Oliver 'The Dutch Giant' Richters Is Officially the World's Tallest Professional Bodybuilder
Mia Smith An actor, fitness model and bodybuilder nicknamed the "Dutch Giant" has just been declared the tallest professional non-competitive bodybuilder in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records. Oliver Richters from the Netherlands stands 7 feet, 1.9 inches tall (218.3 cm), and must eat 7 meals every single day, totaling 7,000 calories, in order to sustain his gargantuan gains.
"I don't have any genetic defects like Marfan syndrome or anything, the doctor said, well yes, you're in proportion," he says. "So they call me a 'natural giant,' and I'm very thankful for that because I can live a normal, healthy life, but as a giant."
The "tallest non-competitive bodybuilder" category was invented by Guinness World Records for the sake of clarification; while Richters is a professional bodybuilder, leveraging his hulking frame into a career in the movie business, he does not participate in traditional bodybuilding physique shows. A separate category exists for the tallest competitive bodybuilder.
Richters is the first to admit that his height can be something of a disadvantage when it comes to bodybuilding, but that hasn't held him back from creating the kind of body that has helped him secure roles in the Men in Black and Kingsman franchises. Most recently, he appeared in Marvel's Black Widow as Ursa, the huge Russian prisoner who arm-wrestles David Harbour's Red Guardian.
"Imagine if you have a body that is this tall, and you can create a bodybuilding look, how awesome that can look in movies," he says. "That's what I'm trying to do."
