Hussain Bisad

Lore & Background

Hussain Bisad was born in 1975 in Burao, the capital of the Togdheer region in Somaliland. He hails from the Issa Musa sub-division of the Habr Awal Isaaq clan. He fled the Somali Republic after being shot by government forces during the Somalis rebellion, and was granted asylum in Britain, where he now lives.

Doctors believe Bisad has a condition called pituitary giantism, which causes growth to continue after most people stop developing. Expert Professor Mike Besser from Bart's Hospital, Central London, stated that Bisad probably has a tumour in the pituitary gland behind his eyes. His hands measure 10.59 inches (26.9 cm) long, and he weighs 210 kg (460 lb).

In 2015, he married Yasmin Hasan Muhumed at a wedding ceremony in Hargeisa, attended by Somaliland officials such as Mohamed Kahin Ahmed, as well as the shortest living man in Somaliland. Due to severe health complications requiring dialysis multiple times a day, he moved into a care home in Brent. He has since received a kidney transplant and is recovering well.

Reader's Guide

Hussain Bisad's significance lies in his extreme stature, making him one of the tallest people ever recorded and the tallest known person in the United Kingdom. His case provides a living example of pituitary giantism, a rare condition caused by a tumour in the pituitary gland that leads to excessive growth hormone production. His record for the largest hands of any living person, later surpassed by Sultan Kosen, further highlights the physical extremes associated with his condition. Bisad's life also reflects a personal history of conflict and displacement: he fled the Somali Republic after being shot by government forces during the Somalis rebellion and was granted asylum in Britain. His later health struggles, including kidney failure requiring dialysis and a subsequent transplant, underscore the medical challenges often faced by individuals with giantism. His wedding in Hargeisa, attended by Somaliland officials and the shortest living man in Somaliland, illustrates his continued ties to his homeland. Bisad's legacy is thus a blend of medical curiosity, personal resilience, and a unique place in the annals of human height records.

Did You Know?

• Hussain Bisad is the tallest known person in the UK, standing at 2.32 m (7 ft 7+1⁄2 in).
• He held the record for the largest hands of anyone alive until Sultan Kosen took the record; his hands are 10.59 inches (26.9 cm) long.
• In 2015, he married Yasmin Hasan Muhumed in Hargeisa, with the shortest living man in Somaliland in attendance.

Physical Stature & Medical Mystery

Hussain Bisad stands at 2.32 metres (7 ft 7½ in), making him the tallest known individual in the United Kingdom and one of the tallest people on the planet. His frame carries a weight of 210 kg (460 lb), and his hands measure 10.59 inches (26.9 cm) in length—a dimension that earned him the record for the largest hands of any living person until Sultan Kosen surpassed it. Medical professionals attribute his extraordinary size to pituitary giantism, a rare condition in which growth continues well beyond the age at which most people stop developing. Professor Mike Besser, a specialist in abnormal growth at Bart's Hospital in central London, assessed Bisad and concluded that he most likely harbours a tumour in the pituitary gland, the small structure situated behind the eyes that regulates hormonal growth signals. This diagnosis explains how a man born in 1975 kept growing to a height that places him in the most extreme statistical category of human physiology.

Roots in Somaliland & the Road to Britain

Hussain Mahamed Ahmed—known by his family name Bisad—was born in 1975 in Burao, the capital city of the Togdheer region in Somaliland. He belongs to the Issa Musa sub-division of the Habr Awal Isaaq clan, a lineage that anchors his identity within the broader Somali cultural landscape. His path to the United Kingdom was not one of choice but of survival. During the Somali rebellion, government forces of the Somali Republic opened fire on him, and he was shot. That violent encounter forced him to flee his homeland. Eventually he found refuge in Britain, where he was granted asylum and has made his life ever since. The journey from a small town in the Horn of Africa to the streets of London represents both a personal odyssey and a microcosm of the displacement that has defined Somali history for decades.

Marriage & Community Ties

In 2015, Hussain Bisad married Yasmin Hasan Muhumed in a ceremony held in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. The wedding drew a notable gathering of local dignitaries, including Somaliland official Mohamed Kahin Ahmed, and in a touching symbolic gesture, the shortest living man in Somaliland was also present at the celebration. The event connected Bisad to the community that shaped his early years, even though his daily life is now rooted in Britain. His full Somali name, Xuseen Maxamed Axmed (Xuseen Bisad), reflects the naming conventions of his Issa Musa heritage, while his English-language identity as Hussain Bisad has become the name through which the wider world recognises him. The marriage marked a significant personal milestone, grounding his extraordinary physical story within the ordinary rhythms of family and love.

Health Battles & Resilience

Living with a body that grows far beyond normal parameters carries profound medical consequences. Bisad's condition brought severe health complications that at one point required him to undergo dialysis multiple times each day—a grueling regimen that fundamentally altered his daily existence. The physical toll was so demanding that he moved into a care home in the London borough of Brent, where he could receive the round-the-clock medical support his body needed. The turning point came when he received a kidney transplant, a major surgical intervention that offered him a path back toward stability. Since the procedure, he has been recovering well, a testament to both modern medicine and his own endurance. His story illustrates how the very condition that made him a record-holder also subjected him to a relentless cycle of treatment, hospitalisation, and adaptation that few people outside the medical world can fully appreciate.

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