Fellow Citizens Pitch In Over $25K To Help America's Tallest Man Afford Special Shoes

We’ve gotten a few tips about the plight of America’s Tallest Man, who lives in Rochester, Minn. Igor is 7’8″ tall, and after 15 foot surgeries to help support his body, needed special shoes. The only problem — they cost about $15,000, an amount he just didn’t have.

His story hit the news on Monday on WCCO-4 in Minnesota, where he explained that if he had a pair of shoes with proper support, he could lose weight he gained during bed rest from his surgeries and be better able to carry around the girth that comes with such height. But when he talked to Reebok about such shoes, he was told it’d be $15,000 to have them specially made.

Enter the kindness of generous strangers, reports WCCO. Igor started a web page called “Igor Needs Shoes” for donations, and since Monday, he’s received over $25,000 from strangers. In fact when we checked, he was up to $29,605.

He posted this message: “Thank you so much kind people of Minnesota! Thank you people for your kindness, generosity, outpouring of support.”

Feel that? That’s what we call the “warm fuzzies.” Not a common feeling here at Consumerist, so we enjoy it when it happens.

Donations Help America’s Tallest Man Get New Shoes [WCCO-4]

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