By Aimee Braniff Cree
**EXCLUSIVE**
THIS SIX foot six inch woman who was called “Big Foot” as a child and towered over her six foot tall mother at the age of just twelve has revealed how she overcame timewasting shorter men who just wanted the novelty of dating a “taller girl.”
Klara Bradshaw (27) from Prague, Czechia, has always been head and shoulders above the rest, she was 6 feet tall at just 12 years old and although life hasn’t always been easy the professional athlete wouldn’t change a thing.
Klara was born in Prague but moved to California in the USA when she was just 18 months old. At 6 foot 6 inches she towers over her mother is still a mighty 6 foot, her father was 6 foot 3 inches and her younger sisters are just 5 foot 9 inches and 5 foot 11 inches.
Klara is glad to have the extra inches, as for the last three years she has been a professional basketball player for the Inexio SaarLouis Royals.
However, Klara was bullied in childhood, her schoolmates called her names like Big Foot and Sasquatch.
Her height has also played a role in finding love as she has found out some guys just want to say they went on a date with ‘that really tall girl’ and Klara is so much more.
“I’m 6 foot 6 inches, that’s 198cm, I think it was mainly genetic, my mum is 6 foot and my dad was 6 foot 3 inches so I think somehow I just sprouted from two above average parents,” said Klara.
“My mum did feed us mostly home cooked meals growing up, always had vegetables on the plate and we just had fresh fruits and fresh foods in general, I definitely think that played a part as well.
“I graduated from University in 2018 with two degrees, my Bachelor’s in Journalism and my Masters in Sports Management.
“I was a professional basketball player for the last three years from 2018-2021 and have taken some time now to enjoy my family and cultivate my relationships and make up for the birthdays and holidays I missed while playing in Europe.
“I love the height, I was given and hope to inspire others to live authentically and confidently with the height they were given.”
Relationships have been difficult for Klara in the past, but she has now found the perfect love.
“For sure there will always be examples of guys who feel intimidated, there were plenty of them that I came across when I was younger,” she said.
“In my adult life, I have found that the ones that have had a hard time, it was not with my height preliminarily, but my confidence and the attention that the combination of those two factors caused.
“Those were immediate red flags and so they did not last past that point.
“Growing up, since I didn’t always require the guy to be taller than me, I dealt with a lot of men having a hard time believing that I was tall.
“I dealt with plenty of comments on first dates that showed me over time how to filter out those types of guys with false-confidence or the ones who just wanted to see if I was real or just see me to be able to say they went on a date with “that one really tall girl”.
“Luckily, I am now very happily with my boyfriend who is 6 foot 2 inches and is unbelievably supportive and proud to be with me.”
Growing up for Klara some things were difficult and she was bullied in childhood and she has navigated normal life as a tall person including trying to find womens size 13 shoes.
“I was definitely bullied as a kid since I was always the tallest. I hit 6 feet tall in 6th grade (I was 11-12 years old) so I was always the tallest in the classroom including the teacher and in my entire grade until I went to college,”she said.
“I was the tallest in my entire high school. I was the tallest professional women’s basketball player in Germany when I was there and in Switzerland.
“Name calling was always hard, being told by my coaches I would be good for nothing if it wasn’t for my height in sports was hard,
“Just generally feeling left out purposefully as a kid from games and group activities was very lonely.
“Examples of things I was called are giant, the Lurch, Big Foot, Sasquatch.
“Clothes shopping can be difficult for all women, shoes and pants I have to usually buy online, as size 13 women’s shoes are very hard to come by in regular stores.
“ I will say I am proud of my heel collection so far, but it has taken years of dedication and collection.
“Jeans and pants are strictly bought online, since my inseam is anywhere from 38-40inches.
“Shirts and dresses I can usually buy off the rack.”
Klara has learned to appreciate being tall and all that it has given her in life and wants to encourage other tall people to embrace their height the same way.
“My life would probably be dramatically different, as my height definitely helped me get noticed for sports early on, which in time with training turned into my professional career so I can’t imagine where I would be if I was not 6 foot 6 inches,” said Klara.
“I don’t think I would be as extroverted if I was shorter, as naturally I was a very introverted person but my height kind of forced me to learn to navigate people and communicate a lot more.
“For example, getting asked daily how tall I am built that extrovertedness for sure.
“I am the tallest in my family at 6 foot 6 inches, my mom is 6 foot, my younger sisters are 5 foot 11 inches and 5 foot 9 inches. My grandparents were around 5 foot 10 inches – 6 foot.
“I have no idea where the extra inches came from for me but I am grateful for them.
“After going through the process of growing up extremely tall and feeling alone, my personal mission is to help promote positivity and confidence in enjoying the height you were given.
“I started taking Instagram seriously because of that purpose I felt and I have reached lots of young women through that platform which makes me very grateful.
“I hope to start my own brand soon that not only has clothing/merchandise, but also has resources for women to feel more connected and less alone due to their height.
“When young women have reached out to me letting me know I helped them be more confident, those are the best compliments I have ever received as it’s one of my personal missions to help make other young women feel comfortable with the beauty of being tall.
“To them I say stay strong. Keep your head up (literally). Never slouch to fit a room or environment, let the environment adjust to you.
“Raise the ceiling. When you master owning your height, the world is your oyster.
“I am behind you, as well as thousands of others.”
ENDS
