“I have always been the tallest in our sales teams at work, and I like being so, but there’s this guy who has started working at our firm. Now it’s likely he will join my own team. Problem is he is taller and I want to get in now and add height convincingly so I can at least not be towered by him. What do you suggest?” Mike
It’s difficult getting height addition really right on your own without a lot of trial and error. Adding inches and keeping it discreet, in comfort, gradually enough (but not too gradual!). I have been doing it 17 years since my late teens and am still learning. There are not many actual examples that are right out there, in full view, and the only time you become aware of elevators is when you see stars wearing appalling clumpy great boots with suits on a catwalk in an attempt to seem taller. So I am going to tell you about a mate of mine who is really one of the very few people I actually personally KNOW and see regularly who adds height like I do. I have given loads of advice to guys online and anonymously – mainly because I read such rubbish about the subject and cannot resist commenting and offering my views, having done it successfully for so many years – but rarely do I meet anyone. I like to keep my secret safe and as the old saying goes – ‘once one person knows, everyone knows’. Unless I guess (hopefully) it is a secret you share in common over a long period.
One of the great misconceptions about footwear generally is that anything you like to wear must be bad for you. You read totally unscientific comments and scare stories about how high heels/elevators/fashion shoes/sneakers/flat shoes ‘must’ be bad for you but you rarely see any serious science that proves this. This is because it’s another of these hype and scare ideas that journalists so love – all based upon an extreme scenario mangling completely unscientific ‘research’ that they can attach screaming headlines to – but they can never cite any really serious examples other than general stuff.
I give you every week advice on how to wear elevators, how to make sure no-one ever notices, what you might or might not be able to get away with, and what can happen in the circumstances you might fear etc. This piece is really for the taller guys among you who add height – there are LOADS of you and I know because of my own experience which I have mentioned occasionally. Knowing that I myself fit into this category, some guys have written asking basically “Why?”. But other tall guys know where I am coming from.
Most of us who have been adding height for many years (16 years plus in my case) know that you CAN get away with 5” (12cm) elevators, but that every half inch over 3” comes with its limitations, challenges and requirements. Even to experienced height adders like myself. And the less time you have been adding height, the greater the challenges. As someone who regularly DOES add 5” in height, I am telling you that, in 80% of cases, I advise other guys to go lower than 5” (and it’s not just that I don’t want the competition!).
Sounds a funny question considering you are reading this comment and site, but I have noticed that many guys have so many questions that their actual reasons for wanting to add height can get lost. And it has an effect of making it more difficult to decide what to do and when. So there’s a very simple one-phrase answer to the question “Why wear elevators?” and it’s “I wanna be taller”. But that ignores the many different reasons and the factors which make you want to be taller – and it’s those reasons that are so interesting and, in a way, define how much you should add and when.
It sounds an easy question to answer – “Who should wear elevators?” It goes without saying that they are mostly thought of as ‘footwear for short guys’. But this is no longer the case. We have got to the stage where almost everyone today will benefit from wearing elevators. And here’s why.
This is another one I get asked a lot – “why spend cash on (expensive) elevators when I can buy cheap lifts and stick them in my footwear?” In fact it’s what I myself thought for many years, until I actually discovered elevators that looked like proper shoes and boots, stuff I would ACTUALLY wear. Here is my story for my own transition from lifts to elevators, why I did what I did and how I came to do it. And then a few pointers, hints as to how to make the best of all worlds.
Here is something I am asked all the time – “I really want to buy some elevators and add height but I am worried that my mates will easily be able to tell”. My answer is a definite and big – “NO, they will NOT be able to tell if you do it right and follow my rules”, but I think that the psychology behind it all needs explaining. And the rules.
It’s a really important question to address, “how high can I go?’ – at work, with mates etc. Get it right and you will never ever have any problems with adding height. And it is all about lifestyle and different situations in your life, as well as your existing height. I have spent over 15 years wrestling with this and even now I learn new things about it.
