Afshin Esmaeil Ghaderzadeh has been named the world’s shortest man alive by the Guinness World Record (GWR), a Dubai-based record-keeping organisation.
Measuring 65.24 cm (2 ft 1.6 in), the 20-year-old from Iran earned the title after visiting the Guinness World Records offices.
Afshin took the record from the previous holder 36-year-old Edward “Niño” Hernandez from Colombia. The Iranian is said to be almost 7 cm (2.7 in) shorter than the Columbian.
He was named the world’s shortest man alive after his measurements were taken three times over the course of 24 hours, resulting in an accurate record height.
Speaking about his new record, Afshin described being recognised by the Guinness World Record as a “dream.”
“Just thinking about being part of the Guinness World Records family is like a dream. I struggle to believe it sometimes.
“It is like you wake up the next day and the entire world now knows who you are. That’s magical,” he said.
Afshin was discovered in a remote village located in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. He can speak both Kurdish and Persian, using the Farsi dialect.
He was born with a body weight of 700 g (1.5 lb) and has grown now to be almost 6.5 kg (14.3 lb).
Afshin enjoys watching cartoons like Tom & Jerry, dancing and rooting for his favorite football team. He also has a friend who helps him run an Instagram account — where he’s amassed tens of thousands of fans — because, he says, phones “are heavy to use for a long time.”
