Shaquille O’Neal’s Unfulfilled Travel Bucket List: One Country Missing Despite His Larger-Than-Life Presence in South America

There’s a lot Shaquille O’Neal has accomplished while collecting the frequent flyer miles. He had thousands headbanging in Slovenia and brought the busiest shopping district in China to a halt. Yet the big man is unstoppable. He’s got things to do, places to go, and one country is on his roadmap.

Chile, the stunning country of Nobel laureates Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda, is on Shaq’s travel bucket list. He’s never been there, but he has the desire to make it happen. “I would like to go on a trip,” he said in a recent interview. Interestingly, the Big Aristotle’s face is already a staple in Chile. The image of the Papa John’s spokesperson is plastered in all the stores advertising the Shaq-A-Roni.

The idea of being famous through his favorite dish in Chile was quite exciting to him. “It has everything I like in a pizza: extra cheese and pepperoni,” Shaq gushed about his signature Papa John’s offering. “My face appears on the boxes, it’s a little surreal because I grew up eating Papa John’s. When I was in college, I always ordered them.”

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O’Neal’s seen a significant part of the globe, right from the days he grew up in Germany due to his father’s military career. These days, he’s ticking one country at a time on his list as the newest titan of bass.

DJ Diesel goes global

As an EDM star, Shaquille O’Neal performs to crowds bigger than what he drew to NBA arenas. He performed in Slovenia in 2022 where the homegrown NBA phenom, Luka Doncic, served Slovenian hospitality by hosting Shaq in his mansion there.

Recently, he breathed new life into Macau’s economy, which suffered in the pandemic just by performing at a Golden Week pool party. He was over in China too, promoting the NBA and riding around on a scooter like a local. He was also doing his job as Papa John’s spokesperson and director by engaging with the staff of the newest restaurant in Shanghai.

Along with other music festivals in Paris and Toronto, his 2024 schedule includes Romania too. Chile can entice DJ Diesel over similarly and watch the giant blend in like a local like he’s got a knack for doing.

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