Reuben walks tall in new sneakers
Meet Reuben, whose wish for a shopping spree came true in 2024 when he visited some of Melbourne's best sneaker shops
Teen leaves with shoes and hope
Reuben walked away from his wish in new shoes and with new hope for his future.
The 12-year-old’s wish was to have a limited-edition sneaker shopping spree.
Reuben spent time in all of Melbourne's must-see sneaker shops and left with clothes and five sought-after pairs of sneakers.
Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, Reuben was on the way to recovery when his wish came true.
Mum Kris said that while it can normally be hard to get Reuben off the couch at their Adelaide home, he was filled with excitement when he was in Melbourne.
“That energy and excitement didn’t stop on the wish trip,” Kris said.
“We didn’t take taxis, we walked everywhere because Reuben felt so eager to get to all the shops. He was just so happy.”
Reuben follows in Shaq's footsteps
Kris said the wish was full of fun moments which made Rueben feel grateful, starting with the first store where they gifted him an extra bag of goodies.
“His face lit up. He looked at us and looked back at them,” Kris said.
“And he's just he's like, ‘these shoes are a gift they're giving me’. And he was so excited.”
At the last store, Reuben was allowed to shoot basketballs at the same ring NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal once shot at.
“There were other people in the store, but they cleared some racks of clothes out of the way and Reuben – and only Reuben – was able to take some shots,” Kris said.
“Reuben just felt so much gratitude through the trip.”
Future dreams appear during Wish trip
Kris said it was hard to work out Reuben’s emotions during his treatment but she believed he just took it one day at time rather than looking ahead.
His wish, however, instilled hope in him.
“The wish helped him develop that mindset of looking forward and looking into the future,” Kris said.
“Reuben was able to think ‘Yeah, when I’m older how cool would it be to work in a shop like this? Or ‘When I’m older, I want to have a room full of sneakers’.”
Kris said Reuben was uplifted by the people he met and the insights they shared.
“The last shop was Culture Kings and for about an hour and a half the manager of the store hung out with Reuben,” she said.
“He told Reuben he had a room in his house for his sneakers, and so Reuben just loved listening to him.
“He got so much joy just hearing other people share his passion for sneakers.
“I think for Reuben he met all those people who got him, and it was like he felt ‘these are my people’.”
Food, footy and lots of fun
The whole weekend, which also included eating at fancy restaurants and going to a Collingwood AFL game, left Reuben feeling joyful.
“I think he felt on top of the world the whole weekend,” Kris said.
“From when we got picked up at the airport in this big Mercedes which he thought was really cool, to the last store we visited, Reuben thought it was all incredible.
“You could just see the joy written on his face.”
Kris said some of the five pairs of sneakers were too big for Reuben.
“He will grow into them, so he’ll be able to enjoy his wish into the future. He’ll be wearing his wish.”
