SeeCalifornia.com

Photo: On display at the Newport Sports Museum is Shaquille O’Neal size 22 basketball shoes.

Nature isn’t kind to those with big feet–unless your name is Shaquille O’Neal. Having big feet means you can’t find shoes to wear. It’s a fact. Athletes receive all kinds of special clothing and services, but regular people with big feet spend their entire lives suffering from lack of quality, good fitting shoes in steady supplies.  Shaq wears size 22 but has the fame and  financial means to have shoes custom made.

This was not the case for Igor Vovkovinskiy who lives in Minnesota. After numerous foot surgeries from ill-fitting shoes and pleas for help, the 7’8″ man flew to the Reebok shoe plant in Massachusetts several weeks ago to get a custom made pair that will fit his big feet, estimated at size 22-25. Reebok heard of the man’s plight and agreed to make him custom, proper fitting shoes at the cost of $12,000 – 20,000.

Vovkovinskiy has had 16 foot surgeries in six years that have left him a virtual shut-in. All he wants, he said, is shoes that fit so he can get outside, walk his dog and enjoy life. The damage to his huge feet came from wearing shoes that don’t fit.

A survey of shoes on the Internet to date has yielded few, if any, positive results for those seeking shoes in larger sizes beyond size 15 for men and 14 for women.  There are thousands of us out there with big feet, and not a lot of resources to find shoes. If you’re a woman with big feet, you can wear men’s shoes. It’s not the best solution but what else can you do? If you’re a man, the options thin out.

At the Newport Sports Museum in Newport Beach, Calif. you can see some really big basketball shoes worn by  famous athletes.