After two years of writing the letter in his head, Walzer requested Nike CEO Mark Parker to make custom shoes for him.

FORBES: Dear Nike: I Can't Tie My Shoes

Cindy McCombe tells the story of how Matthew Walzer, a 17-year-old with cerebral palsy, used social media and key influencers to make his message go viral, and how Nike responded by making custom shoes for him.

FORBES: Dear Nike: I Can't Tie My Shoes

If you go to Hoi An, you can buy custom tailored shoes and clothes for good prices.

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His shoes don't have a look, he tells me, "because the person who buys custom-made shoes does it for himself, not to show off. (Unless you're a rock star.)" But there's a distinctive sensibility to his work: imagination reeled in by disciplined line--even the model with the partial red-suede upper.

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John Poynor, associate developer for Jordan Footwear at Nike, called to say that Nike was going to make him a custom pair of shoes.

FORBES: Dear Nike: I Can't Tie My Shoes

Shaw, who prided himself on fastidious preparation, had ordered a pair of custom truck-pulling shoes from England, with high-friction soles.

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Matthew Walzer, a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is one of a handful of people in the world walking around in a pair of custom-made Nike shoes.

FORBES: Dear Nike: I Can't Tie My Shoes