Meet Australia’s tallest man – as he reveals what life is like at 223cm 

He’s as big as an elephant, has the same size shoes as Ian Thorpe and can’t fit through doorways: Meet Australia’s tallest man – as he reveals what life is like at 7ft 3ins

  • Kewal Shiels, of Melbourne, has been dubbed the tallest man in Australia
  • The 7ft 3ins former car salesman attracts a crowd whereever he goes
  • People often stare as the giant man does his grocery shopping or buys shoes 

When Kewal Shiels walks through the streets, people often stare.

The 30-year-old former car salesman from Victoria is hard to miss as he towers over every other person in the country.

Mr Shiels stands at 7ft 3ins or 223 centimetres – making him around the same size a female Asian elephant and officially the tallest man in Australia.

Kewal Shiels, 30, is the tallest man in Australia. Mr Shiels stands at seven foot-three or 223 centimetres – making him around the same size a female Asian elephant

Despite his height, people still talk about him like he’s invisible. 

He told Fairfax he would often hear strangers standing around guessing his height and taking bets on his shoe size.

He wears size 11 shoes, which is the same size as Ian Thorpe.

He has a custom-made bed that is stretched to eight-feet long to ensure a comfortable sleep.

By the age of 14, Mr Shiels was 6ft 9ins and working as a shelf-stacker at a supermarket.

Customers were always passing him while he worked, commenting about how he doesn’t need a ladder or merely mentioning his height.

Mr Shiels was always going to be a tall man, height is in his genes. His mother, who is of Swedish-Irish heritage, is 6ft.

His late father, who was Tanzanian and Punjabi Sikh background, was 6ft 4ins

Life before camera phones would've been far more peaceful, he said. People constantly take his picture, sometimes without his permission

Life before camera phones would’ve been far more peaceful, he said. People constantly take his picture, sometimes without his permission

Being tall does have its advantages when it comes to sport – especially basketball  – which is his favourite game.

He was scouted by a basketball coach while on a gap year in the United State and offered a full scholarship. Although he never made it to a professional level, he still plays recreationally for the Craigieburn Eagles in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. 

But being the tallest man in Australia has its drawbacks too. 

Sometimes Mr Shiels likes to see what life would be like if he were an average height. When he is alone he’ll squat down to what is deemed a ‘normal height’.

‘It’s amazing how close to the ground most people are. There’s so much more detail down there,’ he said. 

Life before camera phones would’ve been far more peaceful, he said. People constantly take his picture, sometimes without his permission.

He wears size 11 shoes, which is the same size as Ian Thorpe. He has a custom-made bed that is stretched to eight-feet long to ensure a comfortable sleep

He wears size 11 shoes, which is the same size as Ian Thorpe. He has a custom-made bed that is stretched to eight-feet long to ensure a comfortable sleep

‘It’s such a weird double standard, because you would never do that to a person who was really short.’

Online dating has also presented its challenges. When he meets with his potential love interests in real life, the women are usually a little shocked.

‘A couple of times I’ve told them I was seven foot three, sort of warning them. But they’re still taken aback when they understand what that means.’

Mr Shiels was officially dubbed the tallest man in Australia in 2017, when the Australian Records Book began.

However, he is still significantly shorter than the tallest man in medical history, which was Robert Pershing Wadlow, from America, who was 8’11.  

 



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