THERE AREN’T MANY people who eclipse retired strongman Hafthor ‘Thor’ Björnsson – whose door frame-filling stature registers 6ft 9in – but Dutch actor, bodybuilder and fitness model Olivier Richters is one of them. Rising to fame, he has taken on the towering role of Paulie in Reacher Season 3, where he faces off against series lead Alan Ritchson.
That’s not his only claim to fame, though. Far from it. Standing tall at 7ft 1.9in, Richters’ lofty height has earned him a place in the history books – specifically, the Guinness World Records – as the world’s tallest professional male bodybuilder.
If you’re wondering, his imposing stature isn’t down to a medical condition. The man is just really, really tall. “They call me a natural giant and I’m very thankful for that, because I can live a normal healthy life, but as a giant,” says Richters, whose nickname is, coincidentally, ‘The Dutch Giant’.
So, what do you eat when you’re upwards of 7ft and built like a barn door? “To keep my physique I need to eat 7,000 calories a day,” Richter says. “I split that up in seven meals, 1,000 calories per meal, 60g of protein per meal, and I have to do that an easy way or it takes too much time.”
Richters’ record-breaking height was verified in Eemnes, Netherlands, in 2021. But surprisingly, he was initially unsure about accepting the Guinness World Records title.
“I said no because the definition of a bodybuilder is not clear,” he explains. “You’ve got competitive bodybuilders – on stage competing – but also people who perform the sport for a different reason, like me as a professional non-competitive for the film industry.”
So, in response, the team at Guinness World Records created two categories: tallest competitive bodybuilder, and tallest non-competitive/professional bodybuilder.
For professional bodybuilding, Richters says, “height is a terrible disadvantage. But imagine if you have a body that’s this tall, and you can create a bodybuilding look, how awesome that can look in movies. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
So far, it’s paying off. There is a lot of hype following his role in Reacher Season 3, with more high-profile roles likely on the horizon.
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health UK.
