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This post was created in partnership with Dove Men + Care
Hard to imagine how anyone could tease the charming 7’1″ Shaquille O’Neal, but that’s exactly what happened when Shaq was growing up with a stutter. Kids called him Sasquatch — what else to call a large gangly kid who had the name Shaquille, a name no one had heard before? And Shaq was terrified of his stutter. He would sit in class, knowing that if the teacher called on him he’d never be able to get the words out. “I’d rather take the zero” he jokes. “I still stutter to this day, but now I’m more cool with it now.” Watching him grin as he explains what he does to disarm listeners when he knows he is about to stutter is almost as great as watching any basket he has ever scored.
Shaquille’s story is just one in a series of videos by Dove Men + Care, where pro athletes and coaches talk about what has made them comfortable in their own skin. From Doug Flutie’s joy of fatherhood to Steve Nash being booed by his own team after being traded to Dallas, these guys have discovered that the way to be true to themselves and be comfortable being exactly who they are. The videos highlight this important truth—that in embracing what makes them unique, and fighting onward, they have been able to create world-class careers for themselves.
Visit the Dove Men + Care site for more fun, personal videos from John Elway, Doug Flutie, Steve Nash, Shaquille O’Neal and Coach Tom Izzo.
Also be sure to check out Dove Men + Care’s line for guys, which combine excellent skin care into simple, great smelling products to make taking great care of your skin easy. You can be comfortable in your own skin when you are true to yourself as a person. But it also helps when your skin itself feels great.