Hi, I'm a 5'8" (173cm) guy, and I grew almost 3" (7.5cm) in my late 30s, by having leg lengthening surgery in spring 2018. This blog details my journey.
I was born in a communist country, with food rationing. Unsurprisingly, malnutrition results in stunted growth. Worse, my caretakers were religious zealots, and I was forced to observe fasts - no meat, dairy, or eggs - religiously. That means no protein intake for about half the year, and for periods extending to months at a time. There were no soy substitutes or "meatless chicken burgers" back then.
As a result, I ended up being only 5'5" (165 cm) tall - in the lowest 5% of the male population in the Western World.
| Percentile | Height Men (ft. in.) | Height Men (cm) | Height Women (ft. in.) | Height Women (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | 6'2" | 188 | 5'9" | 174 |
| 90 | 6'1" | 185 | 5'7" | 171 |
| 75 | 5'11" | 181 | 5'6" | 167 |
| 50 | 5'9" | 176 | 5'5" | 163 |
| 25 | 5'8" | 172.5 | 5'3" | 160 |
| 10 | 5'6" | 169 | 5'1" | 156 |
| 5 | 5'5" | 166 ← me | 5' | 153 |
Sources: Paley Institute, U.S. National Center for Health Statistics
I'm in my late 30s now and pretty happy with my life. Despite my short stature, I've worked at some of the top tech companies in the Silicon Valley, I've founded startups, and I've had a fulfilling sex life, including threesomes and sex parties. I'm mentioning these "accomplishments" because many short guys complain that they can't "get girls" (or even good jobs) due to being short. The girls part may be true to a large extent, depending on your target age range and culture, and especially if you're looking for one-night stands. For relationships however, women are wiling to overlook a man's height. That does come at a cost though. Somewhere deep in everyone's primal brain, there's a desire for a sexually fit partner. There's automatic respect we grant to leaders of imposing stature. Height matters.
Did you know that in the U.S. population, about 14.5% of all men are 6ft or taller, but among CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, that number is 58%? Even more strikingly, in the general American population, 3.9% of adult men are 6’2″ or taller. Among this CEO sample, 30% were 6’2″ or taller. To continue quoting author Malcolm Gladwell,
Of the tens of millions of American men below 5’6″, a grand total of ten (in my sample) have reached the level of CEO, which says that being short is probably as much, or more, of a handicap to corporate success as being a woman or an African-American.
When it comes to women, I've dated highly intelligent and accomplished women, who've told me that they were fine with my height, but they wish I were "a few inches taller". The average difference in height between men and women in the US and European countries is 4 inches (10cm). I'm shorter than my female cousins, who have parents of comparable height to mine. But - they were very well fed as they grew up.
Now that I'm in my late 30s, height has started to matter less. My business partners are of similar age, and wiser. Women of similar age put more emphasis on personality than looks. I didn't need to grow taller. I wanted to. Much like a person who feels inside that they're of a different gender may want to undergo gender reassignment surgery, I wanted my stature to reflect how I see myself. Fortunately, we have safe, reliable methods of achieving that nowadays - cosmetic leg lengthening. It's a costly and painful surgery, but there are ways to alleviate both. You're welcome to read my blog and find out how.
Contact
Instagram (preferred): OverrideYourGenetics
Email: overrideyourgenetics@gmail
