When Walzer woke up, his friends were already commenting on his Instagram notes.
Walzer said his jaw hit the floor and everyone was staring at him.
During a trip to visit some friends, Walzer was unable to put on his own shoes after a day of swimming.
But when Nike finally did reach Walzer, he was blown away by who was on the other end of the call.
After two years of writing the letter in his head, Walzer requested Nike CEO Mark Parker to make custom shoes for him.
Feeling supported, Walzer refined the letter and posted it on Facebook.
We contacted Heidi Burgett from Nike about this story, but she declined our request telling us that this is a story is about Walzer.
Walzer, born two months premature and diagnosed with cerebral palsy, has spent much of his life following sports and dreaming about becoming a sportswriter.
Although he is not a professional athlete, Walzer demonstrated a professional understanding of social technology that led him to trigger the actions of a shoe manufacturer.
Since that day, Walzer has provided Nike with some ongoing feedback about his shoes and Nike continues to work with him on developing better shoes for the disabled.
During product development, Walzer said his first shoes were shipped back and forth from China and the US three times before they eventually ended up on his doorstep.
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.
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.
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