A short man has gone to extreme lengths to increase his height by five inches by undergoing excruciating surgeries.
Moses Gibson, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, experienced “heightism” from a young age and his 5ft 5in frame saw him struggling to get a woman.
The 41-year-old tried out medication that promised to help him grow and even reached out to a “spiritual healer” in his pursuit of a taller figure.
He nearly gave up hope until he came across a painful procedure that involves breaking multiple bones.
Moses gained three inches after undergoing his first round of surgery in 2016 and now hopes to reach his goal height of 5ft 10in by June after undergoing a second surgery.
He’s spent a total of $160,000 on the intense procedures but says it’s all worth it after being unhappy for years.
Moses said: “I’ve struggled with height, I don’t know whether ‘heightism’ is what they call it, but being on the shorter side for men.
“Even when I was in high school, I was always unhappy with my height. As far back as when I was probably like 15, I realised most of my peers were taller than me.
“It started getting to me gradually. I just didn’t feel good about myself, I was unhappy about it most of the time.”
Moses said his height began affecting his confidence and dating life.
He added: “I used to like clothes and shoes, but I started not feeling happy when I put them on and I wanted to look better.
“It was my self-confidence in general, and with the ladies. It affected my dating life. I used to put things in my shoes to gain a little bit of height, but it wasn’t very much.
“People made comments. Sometimes it wasn’t in a mean way or intending to hurt, but they’d say ‘sh*t dude, you’re short man’ or make a joke of it.”
Moses decided he wanted to do something about his height and began searching for ways to grow, turning to some unusual methods.
He explained: “I’m a strong, tough guy, so I was never depressed about it but I went searching to see what I could do about it.