- The 21-year-old Russian Daniil Yandukov is 1.40 meters tall and weighs 23 kilograms – he looks like a primary school student.
- Despite years of hospital stays and hormone tests, doctors were unable to make a clear diagnosis.
- Daniil studies safety engineering, works as a waiter and deals with his situation with humor.
Daniil Yandukov often approaches adults and asks them for a cigarette. The reactions range from outrage to amusement – but the 21-year-old almost never gets a cigarette. With his Height of 1.40 meters and his childlike appearance, Daniil looks like a primary school student.
In an interview with the Russian YouTube channel Spektr, he described how he noticed in seventh grade that his body was developing differently than that of his classmates. “I noticed that I was shorter than all my classmates. I was always last in gym class. Everyone else changed, grew, became more mature – only I remained small. The teachers didn’t even call me to the blackboard because I was supposedly too small,” he says.
Years of therapy, but no solution
His parents took him to specialists over the years to clarify the cause. But the doctors couldn’t make a clear diagnosis. “I spent my entire childhood in hospitals, even in Moscow, to be examined. They did a genetic test – no abnormalities were found. They said I had a growth hormone deficiency. They started giving me hormone injections, but it didn’t help. “We finally gave up everything,” reports Daniil.
Today he sees neither his size nor his weight as a burden and deals with the situation humorously. “Many people think my passport is fake and make fun of me. And sometimes I make fun of my appearance as much as I can.”
Daniil describes himself as sociable and well-connected; he has many friends. He is currently studying safety engineering and works part-time as a waiter. “I am 1.40 meters tall and weigh 23 kilograms. I’m still living in a dorm at the moment, but when I move into my own apartment I’ll probably get a ladder.”
Have you ever had people misjudge you based on your appearance?
Karin Leuthold (kle), born in 1968, has been working for 20 Minuten since 2005 and is currently working at the news desk.
