Over the past 5 years I have written a lot here and elsewhere about elevator shoes and making yourself taller. In that time I have been contacted by loads of guys for advice…
A tiny handful I have met, but most are contacts I stay in touch with online through their own journeys in adding height. It’s fun and I have always enjoyed dispelling the myths and giving the benefit of my own almost 20-year experience since I started adding height in my late teens.
Each guy has his own story. With their permission (and obviously keeping discreet and concealing ID etc) I am going to tell you a few of the stories as I think they offer useful insights into adding height. As I have said before, you might be surprised at how guys of all heights (including very tall guys) want to be taller and add height.
My first contact I am going to talk to you about is one of the few guys I have actually met. Mark is statistically Mr Absolutely Totally Average in height. He is from the UK (where I am from) and is just under 5’10” (177cm). At 29, he realized he had stopped growing at 16, and really really wanted to be taller.
“Not a lot taller,” he says, “or at least I think that was how I felt! It’s difficult this, because you are not always totally honest, even with yourself when it comes to what you want in things like this.”
Getting to 6 foot
Marks’ start point was shoe lifts over 10 years ago, just like myself a decade earlier, and it was when he was still wearing them five years later that he got in touch with me.
“I had been looking at elevators online and noticed that all of a sudden there seemed to be stuff that was more mainstream and more suitable for my own life”.
Like myself, Mark had been put off elevators for years by the cheap and old fashioned styles of the far east imports: “They did not appeal to me as a 19 year old at all,” he laughs. “Real old man shoes. I didn’t really have the cash to buy these new better ones coming onstream at the time so I kinda put it to one side and continued with lifts. One thing that was really problematic was that the flared pants that were real popular in the UK till 10 years ago helped you get away with a lot. But everything went skinny and slim and I had to really re-think.”
Comfort at last
And it was then that Mark got in touch with me, wanting to keep his gains. The first thing he did was to buy some fairly low lift Chelsea Boots from GuidoMaggi. Not much more that 2 inches or 5cm: “The real thing I found was that everything was WAY more comfortable,” he told me. “With lifts I was constantly on shifting ground and very uncomfortable at that – yeah, easily gaining an inch but 2 inches was not easy. My new Chelsea boots gave me two comfortable inches and looked fab.
“When I had to go back to lifts – in other shoes! – it was always with a sigh.”
Working in an office imposes certain limitations, and Mark had to be careful not to do anything too ‘extreme’ or at odds with smart casual or suit type wear: “Although it is not a very formal office, there are limits whatever people say. If you want to get on, drawing too much attention is just not the thing. But still I felt that my extra two inches was just not quite enough once I had got used to the extra height.
“I had always wanted to be comfortably over 6 foot tall.”
Initially Mark added lifts on top of his low level elevator Chelsea Boots but that kinda felt like it was not the real answer: “So I took the plunge and bought another pair that were 8cm or just over 3 inches”. In a way I wished I had bought these right at the outset, but when you start off you have to feel totally comfortable with what you are doing as it is a serious investment,” he adds. “There is no point in agonising but you must feel right. It’s all new. BigRob gave me loads of advice but you are always left at the end with it being your decision!”.
And that is absolutely the case. No matter what someone else tells you, you yourself have to be comfortable and experience the fact that, say, simply no-one on earth will guess you are adding height at that level. Someone like myself can tell you but you need to have that confidence.
Extras for nights out
Mark’s current situation? “And so I recently bought my third pair, the highest at 4” (10cm) and I use these only for nights out etc. I totally totally love being my new height – I love the fact that the actual soles are thin enough to stop people realizing they could be adding height. Total confidence – it must never never ever be realized I am adding height.”
And one point over the past 5 years that Mark would advise others about? “Well a really important thing is that absolutely no-one has ever realized I was adding height. When I bought the first pair it was kinda crazy to me. OK I was adding only a couple of inches but that is a lot to you yourself, stood taller in front of the fridge or car door for example. And you ARE taller! But my own girlfriend never realized, my colleagues didn’t, my family didn’t. BigRob told me all this but somehow it was counter-intuitive. Surely they MUST be able to. But I think it is because people aren’t measuring each other or that observant over these things, and it helped that I added lifts and then low level elevators that got people used to it.”
Mr Average No More is how I describe Mark because he has achieved what he wanted at first. Yes you always want more and his 4” (10cm) boots do him great on nights out but day to day, achieving over 6’ is where he wanted to be – and in total comfort.
Next time I will talk about another of my contacts…
