The world's tallest man, Leonid Stadnyk of Ukraine, has been forced to crouch around his house, left without a job and confined to his impoverished village that does not even have heating gas.
Stadnyk is now looking for a soul mate, just like the former titleholder, China's Bao Xishun, who got married in 2007.
However, being the tallest man of the world, and the problems that come with the extra height, has won him many sympathisers.
People from Ukraine and all over world have sent him clothes, equipped his home with running water and most recently presented him with a giant bicycle.
In 2007, Stadnik had beaten a Chinese man to bag the title of the world's tallest person. He was measured to be 2.57 meters tall (8 feet 5 inches) in 2006.
Stadnyk's growth spurt started at the age of 14 after a brain operation apparently stimulated the overproduction of the growth hormone. Doctors say that he keeps growing.
To keep his height and weight in check, a Russian engineer has developed a body-building machine, which suits tall people.
The Russian engineer, Aleksander Barshulyak, said, "the aim of this machine is to train leg muscles and the strength of the joints."
Stadnyk said, "I have problems with my weight and my legs tire often. I think this is normal for me, but I am working on this. I train myself. And this body-building machine that was presented to me will help me fight my aches."
While he may appear intimidating and menacing due to his size, there is nothing in him like that. With a broad grin and a childlike laughter, Stadnyk comes across as a young boy trapped inside a giant's body. He even keeps stuffed toys on his pillow.
Stadnyk's title has brought him worldwide fame and constant media attention.
Being the world's tallest person is not that easy. All the doorways in his one-story brick house are too short for Stadnyk and he has to bend down every time he enters or leaves the room.
His weight of 200 kilograms (440 pounds) causes constant knee pain and he often has to move on crutches.
Stadnyk, a lover of all living creatures and nature, had to quit his job as a veterinarian at a cattle farm in a nearby village, after suffering frostbite from walking there in his socks in winter.
He couldn't afford ordering specially made shoes for his 43-centimetre (17-inch) feet.
However, Stadnyk's plight eventually helped broaden his horizons, earned him friends all over the world and taught him not to despair.
A German man who said he was his distant relative invited him for a visit several years ago. On the trip, Stadnyk got to sample frog legs in an elegant restaurant and saw a roller coaster in an amusement park - all for the first time.
Since then, he has made numerous online friends including from the United States, Australia and Russia. Stadnyk hopes to learn English to be able to better communicate with them. Right now, he relies on computer translations, which he says are often no use.
Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko's tailor has made him two tracksuits and the president plans to present him with a giant car.
Local authorities also promise to supply gas to the village 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of the capital Kiev.
After he quit his job, Stadnyk has concentrated on running the family's garden and taking care of his three cows, a horse, pigs and chickens with his mother Halyna and sister Larysa.