Matthew Walzer, a 16 year-old high school from Florida living with Cerebral Palsy wrote a blog post explaining his condition to Nike hoping to raise awareness for other people living with similar conditions as him.
Already a fan of basketball sneakers, Walzer addressed how great it would be if Nike would create either a basketball or running-type of sneaker that would have the ankle support that helps him with his Cerebral Palsy, but an easier lacing system than conventional laces as they aren’t the easiest to tie for someone in his position.
Now known as the #NikeLetter, the post on Walzer’s personal blog written three months ago ended up reaching Nike; who responded in fantastic fashion by tweaking existing sneakers to aid in the problems Walzer faced when it came to tying his sneakers.
What has come to be known as the ‘Walzer’ Lunar Hyperdunk 2012 was the first round of sneakers made for the 16-year-old CP patient. After assuring Matthew that there was more to come, the Swoosh recently made good on their word by lacing him with revamped pairs of the LeBron X – ‘Pressure’ and LeBron X – ‘Olympic Gold Medal’. Both pairs include the same zipper and strap system seen on his first pair as well as his last name stitched along the zipper pull.
Ben Berry is a writer based out of Orlando, FL by way of Baltimore, MD by way of New York City that grew up in New Jersey. After attending West Virginia University, Ben became involved with The Hoop Doctors and was made editor of the ‘Kicks’ column.
Follow our Kicks section on Twitter: @THDKicks
