Staying 7ft tall modified my daily life: I grew up on a council estate but now play for a US basketball workforce

A British basketball star who’s performed in Seattle, Miami and Germany has unveiled how his remarkable height has proved his passport to success in existence.

Theo Turner, 28, grew up on a council estate in Middlesbrough, and was generally taller than his classmates at faculty. By the age of 11, he was already 6ft and donning sizing 11 footwear. 

Self-acutely aware of his height, he suggests he would walk around like a ‘hunchback’ in a bid to make himself seem lesser – but he retained on growing, and by the age of 16 he was 6ft 8ins.

Fully grown at 22, he now stands at a whopping 7ft – and wears a size 16 shoe.  

Tall tale! Theo Turner, 28, from Middlesbrough was 6ft and donning dimensions 11 sneakers when he was just 11-years-outdated…now 7ft, his soaring peak has proved his ticket to opportunity 

Sporty Theo begun actively playing basketball when he was 16 and was rapidly scouted by an American group, who suspected he could be an asset in the competitive US leagues. 

He been given a scholarship aged 18 to enjoy in the highest college division – division one of the NCAA for Seattle University.

After returning again to his roots in 2021, he is now hoping to encourage other tall people today to ’embrace their height’ and chase their ambitions immediately after getting on a coaching job at the Teesside Lions in North Yorkshire.

Theo says he applied to be self-conscious about his peak – and would wander about with a ‘hunched back’…ahead of realising it was his greatest asset (pictured in the shower at his house)

The basketball star, who’s now performed in Seattle, Miami and Germany, pictured in a regular sized mattress

Theo explains: ‘Ever since I was a baby, I’ve been huge. My mum is 5ft 10ins and my father is 6ft 5ins. ‘I’m from the North and stood out because of it. I applied to be self-acutely aware and stroll all over like a hunchback.

‘Before beginning basketball, boxing was my primary activity, but I tried using out basketball when I was 16 at college.

‘I was then scouted by a mentor who explained, ‘you require to occur to our club’ – and it just grew from there.’

When he was 18, Theo suggests his everyday living transformed eternally immediately after he moved over to Seattle, in Washington State to perform in the college or university basketball league on a comprehensive scholarship.

He said: ‘When it came down to it, I was extremely nervous – it was overwhelming.

‘I had the most effective time in my everyday living. I come from a council estate in Middlesbrough and moved to Seattle, it was a surreal knowledge.

Gain: His height on the courtroom means he can ‘stay beneath the basket simply because men and women know I can just fall it in’

With the sizing 16 sneakers he now wears: his mom is 5ft 10 and his father 6ft 5…so Theo was generally heading to be tall, he says

Brushing the ceiling! The basketball player, who’s now back in Middlesbrough, says persons question him what it is like ‘up there’

‘It was mad with my accent at initial, they couldn’t recognize me – I had to sluggish points down and communicate evidently.’

Soon after two many years in Seattle and graduating in 2018, he transferred to engage in for Barry College in Miami, Florida.

On the basketball court, Theo performs as a centre, he mentioned: ‘I do all the soiled perform. I rebound, operate up and down and continue to be underneath the basket mainly because people today know I can just drop it in.’

Off the basketball court docket, people are intrigued by his tall stature, and he has started to doc what his lifestyle is like ‘up there’.

Head your head: Even normal peak doors demand Theo to dip his head to keep away from banging it

He adds: ‘People generally question ‘how tall are you?’, ‘do you enjoy basketball?’, ‘what’s the weather conditions like up there?’

The struggles of being so tall consist of his toes hanging at the end of the bed and not fitting into his motor vehicle incredibly perfectly.

However, soaring above absolutely everyone else signifies he can seize objects from the grocery store top rated cabinets with simplicity.

On the downside, he struggles to fit in an normal vehicle, getting to concertina his legs into a automobile

Following leaving Miami in 2020, he performed for the German basketball league and returned house in 2021.

He claimed: ‘I now play for the Teesside Lions, and I get the probability to mentor, which I unquestionably adore. I really don’t know wherever I would be devoid of basketball. I want to help other people who are young and tall be proud of it, embrace it and very own it.’