Whoever came up with the saying "size doesn't matter" must have been small. If you are a big person trying to squeeze into a coach seat on an airplane, fit into a hotel bed or any number of things that normal-sized people take for granted, size matters a great deal, indeed.
"I really feel for the big guys, the real big guys," says World Wrestling Federation referee Tim White. "It's hard enough living on the road and performing every day. To run into those aggravations is hard."
Although White himself is not a large man, for years he saw firsthand the biggest athlete of them all struggle to live in a world designed for more modestly proportioned people. White was the traveling partner of the late Andre the Giant, helping the over-7'4", 500-pound legend try to find comfortable accommodations while on the road. It wasn't an easy task.
Virtually every make and model of car was too small to fit the massive Frenchman, so White would secure a van for Andre to travel in. Some of the most mundane tasks dialing a rotary phone, using the bathroom, turning on a light switch were made difficult or impossible because of Andre's immense size.
"It was really hard for me to watch him go through the pain of trying to fit into things. It was like putting a St. Bernard in a birdcage," White says.
While certainly not to the extent that Andre endured, some Superstars of today also suffer the same cruel irony that Andre lived through for years--the very physical gifts that allow them to be successful in sports-entertainment can also hamper many aspects of their day-to-day living, particularly on the road.
Shopping for clothing and shoes is clearly something most people take for granted; you walk into a store, see something you like, try it on and buy it. But when you're the size of Rikishi (6'1", 401 lbs.) or Albert (6'7", 345 lbs.) or Kane (7"0", 326 lbs.), it seldom works that way.
"It does get frustrating sometimes picking out clothes or shoes" says Rikishi. "I wear a size-15 shoe, so it's hard to find those in shoe stores. Normal [-sized] guys go right to the rack and their shoes are right there. I go up to a salesperson, and he says, ‘We don't have it.' I have to go to a different type of store. It gets to be a hassle. But, I'm a patient person; I'd rather order something that I like than grab something I don't."
"I have a hard time finding shirts to fit my chest [64" relaxed]," says Albert. "For pants, I take a 40, but my ass and legs are big. I usually have to get them altered. In shoes, I take a 15, so they're tough, too. I help ‘Big & Tall' do pretty well."
Rikishi is lucky in the clothes department. His Rikishi Phat Wear line of clothing is made in his size, which allows him to steer clear of the specialty-sized stores.
According to White, Andre had a tailor in Japan who took his measurements and custom-made the Giant's wardrobe for him, including his shoes. Andre's feet were not only an amazing 24 inches two full feet long, but also several inches thick. Casts were made of his feet and shoes custom-made from the casts.
The Federation's grueling travel schedule usually at least three shows a week, year-round also makes for tough times for the bigger Superstars. Although most try to fly first-class or by charter, Albert has taken his chances, squeezing his massive frame into a coach seat. He greatly prefers taking the window seat, but things don't always work out, which is bad news for Albert and even worse for his rowmates.
"There have been times when I've been put in a middle seat. When I get there, I'll ask one of the people next to me if I can switch with them," he says. "If they won't move, I say, ‘Okay, fine,' and put up the arm rests. To which they usually reply, ‘I'd like to have the arm rests down.' My response, ‘I'm sure you would, but it's not going down.'"
One of the tallest Superstars on the roster, Kane has had mishaps on planes that no average-height person could ever imagine.
"I can't tell you how many times I've just about scalped myself on those little exit signs in the airplane's aisles," says Kane. "The signs are supposed to promote safety, but they're just high enough that I think I can get under them, and they hit me right on the crown of my head. Yeah, that's real safe."
Of course, these problems pale in comparison to what Andre went through. The skies weren't exactly friendly for the Eighth Wonder of the World.
"In several planes, even first-class seats aren't much bigger than coach seats, "White says. "We'd have to get a hold of the mechanics and have them take out the divider between the seats. When we were forced on flights where we couldn't get first class, we'd have to get three seats together for him. But even then his head would be touching the ceiling. It was very, very uncomfortable and awkward for him. But let's face it, the world is built around normal-sized people, and Andre was way above the normal size. Everything was difficult."
And the flight is often only the beginning of the hassles. Hotel rooms, too, are not designed with oversized people in mind. And again, it's the little things that provide the biggest headaches.
"The beds are usually way too short," Kane says. "I just scrunch up pretty good to fit in the bed. I hang off most of them. The shower-heads hit you down in the chest. Things like that."
"I sleep diagonally to fit the beds," Albert says. "The shower nozzles get my chest really well. I have to wash myself in sections. I do one side, then turn to get the other side. They're tough to turn around in too."
Aside from trying to squeeze large bodies into small places, there are the smaller everyday annoyances. Gawking strangers are a part of life, and some Superstars have even encountered small men with "beer muscles" in bars or nightclubs who try to prove their manhood by knocking off the biggest man in the establishment.
Albert says those situations are a true Catch-22: Walk off and you're called a coward, fight and annihilate the smaller man, and you're called a bully and may potentially be called into court to face a messy and expensive lawsuit. His solution: Walk away and let them say what they will.
"That has never happened to me," Kane says. "That would be a really big mistake."
Yet, as the Superstars relate their stories of life as big men in a small man's world, they're not complaining. To a man, none of them would exchange their size for a simpler life of cozier flights or hotel stays.
Albert says he'd like to write a book one day about himself and a hometown friend who is considerably smaller than he. When the two venture out together, they're usually treated very differently by strangers, with people tending to migrated to him much more faster than to his smaller friend.
"I don't let too many things bother me because of my size. I deal with things when they come my way," Rikishi says. "I do what's easier for me. Just because of my size, I don't make things difficult for myself. You have to make the best of it. God gave me this size body, so I have to be able to handle it.
"I never thought my ass would be my way of making it in this business," he adds. "I've been in this business 15 years now. But never in a million years did I think that my wearing a thong would make me a bigger star than ever in the World Wrestling Federation."
As Rikishi stood backstage at New York's Madison Square Garden, telling his story, the imposing Samoan was interrupted two different times by giggling young women seeking autographs. He happily obliged, and when one of the young admirers blurted out a quick compliment telling Rikishi how handsome he is, he smiled and thanked her.
"See bro," he says with a smile. "It's all right to be big."
Courtesy RAW Magazine
