‘It is OK to stand out’: US teen’s hands and feet are world record-setting

Eric Kilburn Jr’s mother knew his feet were exceptionally big when, in his teens, she began needing to spend thousands of dollars to have his shoes specially made. But it turned out they were bigger than anyone else’s in the world who was his age – and so were his hands.

Sixteen-year-old Eric fits his 13.5in (34cm) feet in American size 23 shoes (UK size 22) – more than double the average of adult men, which is about 9 in the US. His hands, at 9.13in, easily surpass the 7.14in average for his age.

Those measurements landed him for the first time in the book published annually by Guinness World Records. The 2025 edition released on 12 September lists him as the holder of two marks: the largest hands and the biggest feet on a living teenager.

And given the attention that often accompanies gaining official recognition from the organization known for curating a database of more than 40,000 records, Kilburn said on the group’s website that he wanted to spread a message for those who maybe feel out of place because they have attributes that are different from most around them.

“It is OK to stand out,” Kilburn said. “Do not let others get you down … [because those who do] are usually the most ultimately unhappy people out there, and you need to stay focused on yourself.”

The teen from Goodrich, Michigan, told Guinness World Records that he grasped his uncommon size when he was in kindergarten and towered over his classmates. By fifth grade, he could no longer easily shop for shoes – or gloves. And by 14 he was 6ft 10in tall – or about the height of NBA star Anthony Davis.

Eric’s mother, Rebecca Kilburn, ultimately needed to order custom-made orthopedic shoes for him that cost more than $1,500 a pair. The price tag prompted her to publicly plead for someone to make shoes that could fit Eric at an affordable price.

“He’s still growing,” Rebecca Kilburn said in a hometownlife.com news article that USA Today republished in March 2023. “Most kids this big and tall at this age have an endocrine disorder, and he does not.”

But while she said her son had “no health issues with exponential growth”, the inability to find Eric correctly sized shoes caused him serious problems. He had a half-dozen procedures on his feet to remove ingrown toenails. And by his freshman year in high school, he had the nails on his two largest toes removed permanently, as hometownlife.com reported.

Rebecca’s pleas for assistance gained significant traction online, and major apparel companies like Puma as well as Under Armour stepped in to offer him the custom-made shoes and boots he needed, providing him with what he described to Guinness World Records as a welcome change in his life.

“It was pretty cool to see how many people genuinely care about helping others,” Eric said. “It was a great example of the power of positive media.”

Eric is part of a team, playing – perhaps unsurprisingly to sports enthusiasts – on the offensive line of his high school’s tackle football squad. He says he also enjoys playing basketball and has proven himself to be “an excellent blocker” of shots in that sport as well as of would-be tacklers in football.

He was open with Guinness World Records about what it can be like for him to be out in public. He notices how strangers frequently stare in amazement, whisper or directly ask him about his imposing physique. The attention can occasionally be challenging, but it has also made it easier in a way “to meet lots of interesting people”.

It also helps, he said, that he has surrounded himself with friends who make it a point to treat him like “regular Eric” – though, on occasion, they get a kick out of him letting them try on his immense shoes.

Eric applied to Guinness World Records for recognition as having the biggest hands and feet on a teen with guidance and encouragement from his mom and a family friend. The organization, whose records are a constant source of global fascination, bestowed upon him both titles in June 2023.

Eventually, he said, Eric wants to get involved with the Big Shoe Network, a non-profit launched by his mother to aid people who struggle in finding properly fitting clothes and footwear.

“I want to help people the same way I was helped when I needed it,” Eric remarked.