Turkish shoemaker produces 'giant' shoes for celebs and NBA stars
Turkish master shoemaker Oncel Kalkan, who has been working for 41 years in Istanbul, produces shoes for 'giants' who stuggle to find ones that fit. At first, he was making ordinary-sized shoes but life has completely changed when American basketball player Pete Williams came to his shop in 1989 and asked "Can you make shoes that will fit my feet?" he has started producing shoes in big sizes since then. After that day, Kalkan found his niche as he started to make and sell big-sized shoes up to size 57 (approximately U.S. size 24) in his tiny workshop located on the historical Istiklal Street of Istanbul's Beyoglu. Among the celebrities that Kalkan makes giant shoes for are Turkish basketball players Mehmet Okur, Mirsad Turkcan, Hidayet Turkoglu, İbrahim Kutluay, and several NBA players such as Zaza Pachulia, Marty Embry, Marcus Webb, Predrag Drobnjak, Bryant Dunston, and football player John Carew.