brand in order to make him custom shoes after he recently told The Flint Journal that he was exhausted with looking for a pair that fit him - I mean, when you've got size 23 feet, it must be a chore.

He told the outlet that he "just want shoes."

"There’s nothing else behind it. I just need shoes because once I grow out of these, I’ll have nothing to wear – no sandals, no crocs, no anything," he added.

The teen was also worried about certain aspects of his frame, but he kept a positive attitude.

"It was a weird experience realizing like, 'Oh, I’m going to be stuck like this forever.’ Like I’m never not going to see the tops of the shelves in the store," Kilburn said. "I’m never not going to see the top of people’s heads wherever I go. It just kind of sat with me and settled for a bit after realizing that I was going to be this tall... I was completely fine with it."

The 14-year-old, who also goes by the nickname 'Big E', is a football player on his school's team where he plays the position of defensive tackle and even his uniform has been altered especially for him.

He wears a Schutt F7 helmet, the only manufacturer that can cater to the teen's formidable size.

At first, the Kilburn family took their plea to the internet via a GoFundMe campaign to pay for a pair of $1,500 custom shoes if they could not find any alternatives.

However, his worries have now been settled after he collaborated with Under Armour to help design a pair of shoes that actually work for him.

Other brand deals with both Nike and Adidas fell through so it was a nice change to see someone actually put their words into action.

As per the New York Post, on Sunday, the Kilburn family met with Robb Cropp who is the senior director of Footwear Development at Under Armour, at Bridgewood Church in Clarkston in order to get a 3D rendering of the teenager’s feet.

Speaking of the 14-year-old, Cropp said that this was the "biggest foot ever."

"This is my biggest foot ever, that is for sure," he said.

Kilburn said that he had "been worried for so long what I would do if I grew out of [size] 22′s" which was a unique find at a Nike outlet store. "But Under Armour has come up with a solution."

"It means everything to me," he continued, "just having shoes that don’t cause blisters or just pain on my feet would mean everything. It would mean the world."

Under Armour also offered to make the 14-year-old a new pair of football cleats right on time for the upcoming school sports season.

Kilburn, who played three games this past season at Goodrich High School, has been recovering from a high ankle sprain that kept him out of action for a while.

We're glad he finally got what he was looking for!

Featured Image Credit: Wavebreak Media ltd / Alamy