Even though giants are often mentioned in stories and folklore, the truth is that real
people with extraordinary size and strength exist.
Be prepared to be astonished by this list of the Top 10 Real Life Giants.
Number 10: Hong-Man-Choi.
Hong-Man-Choi is a giant South Korean with many skills.
First of all, he's a kickboxer and MMA fighter.
Choi is seven foot two and weighs 331L pounds.
Imagine having to fight against this giant.
One of his opponents actually had this to say, ‘‘he's dangerous, his knees are already
almost at the level of my head, He's not human!’’
His nickname was Techno Goliath because he would dance to techno music after every victory,
but that's just one side of Choi.
He also has a very different line of work.
He's a singer.
In 2007, he formed a pop duo with a Korean supermodel named Kang Soo Hee.
The duo is called Beauty and the Beast.
While it isn't the most flattering name Choi, it's sort of accurate.
Choi is a famous celebrity in South Korea and has endorsed many products over the years.
He's definitely making the most out of his gigantic height.
Number 9: Hathor Julius Bjornsson.
Game of Thrones fans will recognize this guy.
He plays Sir Gregor Clegane nicknamed the Mountain.
A fitting nickname for sure.
From Iceland, Hathor is six foot nine and weighs a whopping 400 pounds.
What most people don't know is that he wasn't always strong like this.
Hathor actually started as a basketball player and looked quite different back then.
However, his career was cut short after a severe knee injury.
That's when he decided to become a strong man.
Now, Hathor is so strong, he can deadlift 990 pounds.
He's taken part in several strong man competitions and won countless titles over the years.
In 2017, he even won second place at the world's Strongest Man competition.
If he keeps it up like this, he'll probably grab the title soon.
If you're wondering why on Earth someone called the mountain is only placed at Rank nine in
this video, then obviously you need to stick around until the end.
Number 8: Andre the Giant.
Here's one of the most well-known giants in pop culture.
Born in France, Andre the Giant became famous for being a wrestler in the seventies and
eighties.
After that, Andre went on to become an actor.
His most famous role was as Fezzik in the Princess Bride.
The WWE Build Andre at seven feet and four inches tall and 235 kilos, or 518 pounds.
Although, reports on his actual size vary, it is undisputed, however, that he was far
taller than most.
Here you can see the monster size of his hands as he holds a 12-ounce cane of beer, and this
photo hasn't been altered in any way.
Andre was also coined by his friends as the greatest drunk on earth.
He earned the title after drinking 40 litres of beer in one sitting.
As a matter of fact, Andre was followed by an undercover cop whenever he went out for
drinks.
That's because, one time, he drunkenly fell asleep on top of somebody.
The police wanted to make sure it wouldn't happen again.
Imagine how scared the person would've been being crushed by this snoring giant.
Number 7: Olivier Richters.
Olivier Richters has the unique distinction of being one of the tallest bodybuilders ever.
He's freakishly tall and incredibly strong, known as the Dutch giant.
He's seven foot two and weighs over 310 pounds.
To put his gigantic size into perspective, Olivier constantly towers over other notoriously
huge bodybuilders.
For example, this photo with Martin Ford.
Martin Ford is already really tall at six foot eight, yet you can see how much taller
Olivier is.
Olivier actually often shares his journey to improve his body on Instagram.
What's even more incredible, is that he had to overcome a birth defect.
Olivier was born with Pectus excavatum.
It's a deformity on the wall of his chest that made his heart 20% smaller than it should
have been.
He went through surgery to get it fixed, which wasn't easy because he had to have 10 of his
ribs broken.
Olivier has plans to become an actor, but at present he owns a meat company in the Netherlands.
That's a pretty good line of business for a bodybuilder.
He has easy access to all the protein he needs!
Number 6: Yao Ming.
Yao Ming is a retired basketball player.
I guess being a basketball player is a pretty obvious profession, if you're a giant.
Yao Ming is seven foot nine, and by the time of his final season.
He was the tallest active player in the NBA, which is saying a lot.
Imagine being so tall, you make NBA players feel small.
Born in China, basketball runs in Yao's family.
Both his parents were players as well.
He started his career in China playing for the Shanghai Sharks, but eventually he made
his way into the NBA.
In 2002, Yao Ming started playing for the Houston Rockets and then retired in 2011 because
of several injuries to his feet and knees.
During his prime, Yao was a famous athlete worldwide, probably the most famous in China
with several huge sponsorship deals throughout his career.
