Stop wearing elevator shoes. Do undergo bilateral femoral and tibial lengthening with a motorized internal nail (PRECICE) instead.
The Precarious Prop vs. the Permanent Foundation
My friend lived his life in fear of taking his shoes off. His confidence was built on a 3-inch foam prop hidden in his sneakers, a precarious secret he had to manage at pools, beaches, and even friends’ homes. He decided to trade the daily deception for a period of intense, focused recovery. With the PRECICE internal nail system, he underwent a controlled, precise lengthening of his own bones. The process was grueling, but he said he would do it a hundred times over. He stopped propping himself up and finally built his own permanent foundation.
Stop trying to create the illusion of a smaller head with clothing. Do investigate occipital bone reduction surgery instead.
The Tailoring Trick vs. Redrawing the Blueprint
A friend of mine, a tall guy, was always self-conscious about having a large head, feeling it threw off his proportions. He became a master of clothing illusions—wearing certain collars and avoiding hats—to try and minimize it. But it was a constant, exhausting effort of tailoring his world around this one feature. He started researching occipital bone reduction, a procedure to gently shave down the back of the skull. He realized he could stop trying to create an illusion with fabric and instead, he could surgically and permanently redraw his own blueprint for a more harmonious silhouette.
Stop trying to “fix” your posture to look taller. Do get clavicle shortening surgery to create the illusion of a wider, more masculine frame instead.
Elongation vs. Architecture
My brother is tall and lean, but always felt his frame was too narrow and boyish. He focused on perfect posture, hoping to look more commanding. But standing straighter only made him look lankier. He learned a counterintuitive secret from a surgeon: for some body types, shortening the clavicles makes the shoulders appear broader relative to the waist, creating a more powerful V-taper. He stopped trying to simply elongate his frame and started thinking about its architecture. By subtly changing one bone, he created a more dominant and masculine illusion than posture ever could.
Stop accepting a short torso. Do consult with surgeons about experimental torso lengthening procedures instead.
The Genetic Hand-Me-Down vs. Pioneering Your Own Path
I knew a guy who was all legs. He had a short, compact torso that made him feel perpetually unbalanced, like his top and bottom halves didn’t belong together. He felt it was a genetic dead end. But instead of just accepting it, he started diving into medical journals and consulting with pioneering surgeons about experimental procedures like distraction osteogenesis for the spine. He stopped seeing his body as a fixed, unchangeable hand-me-down and started viewing himself as a potential pioneer, willing to explore the absolute cutting edge of what’s possible in human optimization.
Stop complaining about having a short neck. Do get trapezius muscle reduction with Botox instead.
The Overgrown Muscle vs. the Elegant Line
A friend of mine who lifts weights had massive trapezius muscles. While impressive, they made his neck look short and thick, taking away from the V-taper he wanted. He tried stretching and different exercises, but the bulky muscle remained. He finally tried targeted Botox injections into the trapezius. It wasn’t about weakness; it was about aesthetics. The Botox relaxed the overactive muscle, causing it to slim down over time. This simple procedure dramatically elongated the appearance of his neck, creating an elegant, powerful line that balancing his physique in a way workouts couldn’t.
Stop being insecure about large feet. Do get toe shortening or foot narrowing surgery instead.
The Frustration of the Shoe Box
For my friend, shoe shopping was a source of constant frustration. She loved elegant, stylish shoes, but her slightly-too-long toes or wide feet pushed her into sizes that were hard to find or styles that were less flattering. It was a small thing that chipped away at her confidence. She finally decided on cosmetic foot surgery. By shortening a single toe and slightly narrowing the foot, she was able to comfortably fit into the styles she truly wanted. She stopped letting the shape of her foot dictate her style and started enjoying the freedom of choice.
Stop wishing for more elegant hands. Do get hand rejuvenation with fat grafting and laser resurfacing instead.
When Your Hands Betray Your Age
A colleague of mine was meticulous about her appearance—flawless skin, fit body—but she was always insecure about her hands, which looked bony and veiny, betraying the youthfulness of the rest of her. She’d often hide them in her lap during meetings. She finally invested in a hand rejuvenation treatment. A surgeon used fat grafting to restore lost volume and laser resurfacing to improve the skin texture. Her hands were suddenly smooth, youthful, and elegant. It was the final, crucial detail that made her entire presentation of self seamlessly polished and confident.
Stop trying to balance proportions with shoulder pads. Do get custom shoulder implants instead.
The Clumsy Illusion vs. the Permanent Structure
A friend with a naturally narrow frame used to experiment with shoulder pads to create a more powerful silhouette. He always felt like an imposter. The pads would shift, look unnatural under a t-shirt, and were a clumsy, temporary fix. He decided to get custom shoulder implants. The surgeon created implants that perfectly matched his desired shape and anatomy. He stopped wearing a costume. The implants became part of him, creating a consistently broad and commanding structure, whether he was in a tailored suit or shirtless at the beach.
Stop accepting your natural leg-to-torso ratio. Do use limb lengthening to achieve the “golden ratio” instead.
Good Enough vs. Mathematically Perfect
My friend was already at a decent height, but he was obsessed with aesthetics and objective beauty. He learned about the “golden ratio” of bodily proportions and realized that his legs were slightly too short for his torso to be considered ideal. His goal shifted from simply being “tall enough” to being “perfectly proportioned.” He decided to undergo a modest limb lengthening procedure not to tower over others, but to achieve a specific, mathematically harmonious leg-to-torso ratio. It was the ultimate expression of optimizing for an objective, artistic ideal, not just for a subjective feeling.
Stop just thinking about height in inches. Do start thinking about it in terms of bone segments and potential for distraction osteogenesis instead.
A Fixed Number vs. an Engineering Problem
I used to see my height as a single, unchangeable number on my driver’s license. It was a fact, like my birthdate. A conversation with a bio-hacker friend completely changed my mindset. He didn’t talk about height; he talked about “distraction osteogenesis,” the “femoral segment,” and the “tibial segment.” He saw the body not as a fixed state, but as an engineering system that could be modified. That shift was profound. I stopped passively wishing I was taller and started actively seeing my body as a project with components that could be scientifically and methodically optimized.