Sharks make rare deal with 9/11 firefighter's kids on 'Shark Tank'
There wasn’t a dry eye when Kaley, Christian, and Keira Young pitched the Cup Board Pro on Shark Tank. The item was invented by their father, Keith Young, who was a two-time Chopped champion, competed in Rachael Ray’s “5 Alarm Cook-Off,” and appeared in Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Keith was also a New York City firefighter who died earlier this year from cancer related to his cleanup work at Ground Zero after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. That struck a chord with guest shark Matt Higgins, who was press secretary for New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at the time.
“I was at Ground Zero on 9/11, spent two years there during the cleanup working with the city,” Higgins said. “I met a lot of brave people like your dad and a lot of people who lost their lives, so it’s great that you’re doing this.”
At one point during the presentation, sharks Daymond John and Lori Greiner were weeping visibly. The siblings explained that it was their dad’s dream to be on Shark Tank but that he had to postpone his development work on Cup Board Pro when their mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died in 2012. Besides being moved by the Youngs’ story, the sharks were impressed with their product. So they did something extraordinary: All five decided to work on this project, each pitching in 20%. And they did something even more unusual.
Mark Cuban told the Youngs, “Any profits that we earn from our 20% we’re gonna contribute to whatever charity your dad supported for firemen that have been sick from 9/11.”
Shark Tank airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on ABC. Watch clips and full episodes of Shark Tank for free on Yahoo View.
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