Unable to tie shoes, a 16-year-old with cerebral palsy wrote to Nike. They came through big time.
When people say, "It never hurts to ask," this is probably what they're talking about.
For decades, Nike has been one of the biggest names in the athletic shoe game.
Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, and dozens of other premier athletes have all at one time or another had high-end, custom apparel designed for them by the team at Nike.
Here's Michael Jordan on the court during a 1992 playoff game, sporting his namesake sneaker. Photo by Jonathan Daniel /Allsport/Getty Images.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Nike's new Flyease shoe line was inspired by a person, too.
But this time, the person behind the shoe isn't a professional athlete. He doesn't even recreationally play basketball, baseball, tennis, golf, volleyball, or anything like that.
He's just a regular guy named Matthew Walzer who reached out to the company for some help.
Three years ago, Matthew wrote a letter to Nike, explaining that as the result of having cerebral palsy, he's not able to tie shoes.
His letter, written when he was 16, reads in part (emphasis added):
"Out of all the challenges I have overcome in my life, there is one that I am still trying to master, tying my shoes. Cerebral palsy stiffens the muscles in the body. As a result I have flexibility in only one of my hands which makes it impossible for me to tie my shoes. My dream is to go to the college of my choice without having to worry about someone coming to tie my shoes everyday.
I've worn Nike basketball shoes all my life. I can only wear this type of shoe because I need ankle support to walk. I am currently wearing the Lunar hyper gamer and LeBron Zoom Soldier 6's. At 16 years old, I am able to completely dress myself, but my parents still have to tie my shoes. As a teenager who is striving to become totally self-sufficient, I find this extremely frustrating, and at times, embarrassing.
I know that Nike makes slip-ons, sandals and other types of shoes. However, I and many other physically challenged people are unable to wear them due to a lack of support. When I think of Nike, I think of one of America's most innovative and forward thinking companies. Nike is always pushing the limits, making their shoes lighter, faster and stronger by using new materials, new designs and new technologies. This benefits people all around the world. Bill Bowerman said it best, 'If you have a body you are an athlete.' I believe everyone, no matter what their physical, economic, or social circumstances may be, deserves to call themselves an athlete, and deserves to have a sense of freedom and independence."
All images via Nike Basketball and Swanson Studio.
To Matthew's surprise, Nike was on board.
They were so on board, in fact, that they decided to design custom shoes just for him. Nike designer Tobie Hatfield got hold of Matthew's letter and began working with him to create the shoe right away.
The shoes use an innovative zipper design that can be operated with one hand.
It works like a slip-on but then wraps around the back, making it easy to put it on with just one hand. This was awesome for Matthew.
Tobie and Matthew continued to work together, refining the design so other people facing similar challenges could benefit.
Tobie invited Matthew to come in and check out the final version of the Flyease shoes, which, as Matthew notes in the video below, is great because it's a shoe that works just as well even for people who aren't limited to using just one hand for putting on shoes.
And while he was there, Matthew even had a chance to meet one of his heroes: LeBron James. He seemed pretty excited, to say the least.
The whole experience seems to be a major win for both Matthew and Nike.
While not everyone will be able to afford the shoes — they are Nikes after all — this is still a positive step toward more inclusive branding. Companies design products to make money, and often the reason they don't make products for “niche" markets is because they're afraid of losing money.
But with this move, Nike proves that you can create a product designed for the needs of a smaller community that has mass appeal as well. And while Nike isn't a perfect company (few companies are), they listened, and they helped solve a problem that they maybe didn't even know existed. This story has a positive outcome for everyone involved.
This is how we help make the world a better place — by learning about each others' struggles and asking the very simple question, "What can I do to help?" You never know when you'll be in the position to make someone else's life a whole lot easier.
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An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
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Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
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Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie?
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Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."