Tall Tour is a traveling meetup that brings tall people together to celebrate their unique physical trait. Each stop features tall individuals gathering, taking photos, and swapping stories about their experiences with societal norms that favor petite women. The highlight of the event is the coronation of the tallest man and woman in attendance, allowing them to stand tall and feel a sense of normalcy.
Next photo Alex Schamonin, standing at 6 feet, 6 inches tall looks over the crowd during a Tall Tour event Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Austin, Texas.
Alexandria Ruiz, left, standing at 5 feet, 6 inches tall, looks up to her boyfriend Sage Penner, who is 6 feet, 10 inches tall while attending a Tall Tour event Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Austin, Texas. Zoe Raabe ducks as she passes through a doorway during a Tall Tour event Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Austin, Texas.
Sam Koban, who is 7 feet, 3 inches tall stands outside during a Tall Tour event Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Austin, Texas. Celina Vilcinskas, center left, who is 6 feet, 8 inches tall, waits in line to enter a Tall Tour event Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Austin, Texas.
Celina Vilcinskas raises her arms to celebrate being the tallest woman at 6 feet, 8 inches tall in attendance during a Tall Tour event Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Austin, Texas. Carter Blab, left, and Weston Borghesi, stand back-to-back to see who is the tallest man attending a Tall Tour event Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Austin, Texas.
Attendees cheer during a Tall Tour event Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Austin, Texas. Seven-foot tall Weston Borghesi, back left, celebrates after winning the Tall King award while attending the Tall Tour event Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Austin, Texas. Alex Schamonin, standing at 6 feet, 6 inches tall looks over the crowd during a Tall Tour event Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Austin, Texas.
At a Seattle sports bar on a recent Saturday night, hundreds of very tall people got to experience something rare: blending in. Women in their highest heels craned their necks to look at someone taller. Men who usually duck under doorways looked ordinary. For once, nobody had to explain why they don’t play basketball.
Welcome to Tall Tour, a traveling meetup drawing thousands across the United States to celebrate the one physical trait that has made them stand out — for good and ill. Since launching last summer, the tour has visited 19 cities, with crowds swelling from an initial 30 people in Tampa, Florida to some 4,000 in Orlando, according to organizers. Seattle drew around 750, they said.
“You’re walking around and there’s people your height and people taller than you when you thought you were just this giant freak,” said Tyler Bergantino, the tour’s 6-foot-9 founder who wears a size-16 shoe. “That’s something that I think is very healing for tall people. ”Each stop follows a similar format: Tall people gather, take photos, share recommendations for shoe shopping and swap stories about hitting their heads on door frames and cramming into airplanes.
For many women, the night’s biggest draw is the speed dating component and the hope of meeting someone comfortable dating a taller woman — whether that means matching their height, exceeding it or simply being open to it. Many bonded over the shared challenge of navigating a dating culture that still favors petite women.
“Dating as a tall woman, you feel like you’re intimidating to people,” said 25-year-old Ksenia Protasenko, who's 6 feet tall. “There’s this association with you being a warrior type, but it’s not true. It’s tough to have your height as the first thing people notice about you because it feels like people are not really seeing any vulnerable parts of you. ”“I tell them, ‘Yeah, sure,’ even though I don’t,” she said.
“Then I ask them if they play mini golf. That seems to straighten them right up. ”The highlight comes when organizers crown the tallest man and woman in attendance. In Seattle, those titles went to a mother and son.
Susan Mullendore, 44 and 6-foot-5, stood beside her son Grayson, 19 and 7 feet tall, as the crowd erupted.
“As a mom, just seeing Grayson having this experience meant the world to me,” Susan said. “To be able to be crowned with him was really special. It was nice to have our height celebrated. ” For Grayson, a college freshman, the evening offered something rare: a feeling of normalcy.
When in public, he said, strangers make comments and photograph him without asking.
“People think that because we’re tall they can say whatever they want or do whatever they want, like we’re zoo animals almost,” he said. “It was insane to feel small for once,” he said, noting the event's 7-foot-3 and 7-foot-4 co-hosts known as the Tall Boys. “It was so surreal to be able to have a conversation and look people in the eyes. ” That commonality runs deeper than shoe size.
Attendees describe a lifetime of social hyper vigilance — raising their voices a few pitches to sound less intimidating, slowing down around corners so they do not startle strangers, slouching to fit in. Tall people often feel isolated and out of place, particularly around puberty he said, noting he reached 6-foot-9 at age 16. But at Tall Tour, people can finally feel what it’s like to fit in.
“It heals a portion of your inner child,” he said. “Everyone’s walls come down, and it’s like we’re all one family. ”“Sometimes you just want to go through the airport and be left alone. And that doesn’t happen for us.
We usually get a lot of whispers,” she said.
“We get it. It’s shocking to see tall people. But sometimes it does get old. ” The challenges extend beyond social awkwardness.
Finding clothes and shoes that fit can be a mission. Susan, who wears a size-14 shoe, orders clothes from a specialty brand in the United Kingdom. To fit in his dorm bed, Grayson added a mattress extender and three sheets of plywood for support. He still hangs off the edge.
Bergantino quit his sales job two years ago and now runs Tall Tour full time with a small team that includes his brother, who handles video and social media, a chief executive officer and a chief operating officer. Even celebrities have taken notice. Seven-foot-6 basketball player Mamadou Ndiaye attended the Los Angeles event and the team has been in contact with 7-foot-1 NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal.
Future plans include expanding speed dating, launching a fashion show featuring height-inclusive brands and models, and adding spinoffs such as Tall Tour at Sea. International stops in Canada, Dubai, London, Australia, the Netherlands and Japan are also on the wish list. Bergantino says he wants to build “the tall-person ecosystem” — advocacy for exit row seating, better clothing options and even a phone app.
For now, the reward comes in smaller moments, like watching women in heels celebrate the height that once caused shame.
“The most joy of the day comes from the Tall Queen when she gets her crown and everyone’s going crazy,” he said. “It gets me every time. ”Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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A traveling meetup for tall people is drawing huge crowdsThe Tall Tour is a traveling meetup drawing thousands of unusually tall people to cities across the United States, offering a rare experience: blending in. Founded by 6-foot-9 TikTok creator Tyler Bergantino, the events feature group gatherings, speed dating and a crowning for the tallest “king” and “queen.
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