- This week I'm gonna become a big boy.
I don't consider myself short, I'm just like small.
I'm a petite man, bite-sized.
- I thought about being taller plenty of times.
When I was a teenager,
my mom would feed me like home remedies
that were supposed to make me taller.
- There was some element of being taken
less seriously because I was short.
Everything I said was just a silly,
fun, little thing the little guy said.
The only time I feel really short,
is when I'm taking a photo with a bunch of tall guys
and then I'm just in the middle
and then they're like here.
- I don't really feel like bad
about the height that I am
but people look at tall people differently.
Assumed power and confidence,
people listen to what you say.
- When you're short, you're perceived as less sexy.
Being short, you're more cute or adorable.
- Sometimes being short makes me feel
like I have to be submissive to somebody.
- If I was taller, I would've had
a lot more success with the ladies.
It makes you think that anyone
who's taller than you is off-limits for dating.
- I mean, there are stats.
They get paid more, considered more attractive.
I could sit here and tell you I don't care
and like most of the time I don't,
but yeah I wanna be taller.
I'm a little nervous,
maybe I look weird from down here.
- I'm afraid people are gonna tell,
like, "(laughing) why are you wearing those things?"
- I'm 5'5 and after this week I'm gonna be 5'8.
- I'm 5'7 right now,
and with the shoe inserts I'm gonna be 5'10.
- I'm 5'7 and three quarters.
This week, I'm gonna be 5'10 and three quarters.
I'll be taller than ned.
Oh, this is the dream.
- I'm 5'8 and I'll be 5'11 for a week.
- Imagine if you could have that length other places.
Time to get tall.
Oh, it's just a pad.
- You can pick how much taller
you wanna be by adding more.
- It's like Legos.
- All of this is a lot.
- You just slip in in.
Normally my foot would go here,
but with the padding, it's here.
- Woo, definitely gotta loosen up these laces.
It's surprisingly comfortable.
It's like a pillow for your heel.
- Oh, I feel like a baby a baby giraffe
taking its first steps.
- It's cool to see a view from
a little higher than I ever have before,
besides from when I'm on a rollercoaster.
- I feel like I can reach for the stars
and I'll grab them.
I hope that I can walk normally.
- I'm more self assured.
I just feel like I don't give as many shits anymore.
I'm a powerful tall man now.
The world is mine.
I won't take these things out.
(techno music)
- Do you notice anything different about me?
How tall are you?
- You're taller now.
- I had to literally bring in the word tall.
- Do you know anything different about me?
No.
I'm three inches taller.
- Oh really?
Maybe I'm just so short, that everyone looks tall.
- I didn't wanna say, but I was gonna say
you look a lot more fit.
And I don't know if it has to do with the shoes.
- What do you think about guys using that?
- I think they should totally use it.
I wear them to look taller too.
Does it make you feel more confident?
- It does.
- You have this glow.
Tall person and fit person glow.
- Oh, you're tall now. What's going on?
- Eugene, you stand up, you tiny little man.
Get over here. Oh you're still taller than me Goddammit.
What are you doing down there?
- Touching your feet cause I don't understand.
- My head is still absurdly tiny.
- You're like a tall baby. Tall baby.
- We are normally about the same height,
and now you're taller than me.
Which I don't like, because everyone's taller than me.
(laughing)
- My feet can barely fit in these shoes,
I hate them so much.
- Welcome to heels.
- I go from here, to here. - Woah. Wow.
- It must be so disappointing for a girl
or a guy on a date who thinks the guy's tall, right?
And then just goes home and takes off his shoes
and then it's like...
- Just kidding.
- Wait till you see what's in my pants, uh-oh.
- What I love about these is that
you can't tell he's wearing anything inside.
This just changed the game.
We don't need knee surgery anymore.
- Hey Chris, what's with the stilts?
You look pretty uncomfortable,
like a newborn deer,
but standing you look great.
- Saw 10 to 15 people I know,
not one of them noticed me looking taller.
There was one part where
I was looking over a few peoples heads
to see someone speaking at the front.
That was kinda nice.
I tried ducking down to see what my normal view would be
and I wouldn't have been able to see at all.
- We're the same height.
- What? No we're not, I'm just not standing up straight.
Are you wearing tall shoes?
- I'm fixing a thing, because I'm tall.
- Normally I have to stand on my tip-toes
to put the dead batteries away
but now... (laughing)
- Even though no one notices,
I have to admit that I am starting to like it,
the feeling of being tall.
- There's something that changes our dynamic.
- The way I'm interacting with people is different,
like, I've never been taller than you.
- Eye contact feels a little more intentional
instead of just when we're up here.
- Yeah like how we're talking,
and now I'm like, "How's it down there?"
- I tried on this this shoe,
this shoe, this shoe and this shoe,
none of them work.
The only one that I have left is this high top.
It's hard to find shoes that work,
because most shoes are not designed
to accommodate heels that go up three inches.
- I did get some new shoes though,
that make things way more comfortable.
That said though, I'm pretty annoyed
that no one at all has noticed that I seem taller.
- Hey, Keith.
- Hey.
- Because I don't have my glasses on,
I can't really see super well.
The shape that came in,
I was expecting Zach to come in,
but I'm like, "No that guy's way too tall to be Zach.".
It's really working.
- I just went to wash my hands
and its like so much further than I'm used to.
- Someone was like stopping and asking me
why I was walking so loud.
This is how my feet sound
when I am not walking with the heels.
(quiet footsteps)
And here's how I sound with the heels.
(loud footsteps)
- Can we put on dating apps, I'm like three inches taller?
- Guys and girls who see the shoes, wanna try it on.
They wanna see how they look and feel in it.
- But I like you the way you are.
- Do you wanna try it?
- I feel a little bit taller
but not significantly taller.
- That's a great point.
- I have a wedding today
and because I'm suddenly taller,
my date gets to wear high heels,
which she would normally never do around me.
That's a plus.
You happy to wear high heels?
- [Zach's Date] So happy.
- So happy.
- I like to go on walks on weekends.
I did not wanna wear those painful ass shoes today
so I'm not, sorry.
- I think these shoes might be good for like
events, if you know you're not gonna have to
wear them for too long,
just on days where you have low self-esteem,
because as much as I hate to admit it,
it does add this spring to your step.
I would definitely wear these again.
I would say maybe once a week, maybe.
- I've learned that I like
the shoe pads in most out of all the guys.
When I'm at my standing desk,
it does help with my posture
and makes me ready to start work.
- I didn't feel like it helped me in any way.
A big part of your height
is shown in the shape of your body.
Tall people just are tall looking
and I'm not tall looking.
- It feels cooler to be taller.
I did like how I looked in clothes.
I don't think there's anything wrong with it.
It's something that maybe I would consider again
if the circumstance was right.
If I'm dating a girl and she wants to wear heels
but she can't wear them around me,
maybe I'll throw on some boost
so we can both be tall that day.
- I liked having a secret
to see if anyone caught it.
It was really frustrating
when literally no one did.
Height is not as important as we think it is.
I'm gonna be happy being a short guy from now on.
- I realized since most people didn't notice,
all the confidence is very internal.
It's kinda like the Dumbo movie
where he had the feather
and it wasn't the feather that made him fly,
it was him.
- There are short people that seem taller
because of their personality
and there are tall people that seem smaller
cause of their personality.
I think it's really just about
the way you carry yourself.
A couple inches here or there,
it doesn't matter as much
as the way you live your life does.
I am both really appreciative for the experience
but I'm also glad I'm back to being me.
(fun pop music)