The 27-year-old Vovkovinskiy is originally from Ukraine but moved to Minnesota with his mother when he was 7 years old for treatment at the Mayo Clinic for a pituitary disease that spurred his rapid growth.
Vovkovinskiy now attends the Minnesota School of Business and is pursuing a degree in paralegal studies.
Guinness says the world's tallest man is Turkey's Sultan Kosen. He measures in at 8 feet, 1 inch tall.