Going incognito certainly works a lot better when you’re not a seven-foot tall, 325-pound famous person, but Shaq gave it his best shot anyways.
The NBA legend and basketball broadcaster had a little fun while spending some time in downtown Toronto over the weekend. Rocking black shades and what appears to be a XXXXXXXXXL hoodie, Shaquille O’Neal decided to take to the city’s busy streets after the sun went down.
“Let’s see who will notice me,” said the 52-year-old in a video posted to social media on Sunday.
His attempts to stay low key went about as well as you’d expect.
About four seconds into the video, Shaq, near a popular restaurant in Toronto’s Fort York neighbourhood, was recognized immediately by the first person who sees him. “What’s up, Shaq,” the man said before the woman he was with asked for a photo with the NBA Hall of Famer.
When O’Neal asked how the pair, “how did you know it was me,” the response was about as honest as they come: “C’mon, dog.”
“I didn’t have my disguise right,” said Shaq jokingly as he walked away from the interaction pulling his hood up over his head.
Soon after, Torontonians continued to spot him, as you can hear onlookers call him out, from “he’s wearing sunglasses and a hoodie” to “I see Shaq” from the distance.
“Feels pretty good when people don’t know who I am,” O’Neal quipped with a smile. “I like it.”
As you would expect, fans had all the jokes in the comment section of the Instagram post.
“There’s only one 7’4 person in the world built like Shaq, he could have a bag on his face we still know it’s you,” one reply read.
Another user wrote: “Can’t go incognito at 7-foot”
“There’s no such thing as incognito mode for you Shaq,” another comment read, with another poster writing, “You like 8-feet tall you can’t hide from anything.”
“Who’s not gonna recognize the 20-foot teddy bear?” Wrote another.
O’Neal was in Toronto as the keynote speaker for the Keyspire real estate investing conference. He also spun a DJ set under his stage name “Diesel” at popular Toronto night club Rebel. The big man is certainly familiar with the sights and sounds of Canada’s largest city, often visiting Toronto for business and pleasure.
He doesn’t stay confined to comforts of the downtown core, either. Earlier this summer, Shaq was spotted at a marina in Muskoka’s cottage country.
Get this man his citizenship already.