There's even a documentary about him called The Year of the Yao.
It was about his rookie year in the NBA.
When he went back to China, Yao Ming actually bought his former team the Shanghai Sharks.
Now, that's truly living like a baller.
Number 5: Yao Defen.
Yao Defen is the only woman in this list.
She actually held the Guinness World Record for being the tallest woman alive.
She stood at seven feet and eight inches tall.
Her unbelievable size was the result of a tumor in her pituitary gland as it caused
her to never actually stop growing.
When she was just 11 years old, she was about six foot two inches tall.
Unfortunately, she was born to a poor family and never got proper medical care.
Yao Defen became famous for being a giant and would tour with her father.
It was only after the Guinness World Records were notified about her, that she became famous
throughout the world.
Many documentaries were made about her and her condition.
She was even visited by the tallest man in China, Zhang Juncai, after she suffered a
fall and was hospitalized.
Number 4: Sultan Kosen.
Sultan Kosen holds the title for the tallest man alive, towering at over eight foot four
inches.
No one seems to be even close to his height.
In fact, Sultan is so tall that he needs crutches to walk.
Sultan’s growth didn't start until he was 10 years old and it only stopped when he was
28.
That's because he finally received the treatment that he needed to stop growing.
Sultan says the advantage of being this tall is that he can easily help his family with
his domestic task, like changing light bulbs.
However, the disadvantages are not being able to find clothes that fit him and not being
able to fit into an average size car.
Sultan is a part of the magic circus of Samoa and performs in various shows throughout the
world.
In 2013, Salton actually got married.
He's almost three feet taller than his wife, who is five foot eight.
But the biggest problem between them isn't height, it's communication.
That's because they speak different languages.
Sultan speaks Kurdish and Turkish, while his wife only speaks Arabic.
But hey, love is all about overcoming obstacles, right?
Number 3: Denis Cyplenkov.
Denis Cyplenkov is a 35-year-old Ukrainian bodybuilder and arm-wrestling champion.
He stands at six foot one inches tall and weighs around 308 pounds of pure muscle.
But what truly makes him stand out is his abnormal sized hands.
They are so big; many people think his pictures are photoshopped.
Rest assured; they are not!
His wrist measure at an insane 9.5 inches thick, and his biceps are 25 inches in circumference.
Without a doubt, these features helped him win several international arm-wrestling competitions.
Watch this video of him easily crushing walnuts with his bare hands.
That's enough to strike fear into anyone's heart or nuts.
Number 2: Sajad Gharibi.
Sajad Gharibi is known on the internet as the Iranian Hulk or the Persian Hercules.
It's not hard to figure out why this 25-year-old Iranian man weighs around 340 pounds, standing
at six foot two inches tall.
His upper body is close to the size of a giant redwood tree.
This real-life Hulk can also lift up to 386 pounds.
He went viral after people discovered his Instagram page.
In his page, Gharibi displaced his impressive size.
He also can be seen holding normal everyday objects that put in perspective just how massive
he is.
In 2016, he joined the Iranian army to fight against ISIS.
Can you imagine how scared those DeGeneres must have felt when they saw this gigantic
Hulk coming for them?
But Gharibi also has other aspirations.
In one of his posts, he mentioned he would like to be a professional wrestler.
Who knows, maybe he's the next person to follow, Andre the Giant's massive footsteps.
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Number 1: Robert Wadlow.
Robert Wadlow is the tallest man in recorded history, born in Alton, Illinois in 1918.
He was also known as the Giant of Illinois, or the Alton Giant.
Robert Wadlow reached the incredible height of eight foot 11 inches tall.
Throughout his life, Wadlow’s size was his most impressive feature.
By the time he was eight, he was already taller than his father, who was five foot 11.
When he graduated high school, he was eight foot four.
Robert also weighed close to 490 pounds.
His condition made his life harder, for instance, causing him to have a lack of sensation in
his feet.
Wadlow actually became famous after touring the United States with the Ringling Brothers
Circus.
Also, impressive was the huge size of his shoes.
Wadlow wore a size 37 AA shoes, which were custom made for him.
Nowadays, his shoes are displayed in museums.
The Alton Giant passed away when he was only 22, because of an infection in his leg.
His coffin required 12 Pall bearers to carry.
To this day, many tributes have been made in Wadlow’s name, who is also known as the
Gentle Giant, including a life size statue of him in his hometown.
Which giant impressed you the most?
Do you think Wadlow’s record will ever be beaten?
Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for watching.