The Bodybuilding Champ With Dwarfism | BORN DIFFERENT

THIS 4ft 6” dynamo is taking the social world by storm – by claiming the title of UK’s Shortest Bodybuilder. Choon Tan, 25, from London, was born with a rare condition called X-linked spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda, a form of dwarfism that affects around one in 150,000 people. “My mum first noticed that everyone else was growing a lot taller than me, so she took me to the doctors, they did all the blood-tests, all the x-rays and then they diagnosed me with the condition.” Choon said. At school, his height meant that Choon was vulnerable to being bullied. The constant torment from other people chipped away Choon’s confidence and it made him very insecure. “It made me quite depressed at the time because I didn’t have that confidence,” he said. The turning point came when Choon left school to go to college - “I started working out, going to the gym, training five times a week.” And it was there where things took a massive turn for him, as Choon was spotted by a professional bodybuilder who offered to coach him and take him to competitions. Choon said: “Bodybuilding helped me in my self-confidence because it showed me that I couldn’t change my height, but I could change the way I look, I could change my confidence and how I express myself to people.” In 2015, Choon was officially named UK’s Shortest Bodybuilder, a title he wears proudly. He added: “I think my message for anyone who wants to get into fitness is to just take that first step and start doing it, because you will have amazing changes in your life, and it changed my life.”