America’s Tallest Man Dies at 38 in Minnesota

The Minnesota resident who held the distinction of being America’s tallest man has died at the age of 38 after heart disease and a series of other health struggles related to his size. The Star Tribune reports that Igor Vovkovinskiy grew to a record height because of a tumor that put his pituitary gland into overdrive. Born in the Ukraine, he traveled with his mother to Rochester, Minnesota, for treatment, and then the family stayed. His size meant moving around could be painful. “I’d like to do simple things, like maybe go window shopping at a mall. I haven’t done that in about four years. Maybe walk my dog, go fishing,” he said in 2012 during a public appeal for funds for a $16,000 pair of custom shoes.