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Shaquille O’Neal: The Biggest Man In Sports Tech

“I’m getting older. I’m getting sexier. I’m getting meaner. I can still do what I do.”- Shaquille O’Neal

Shaq does not mince words when it comes to what he is capable of. He never has. When he has the mic, there’s no telling what he’s going to say. The trajectory of O’Neal’s career has been as equally unpredictable as his candor, foraying from NBA legend to Hip-Hop recording artist to star of the silver screen to sports broadcasting celebrity. While each of these feats are impressive in their own right, they don’t even begin to scratch the surface of what Shaq has accomplished over the course of his NBA career as well as after his retirement from the league.

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To list just a few of his multiplicity of talents—and I truly man “a few”—Shaq has begun work on his upcoming children’s book titled “Little Shaq”. He’s in the process of designing his own line of jewelry for Zales. He’s looking to enroll in law school at either Georgia State or Georgia Tech in the coming years in pursuit of a law degree. Even five years after his retirement from the NBA, Shaq has managed to maintain his position as one of the most ubiquitous spokespeople in all of sports, acting as a celebrity endorser for Icy Hot, Macy’s, and Gold Bond, producing his own shoe line with Reebok, and sponsoring his own “Shaq Fu Grape Juice” with AriZona Beverages. The man was even sworn in as a legitimate law enforcement officer, accompanying SWAT teams on actual raids.

That seemingly endless litany of accomplishments doesn’t even include his dozens of tech involvements, a specific area of interest for the big man. The seven-footer’s initial foray into the tech world came as early as 2008, when he started his Twitter account, becoming one of the first big names to join the social media site. His regular tweets began to take over the burgeoning platform, earning him millions of followers in no time. In fact, Shaq’s Twitter became the first verified account in the site’s history.

Now having displayed a natural inclination toward technology through his zealous readiness to accept Twitter, it came as no surprise, in 2011, when Shaq became involved with Tout, a live-streaming social media app. The relationship between the Shaqtus and the San Francisco-based tech start up started with his agreement to use the platform for the announcement of his retirement from basketball. In return, Shaq was named a member of the advisory board.

With a taste for both tech usage and investment, O’Neal began to consider the possibility of more tech investments on his horizon. It didn’t take long for him to find his next venture. After watching a man on a flight with him play an online slot game for four straight hours, it became obvious to Shaq what his next undertaking would be: he teamed up with MyVegas to develop two separate video game apps, “Caddy Shaq” and “SHAQJack”. In addition to each game featuring Shaq as a character, the games also offer Shaq-signed merchandise as prizes to winners.

His newfound passion for technology rekindled some of his older passions as well, specifically his rap career. Shaq started his own Hip-Hop radio station with the creation of his Shaq Fu Radio app on which he broadcasts today’s hottest Hip-Hop and R&B tracks as well as live DJ mixes from himself, DJ Diesel.

Social media, video games, and music are all impressive, but there’s no denying their juvenile reputation. So last summer—in a predictably unpredictable move—Shaq began his relationship with Loyal3, an online brokerage app that gives users access to initial public offerings and allows them to invest in publicly traded stock from their smart phones. Loyal3 also enables users to make partial investments for a portion of what one share might typically cost. From cartoon video games to stock management technology, Shaquille O’Neal has proven—beyond a shadow of a doubt—that he is truly capable of anything.

With not much left to prove, Shaq has achieved enough clout in the tech world to garner a lot of attention from burgeoning startups, claiming to take up to four tech pitches a day. Earlier this year at SXSW, Shaq hosted a “Pitch Shaq” platform in which he took 15 second pitches from dozens of young tech hopefuls, offering investment opportunities to whoever he thought had the best ideas.

In just a few years, he has gone from a tech geek to a tech Don, calling the shots and making tech developer dreams come true all across Silicon Valley. Since the start of his playing days, the Big Diesel has transformed from an immovable object in the paint to a strong investing force. Shaq has not only built one of the most powerful brands in sports history, but he’s somehow managed to weave aspects of nearly every field imaginable into the fabric of his identity, technology especially. He may be a self-proclaimed Superman, but he is—without question—a proven Renaissance man.

 

 

 

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