SELECT 1 on 1: Shaquille O’Neal on the Packer Shoes “OFP” Shaq Attaq & More

From Superman, Diesel, and Shaq Fu to the Big Aristotle, Banana, or Baryshnikov, over the course of Shaquille O’Neal’s legendary basketball career, he has gone by more different names than you could ever hope to count. And while it didn’t exactly originate on the basketball court, one of the most fondly-remembered of them all came from Shaq’s role playing the character, Neon Boudreaux, in the 1994 movie, Blue Chips. The film may not have brought home any Oscar hardware for the cast and crew, but as far as b-ball movies are concerned, it has gone on to become a certified classic.

At the time of its release, Blue Chips‘ main selling point was a mega-popular young Shaq in a starring role, but once that got people into the theaters, they were treated to an entertaining and fairly realistic tale that exposed the seedy side of college basketball recruiting corruption and the alumni boosters that feed the beast. Alongside Nick Nolte as his frustrated, morally-torn coach and fellow baller/actor (and then real-life Magic teammate) Penny Hardaway, Shaq’s debut on the big screen further elevated his star power and marketability as a product endorser.

When it came to selling sneakers though, Shaq didn’t need much help as his Reebok signature line was a huge hit with consumers in its original heyday. Now, more than twenty years after they first hit shelves, Reebok has brought some of his most beloved models like the Shaq Attaq and Shaqnosis back into circulation both in original colorways as well as some new ones. Since making their retro return last year, we’ve seen all different color schemes giving

nods to Shaq’s personal history and various former teams, but leave it to Packer Shoes to come up with a heritage spin that has a little more fun than the rest.

Following up on their “Practice” edition of Allen Iverson’s Question and the “Remember the Alamo” colorway of Shawn Kemp’s Reebok Kamikaze II, Packer once again re-imagines history, taking that “what if” approach to the Shaq Attaq and decking it out in the royal/yellow color scheme of the fictional Western University Dolphins. With an upper done up in a premium combination of pigskin suede and heavy duty mesh, additional details like the “Official Friend of the Program” branding, the money bag insoles, and Neon’s #50 stitched onto the inner tongue label help bring the story to life in a clever way that stays true to its inspiration and comes off as a generally believable look for the era.

Packer Shoes has already trickled out a small number of “OFP” Shaq Attaqs to the public with a surprise February release of 20 pairs on the actual 20th anniversary of Blue Chips‘ debut in theaters and then the special 50 Selection Sunday bundles that featured a money stack-lined duffle bag, reversible Mitchell & Ness practice jersey and a Monster Powercard portable battery. It’s almost time for the wider release, so stay tuned to Packer Shoes in the coming days for full release info, and check out our exclusive interview with Neon Boudreaux himself, Shaquille O’Neal, as we discuss his early days with Reebok, the return of his signature line, and his thoughts on the Packer Shoes “Official Friend of the Program” Shaq Attaq.

SN:  Coming out of college, there’s no doubt that you could have signed to any brand you wanted. What was it about Reebok that made them the right fit for you?

Shaq:  Reebok gave me the ability to have my own shoe line, create my own commercials, and stand behind my own marketing. The other guys wanted me to sorta prove myself before they’d give me a shoe, so Reebok was the best situation for me.

SN:  How involved were you in the design and marketing process for the original Shaq Attaq?

Shaq:  Very involved, especially on the marketing side – the commercials. Remember “Don’t Fake the Funk on a Nasty Dunk”? That was my commercial. The “Legends” commercial with Kareem and all those guys – I designed that. I had a lot of say-so in the shoe. Designers would come back and I would say no, do this, do that, do that. So I was very involved.

SN: What was it like to see your first signature shoe for the first time?

Shaq:  It was good! I can remember creating that “dunkman” emblem in high school. I kinda got it from Jordans and how Jordan always dunked with that one hand stretched out, but I was always dunking with two hands and knees up, so… I couldn’t wait until I took my first business class.

They taught me how to patent something and that was the first thing I patented. It cost me about $500 to patent it in the 50 states when I was in college. Then when I got bigtime, I patented it all over the world. So that was very exciting for me to see that emblem on a pair of shoes.

SN:  Were you surprised when Reebok told you that they were bringing a bunch of your shoes back into production?

Shaq: I wasn’t surprised. I kinda figured that hopefully, they’d come back into circulation. I see a lot of young kids wearing the retros and what’s good about the retros is that only a few people can get them. Every kid, including myself when I was younger, always

wants to be one of the few that has something that other people can’t get. I think that’s why the retros are so special. Big up to Packer for creating the “Blue Chips” and bringing them out in limited edition.

SN: What was your reaction when you saw that Packer Shoes had created a Blue Chips-inspired Shaq Attaq?

Shaq:  I was amazed. I thought it was a good idea and the colorway is very nice. Blue and yellow, you know. Kids like that certain palette on their shoes.

SN:  How does it make you feel that your shoes are still a hot commodity more than twenty years after they first released?

Shaq:  Man, it makes me feel pretty good. Even though I’m 42 years old, I try to stay very cool and very hip and stay very innovative. So I think even at 42, young kids can look at me and I can be their pathway of motivation for them to succeed.

A huge thanks to Shaq for taking the time to chat with us, and make sure to keep an eye out for the “Official Friend of the Program” Shaq Attaq coming later this week to Packer Shoes. Launch details to be announced shortly.