Friendship
Three pairs of giant slippers for Venezuela
Georg Wessel’s shoemaker’s workshop in Vreden has been providing Jeison Rodriguez and other giants with suitable footwear for many decades. photo
© Bernd Thissen/dpa
A shoemaker from Münsterland has been giving gifts to gigantic people for years. Now the journey goes to South America.
He has long since retired, but shoemaker Georg Wessels (71) is attached to his protégés. The extreme size specialist will fly to Venezuela on April 18th and present Jeison Rodriguez (28) with three new pairs of shoes.
The man with probably the biggest feet in the world keeps growing because of an illness. Wessels Vreden in western Münsterland brings him a pair of sandals, closed street shoes and a mix of the two to South America: shoe size just under 70 for his more than 40 centimeter long feet.
Help from the German embassy
Wessels receives help from the German embassy and the Catholic Church during the trip because of the security situation in Venezuela. From Caracas we continue to the town of Maracay, where Rodriguez lives.
The last time Rodriguez, then 22, came to Münsterland in person was in 2018 and picked up the shoes that had been made for him. The corona pandemic and his height have recently prevented travel. In 2021, the Catholic Latin America relief organization Adveniat took over the shoe transfer because of Corona.
For many decades, the shoe specialist has been gifting the world’s tallest people with suitable footwear. Initially the actions were linked to advertising for his shoe shop in Vreden. But now so much private money has flowed into the trips that he can only explain it with his friendship with his customers.
“When we talk on the phone, he calls me daddy”
“I just feel sorry for people like Jeison. We keep in touch regularly. When we talk on the phone, he calls me dad,” Wessels told the German Press Agency before the trip. The new shoes were made by his nephew Adrian, who took over the business.
A tumor on the pituitary gland causes sufferers like Rodriguez to continue to grow – with dangerous consequences. If medication and surgery do not stop growth, the giants usually die early. The body can no longer cope with the size. “Jeison doesn’t have the money for the treatment,” said Wessels.