Shaquille O’Neal is known to make a lot of investments. On a recent episode of The Big Podcast With Shaq, the retired basketball star shared that he invests heavily in combatting his stinky feet.
“I give about $1,000 because I know my feet stink,” he revealed in the Sports Center-supported clip. I know they’re ugly, and I like to paint them. I paint that s*** because it’s ugly, and I want it to look pretty.”
The 52-year-old Hall of Famer played 19 years in the NBA. He is a four-time NBA champion with other award-winning accolades, including Rookie of the Year, two-time scoring champion, and Most Valuable Player.
He credits his regular pedicures to his mother and his daughter. “One time, I had a toe injury, and my daughters were young,” Shaq explained. “They used to play games on Daddy. They painted my toes, and I had a good game, so it became part of my ritual. And it helps my feet look a little bit better.”
Shaq is a brand ambassador of Gold Bond Body Powder Spray. While discussing his feet, he mentioned a time when a painted toenail resulted in a standout performance. He shared the superstition behind his self-care journey.
“True story — one time I had a toenail that was torn off, and I wasn’t going to play in the game,” Shaq said. “I tore my toenail off, so [my mom] did something, and then she put some red polish on the thing and I had 40 that game. So I was like, you know what, I’m just going to start painting my toenails.”
He added: “I do like sparkles and designs and all this stuff. Just to make it look pretty because I have ugly, stinky feet.”
On Instagram, Shaq shared that he enjoys visiting a fish foot spa in the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas. “The experience was great,” he said. “And the fish love my feet in the Fashion Show Mall.”