Julien Prégent is feeling pretty good, even though the healthy 28-year-old is walking with a pronounced limp through an empty mall.
Our team met him on a cold winter afternoon in Montreal, where he took us through a typical routine following a radical cosmetic procedure that gave him three new inches of height.
He uses a walker to take each step. It’s slow, steady work, but he’s happy — despite the grueling months of rehabilitation after paying to have both his legs broken as part of the procedure.
The Canadian Limb Lengthening Centre (CLLC) in Montreal is the only place in Canada that will operate for cosmetic reasons. Julien doled out more than $90,000 for the surgery, which increased his height from 5 ‘9’’ to 6 ‘0” after struggling with feelings of insecurity and inadequacy about his height for seven long years.
“I wasn’t happy with my height. I realized I wanted to be taller… it became an objective. As soon as I knew it was possible to do this kind of surgery, I kept it as an objective… this idea of me being too short was, you know, it was eating away at me,” he said.
Julien is one of many men preoccupied with the thought of being taller; those who cite studies showing that taller men make more money, and who show you dating apps that screen for men under 6 feet.
Youtuber Victor Egonu — who calls himself “Cyborg 4 Life” — underwent limb lengthening surgery (LLS) to correct a childhood deformity. He began posting about his own experience, highlighting facts and myths about LLS.
Egonu has since spoken with more than 1,500 prospective patients and has developed a strong understanding of just how profoundly insecure many men feel about their height.
“A lot of these people who want to get this procedure done will refrain from even going to social events. They won’t go to their holiday parties or they won’t go to weddings,” he said. “There was one guy who told me he didn’t go to his best friend’s wedding because of his height.”