By: Ellen Wang

When people usually think of retired professional athletes, they typically think of them disappearing off the face of the earth. Turned to dust and made completely irrelevant. Well, that may be the case for most, but it is for Shaquille O’Neal, better known as Shaq. He has made an empire not only through his career as a successful professional athlete but also as a businessman. He completely rebuilt the concept of being a retired athlete, and his brand is at the peak of its career.

From laughing on multiple TV and talk shows to creating his own spin on Oktoberfest, Shaq isn’t really the type of ‘retired athlete’ people would usually expect to see roaming around on the big screen. Some even may only know him from his work as a businessman instead of being an NBA player.

His work is typical for a celebrity-turned-businessman: promote his company, Big Chicken, then go on shows and talk about his basketball career, take deals from famous clothing brands, and the like. Quite practically, he is at his peak right now. Owning a whooping total of 155 fast food stores, and many other fitness centers and gyms, Shaq is urging new and upcoming athletes to get a proper education and to stay fit. His children are no exception to this either. As a father, he dedicates a lot of his time to ensuring his children get the proper education they deserve and taking care of them on other issues.

So overall, Shaq really isn’t what you’d expect from someone over seven feet tall and a backboard-shattering basketball player, but more of a businessman and executive at a company. That is one of the reasons why Shaq is so influential.