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The legendary basketball player Shaquille O’Neal and Pepsi have been collaborating for more than 30 years. To celebrate this veteran alliance, they have decided to create special and very original sneakers, together with Reebok and The Surgeon. They are called Sneak’er and have a very peculiar design, since they include in the sole a kind of ‘can holder’ to carry the mini-can of Pepsi (which the soft drink brand launched a few months ago, whose campaign also starred O’Neal himself).
These are a customization of the Reebok PUMP Shaq Attaqs model made by Shoe Surgeon, which has included a hole where a mini-can of Pepsi fits. The basketball player himself presented them to the world during the All Star Weekend event held a few days ago. Thus, the new limited edition model (only 22 lucky people have been able to get a pair of exclusive sneakers in Shaquille’s size through a raffle) has the iconic Pepsi balloon on the tongue, as well as the brand’s colors and, of course, the most innovative element that is in the outsole: a special electric blue leather chamber custom-designed to hold a Pepsi Mini can.
A collaboration in a big way
In a statement, the NBA athlete said, “Pepsi has been a central part of my career from the moment I joined the NBA. My partnership with Pepsi means a lot to me because we’re always here having fun, innovating and making noise. Now, I’m excited to never have to be without my Pepsi Mini Cans.”
While from the soft drink brand praised this new collaboration and the innovation involved in such a design: “As a sneaker lover and a Pepsi lover, we appreciate the craftsmanship involved in creating a new shoe built from the iconic Reebok PUMP series and having a Pepsi Mini always within reach of your leg. This project has been a great partnership between Pepsi, Reebok and the Shoe Surgeon that celebrates our past, present and future partnership with Shaq. While a Pepsi Mini Can is small enough to fit in anyone’s pocket, Shaq is one of the only people with a shoe big enough to fit comfortably. one in his shoe, so we can’t wait for consumers to get their hands (and feet!) on this once-in-a-lifetime collaboration.”