Tallest Man in the US Needs Shoes

Igor Vovkivinskiy, at 7' 8.33", is currently the tallest man in the United States, and he needs shoes. Big, custom made shoes.

The problem for Igor is not just his height. As the result of 16 surgeries & counting on his feet have resulted in foot deformities and constant pain. The surgeries themselves were the result of Igor wearing shoes that were not the proper size for him.
Igor Vovkivinskiy said:
None of my shoes for too long have been made specifically for my feet. They rub, they make wounds, I have surgery, foot gets more deformed, they rub more, I have more surgery and so on. And the circle goes on.

I am now recovering from my last set of three surgeries, and I still have no shoes. I have one pair of clogs; they have no shape that holds my foot, they have no grip on the bottom, so going out in the winter is suicide, it hurts horribly to walk in them, and they hurt my feet, legs, hips, and back.

Igor approached several shoes companies asking for help. Only one of them, Reebok, responded. The response was that for $15,000 they could have his feet scanned so that a special shoe mold could be created for him.

In less than a month Igor raised $37,000.

The public response apparently got the notice of Reebok. They have now stepped forward to make the shoes for Igor at no cost. Yes, the same company that initially was going to charge $15K for the service.
Matt O'Toole said:
When Igor came to us and we heard his story, we were more than happy to completely fund the creation of his footwear. It is our goal to make fitness accessible to everyone.

Igor got his new shoes on May 3 of this year. Reebok engineers did several tests and measurements for not only a comfortable fit but to also ensure that the shoes could support Igor's weight.


Pictures from Igor's Trip to Reebok: MSN | Outlook, Office, Skype, Bing, Breaking News, and Latest Videos


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I wonder what she size it worked out to be...
Poking around news stories it looks like his actual size before going to Reebok was unknown because the family couldn't afford custom shoes.

My take on it was that because of so many years of not wearing the proper sized shoes, which led to the deformities which led to the surgeries, that at this point he couldn't wear an off-the-shelf shoe even if they sold them that large at retail.
Reebok outfitted the size-19 Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal’s size-22 tootsies. In the NCAA, Nike (NKE) was contracted to construct size 26 shoes for former University of North Carolina-Asheville point guard Kenny George.

But Igor Vovkivinskiy, the tallest man in America, standing at 7’8”, didn’t opt for a career with a sports franchise that would cater to his footwear needs. Instead, the 29-year-old Ukrainian immigrant from Rochester, Minnesota has been lumbering around on his between 22-26-size feet in shoes, so ill-fitting, that they’ve caused infections and deformities.
 
Looks like Igor got his new shoes. :cool: Rebook went all out & designed a pair with a cusom logo on the back and the name "Igor" embedded in the sole. Three pairs were created in total.

 
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