It was already a big World Cup weekend in Seattle, but then Shaquille O’Neal showed up and made it even bigger.
The four-time NBA champion, Hall of Famer, and, apparently, legitimate DJ turned Pioneer Square into a nightclub Saturday night before rolling up to his own restaurant in Renton on Sunday like it was completely normal.
For most people, that is not normal, but for Shaq, it is just a normal weekend.
DJ Diesel Shuts Down Pioneer Square
Saturday night at Brick Park in Pioneer Square, Shaq, performing as his alter ego DJ Diesel, delivered a full DJ set in the middle of the World Cup block party. The video circulating online says everything words cannot.
The video is shot from behind the booth, and you can see Shaq holding a mic over a massively packed crowd, EDM music thumping at full intensity. The club lights are bouncing off the brick buildings lining both sides of the alley, while the crowd seems to lose its mind.
This was a full performance in the middle of one of Seattle’s most historic neighborhoods on one of the biggest sports weekends the city has ever hosted. I guess I should not have been surprised.
The Renton Sunday Surprise Only a Few Saw Coming
On Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Submissions account posted a video of Shaq stepping out of a dark SUV in Renton with security and strolling casually into his Big Chicken restaurant at The Landing. Blue jeans, blue and white striped polo, glasses, a quick wave to the crowd, and right through the door.
Big Chicken is Shaq’s fast casual restaurant chain, launched in 2018, built around jumbo fried chicken sandwiches, Cheez-It mac and cheese, and oversized cookies inspired by his childhood favorites. The chain has grown to nearly 50 locations, including a spot inside Climate Pledge Arena right here in Seattle.
Dropping in on your own restaurant while you are in town, DJing a World Cup block party the night before is simply a Shaq move. Nobody else pulls that weekend off.
Seattle got two Shaqs for the price of one this weekend.
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Seahawks Celebrate 60 – Seattle, Washington
Gallery Credit: Aj Brewster