World’s Tallest Teenager Gets 3-D Printed Shoes For His Size-28 Feet

Published March 8, 2017
Updated November 10, 2017

The world's tallest teenager now has the world's largest pair of 3-D printed shoes.

Thanks to the wonders of 3-D printing, the world’s tallest teenager finally has a pair of shoes that fit his enormous feet.

Feetz CEO Lucy Beard hand-delivered a pair of 3D-printed size 28 shoes to 19-year-old Broc Brown, an 7’8″ teenager with Sotos Syndrome on March 1, according to the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

“Whoa,” Brown told Beard after receiving the shoes. “Heck, I don’t like them. I love them. Thank you.”

Based in California, Feetz feeds 3-D models of people’s feet into a 3-D printer, creating custom-fit shoes for a fraction of the ordinary price. The company uses photos taken through the Feetz app to make the 3-D models.

“We’ve never done a shoe this big before, but we’re just excited to get Broc some comfy shoes,” Beard said. “We’re really just honored to do this.”

This is indeed an extraordinary case. The Detriot Free Press reports that roughly one in 15,000 people share Brown’s condition, also known as cerebral gigantism.

Given this condition, nobody knows when Brown will finish growing, as his aunt, Stacy Snyder, told the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

“I can walk in a store and walk out with five pairs of shoes if I want to,” she said. “He can’t.”

Beyond shoe problems, at the moment, Brown is plagued with chronic back and knee pain, as well as a variety of behavioral disorders, thanks to his condition, according to his aunt.

Despite such problems, Brown did enjoy being listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s tallest teenager, until he turned 18 last year and no longer qualified.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Brown now hopes that his new shoes can get him back into the book — but this time for having the world’s biggest pair of 3-D printed shoes.


Next, read up on the short life of Robert Wadlow, history’s tallest person. Then, check out 21 Andre the Giant photos you won’t believe weren’t photoshopped.

author
All That's Interesting
author
A New York-based publisher established in 2010, All That's Interesting brings together subject-level experts in history, true crime, and science to share stories that illuminate our world.
editor
Savannah Cox
editor
Savannah Cox holds a Master's in International Affairs from The New School as well as a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and now serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Sheffield. Her work as a writer has also appeared on DNAinfo.