“I’ve Come a Long Way From Kazaam!”: Before ‘Hefty’ $17.7 Billion Loss, Shaquille O’Neal Surprised Fans by Going ‘Undercover’ for Lyft

Shaquille O’Neal is one of the richest athletes on planet Earth. With a net worth of $400 million to his name, Shaq’s incredible business acumen has been key to growing his empire. In 2013, Big Diesel made one of his most significant investments in Lyft. Founded in 2012, the company actually employed Shaq’s services three years later. They got the 7’1″ NBA legend to go undercover for a YouTube video, years before they suffered a hefty $17.7 billion loss.

The company went public in 2019 and initially had a brand valuation of $22,245,900,000. Unfortunately, with stiff competition in the market, coupled with a variety of other factors it suffered a huge downfall. A 79.68% downfall to be exact. One that saw its worth fall to $4,518,600,000 since going public. Nevertheless, Shaq tried to enhance the brand’s publicity early on with an undercover operation.

Shaquille O’Neal once did a hilarious promotional video for Lyft where he went undercover

In 2019, Shaquille O’Neal went undercover for a promotional video for Lyft. Having invested in the company back in 2013, Shaq partnered with the company to give its customers a special surprise. The lucky customers, who just so happened to order a lift that day got the shock of a lifetime as The Big Aristotle just so happened to be their driver.

It was a hilarious video, one that saw most of the passengers look bewildered as Shaq disguised himself in a variety of different costumes. From Pierre of France to Goose the off-duty police officer. Each character left the lucky passengers wondering whether they had gotten into the right cab. But, their doubts turned into joyful exasperation as Shaq slowly removed his costume and revealed himself.

A great stunt, that got a lot of positive feedback and even featured a hilarious quip at the end, where Shaq acknowledged that he has grown a lot since his appearance in the movie Kazaam.

“I’ve come a long way from Kazaam!”

Based on the video, Shaq’s acting certainly has improved. And, while it may not have had all the cameras, directors, and actors a regular movie had, his acting sure had his passengers fooled.

Shaq’s acting skills have improved significantly since his failed appearance on Kazaam

Shaquille O’Neal has had quite an extensive career in acting. He’s appeared in a number of films and starred in quite a few himself. From his bit part roles on Scary Movie 4, Uncle Drew, and Grown Ups to his protagonist roles on Blue Chips, and Steel. However, one role that haunts him to this day is Kazaam.

To say the movie was a flop is an understatement, but O’Neal has improved considerably over the years and now has quite the resume as a Hollywood superstar.

It has been a while since Shaq starred in a movie. But, given how his skills has improved over the years, fans surely wouldn’t mind seeing him on the big screen once more.