We all know our man Shaq is a really, really big man. He towers over just about everyone in the room – unless he’s in a room with other NBA players, of course. We’ve done plenty of stories here on the ShaqFu Radio blog about his – shall we say – issues when it comes to trying to fit someone his size into a regular-sized world. Clothes, cars, hotel rooms, airplane seats. All challenges.
We’ve also done plenty of stories about the big man’s issues with shoes. Of course when you’re Shaquille O’Neal-famous, you can have shoes made for you. We’ve also done stories about how Shaq has helped other young athletes find shoes for their oversized feet. All good.
But how about what’s in those shoes? How about the big man’s big feet? In a recent issue, PEOPLE Magazine may have finally “gotten to the bottom” of a story that we honestly haven’t thought about in the past (see what we did there…. )?
O’Neal never does anything small… and when it comes to taking care of his feet, PEOPLE found out Shaq isn’t shy about spending large sums of cash for self-care, either. PEOPLE says O’Neal routinely spends $1,000 on pedicures. Not only that, he gets “sparkles and designs” painted on his toes. Wow! Too much info? Maybe…
The BIG Podcast with SHAQ
On one of his recent “The Big Podcast with Shaq” podcast episodes, O’Neal said he knows that his feet “stink” and he wants them to “look pretty.” Is that even possible? Well, gotta give the big man an “A” for effort.
Like any good story, there’s some setup and history to this one. O’Neal said his mom first painted his toenails after he “tore” a toenail off before a game. Sounds painful, for sure. And quite the interesting way to handle the situation.
On the podcast, the 52-year old O’Neal made the surprising admission that usually drops a grand on his pedicure work. “I give about $1,000 because I know my feet stink, I know they’re ugly, and I like to paint them,” O’Neal explained to listeners. “I paint that s— because it’s ugly and I want it to look pretty,” he added.
And that story about his mom getting him started on the painted-toenail path? Yup: “True story — one time I had a toenail that was torn off and I wasn’t going to play in the game,” he began, suggesting that his mom seemed surprised he’d let that keep him from competing.
Shaq: “I was like, I tore my toenail off, so she did something and then she put like, some red polish on the thing, and I had 40 that game,” O’Neal said, concluding, “So I was like, you know what, I’m just going to start painting my toenails.”
So…what do you do with that information? Well, for his podcast friends, it turned into a discussion of colors and designs. Shaq says he’s all about the fancy artwork. “I do like, sparkles and designs and all this stuff, you know, just to make it look pretty because I have ugly, stinky feet,” he shared.
How did this story even come to light? Well, O’Neal’s pedicure revelation got going right after the 2024 NFL Draft. (Weird, we know, but stay with us…) Top overall pick Caleb Williams showed off his manicured nails, with one painted silver to match his girlfriend Alina Thyregod’s silver dress. Going into the hall for Draft Night, he told a reporter, “I paint my nails, I wear unique things.”
We’ve known for some time that NBA players – and superstars from every sport – do sometimes like to show off some fashion sense. Who knew that would extend to pedicure with fancy colors and designs on toenails? Well, now we know. Again… too much info? You be the judge.