That is what the Swedish musician Kristian Matsson calls himself although he apparently stands a not-exactly-towering 5’7”. I have been listening to his music a bit and outside of his stunning similarity to early Bob Dylan it is pretty good stuff. With his stripped-down acoustic sound I am certain that no one will confuse him with one of my favorite Swedish musical exports, Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist of The Hives. Outside of Kristian’s stage name (which we of course enjoy here at Longshot) the real title belongs to Sultan Kösen who at an astounding 8’1” (2.47 m) is currently considered to in fact be the tallest man on earth today. As usual I like to think of my height as an asset, but at 8’1” things seem to get significantly more complicated. Sultan says he has a “normal” life, although predictably he has a tough time with clothes and in finding cars capable of accommodating his frame. Sultan, we certainly feel your pain!
Here is a list of the 10 Tallest Men on Earth (living):
- Sultan Kösen, Turkey, 8’1” (2.47 m)
- Zhang Juncai, China, 7’11” (2.42 m)
- Suparwono, Indonesia, 7 ft 11 in (2.42 m)
- Alexander Sizonenko, Russia, 7 ft 11 in (2.41 m)
- Grgo Kusi_, Croatia, 7 ft 10 in (2.38 m)
- Bao Xishun , China, 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m)
- Sun Ming-Ming, China, 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m)
- Ri Myung Hun, North Korea, 7 ft 8.5 in (2.35 m)
- Radhouane Charbib, Tunisia, 7 ft 8.5 in (2.35 m)
- George Bell, United States, 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m)
Stand Tall!
