When Chris Lister was born 19 years ago, his mother, Anita, had had a normal pregnancy, but her bump was rather large. When Christopher was born, he was 23 inches long, and doctors knew as soon as they saw the size of his feet that he would be unusually tall.

As a fast-growing toddler he was the size of many four or five-year-olds, and people often assumed he was older than he was.

Now a gentle young man who's looking for a career to boost his self-confidence, growing emotionally into his current 7ft 3ins frame has been difficult for Chris. The physical pain attached to growing so tall has also been enormous.

"I have cramps all the time in my legs, and have to sit down for a rest after walking only a short distance," he says. Paediatricians monitored Chris throughout his childhood, and their investigations revealed no concrete reason for his unusual height.

By the age of 13 he was overtaking his 6ft 2ins dad Dave. At the age of 16 he was around 6ft 9ins and still stretching fast. "Stretch" is, in fact, his nickname. Along the way, Chris's leg bones were growing unevenly, making his legs turn inwards, causing terrible pain. Operations were carried out to remove the growth plates, and his legs did eventually stop growing.

However, his spine has continued to elongate, and he suffers constant back pain. Long spells of school were missed due to treatment, but Chris hoped to train as a mechanic. His physical problems have now ruled-out that ambition. He has taken IT courses but hasn't found employment yet.

Mostly he stays at home in Armley, Leeds, where Anita and Dave have had to spend £22,000 on adapting the house to his height. Doorways open up to the ceiling, lights are all recessed, the shower head is incorporated into the ceiling, and Chris has a handmade 7ft 6ins bed.

"It's easier to stay in than go out most of the time," he says. "I don't go out more than once in a blue moon."

Anita joins in: "Often he would have growth spurts of two or three inches in a short time, and was in great pain. Walking was difficult, but then we'd go out and people would just gawp. They stared and said the most terrible things, like Chris was a freak."

Chris says the comments do sometimes get to him, but mostly he tries to laugh off any abuse. Dave doesn't find it so easy. "I have to walk through the market separately to Chris, because I get so angry at the things people shout. You wouldn't believe what he has to put up with.

"They wouldn't dream of saying that stuff if a person was different because they were disabled. Why do they think it's acceptable to abuse someone because he happens to be tall?"

When a TV production company asked him if he would take part in a documentary about Britain's tallest teenagers, Chris felt it would be a good opportunity to show the reality of his life. He also hopes the experience might present some new opportunities for him.

Anita encouraged Chris, as she felt it would help him to "break out of the bubble", as she puts it. Dave disagreed, and thought Chris might attract more idiotic comments as a result of the exposure. "But he's 19, and I couldn't stop him. It's up to him."

Dave and Anita are clearly very protective parents, each trying to support Chris in their own, but different, way.

A hair and clothes makeover with the help of a stylist led to a photo shoot. What Chris didn't know until the 11th hour was that programme producers had fixed up an audition for him with a modelling agency in London which specialises in "character" models with unusual looks or size.

Test photos were done, and Chris was signed up on the spot. He is now back home and waiting for his first assignment. The experience gave him new confidence, he says, but he is struggling to keep that buoyancy alive.

"No other good has come of it, so I might as well try and cash-in on being tall. I'm hoping the TV programme will also show people to see the person, not the height."

Anita no longer measures Chris's height, although he may continue to grow until he is 21. "No matter how tall he gets, he'll always just be my baby."

Leeds Crown Court heard that on November 26 last year Lister provided a stolen van which was used in a house burglary in the Armley area of the city.

Peter Moulson, prosecuting, said a £1,800 television was stolen and loaded into the rear of the Citroen van but the vehicle got stuck outside the premises and could not be moved. An eyewitness saw Lister and others running off and the stolen property was recovered.

Lister was arrested and bailed with a curfew while inquiries were made. But in April this year he committed two offences of interfering with motor vehicles. One was a write-off because of the damage caused

Lister admitted handling a stolen van, burglary, driving while disqualified and with no insurance, and two charges of interfering with vehicles. He also admitted being in breach of a suspended six-month sentence, again for dangerous driving and driving while disqualified, when he was involved in a police chase last June at speeds of up to 100mph which ended in a collision with the police car.

Lister begged a judge not to send him to jail - because he is too tall. Christopher Lister said he feared being bullied over his height by other prisoners. But his pleas were in vain and he was jailed for 11 months for a string of vehicle-related offences.

Click on thumbnail to enlarge.

Internet articles/websites about Chris Lister:

7ft 4in man admits car crimes but fears he'll be picked on in prison - 12-06-2009
My growing pains, by the 7ft 4in teenager - 12-07-2007
Why normal life is a tall order for the teenagers who just won't stop growing - 10-07-2007

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17-03-2012: Image(s) of Brahim Takioullah and Sultan Kösen added.

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01-03-2012: Video(s) of Bao Xi Shun and Zhang Jun-Cai added.

28-02-2012: Image(s) of Morteza Mehrzad and John Aasen added.

27-02-2012: Morteza Mehrzad has been upgraded to 8 feet and 1 inch tall as discussed in this thread on our discussion forum.

25-02-2012: Image(s) of Zhao Liang, Wang Tong Xin and Huang Chang-Chiu added.

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23-02-2012: R.I.P. Suparwono. Page for Martin Ruboga added. Newspaper clipping(s) about Eddie Carmel added.

22-02-2012: Page for Yossi Ben Naim added. Image(s) of Bob Wegner and Homer Parks
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20-02-2012: Newspaper clipping(s) about Frederick William Randall Chadwick, Martin Salmerón, Igor Vovkovinskiy and James Patrick Tolley added.

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16-02-2012: Page for Benjamin Harrison added. Video(s) of Neil Fingleton added.

15-02-2012: Image(s) of Ijaz Ahmed and Felipe Birriel Fernández added.

[....some older news snipped....]

17-06-2009: Installed discussion forum. You can join it here...

12-06-2009: Started building the website.