At 2.58 meters (8 feet 5 inches) tall, Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk is now officially the tallest man in the world. Fame has had its downsides, but it is also opening up the world to a man usually confined to a small village.

Leonid Stadnyk doesn't have a driver's license yet, but he finally does have a car his unique frame can fit into. Just a few days ago, Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko personally handed over to the 2.58-meter-tall (8-foot-5-inch) man the keys to a blue minivan specially manufactured by the ZAZ automobile company. And, since the tallest man in the world doesn't have a driver's license, Yushchenko took the wheel and gave Stadnyk -- somewhat crammed into the passenger seat -- a sight-seeing drive of his official residence.

The giant had asked the head of the country for help because he couldn't find a car he could fit into anywhere. Even if it does sound like the happy ending to a fairy tale, it does provide some small relief to Stadnyk's life, which he leads with his mother and sister in a small village in central Ukraine.

Life for a 37-year-old of his size has quite a few inconveniences. Everyday items are too small for him to use, and doors and furniture are too low for him. He sleeps in two beds, one set in front of the other. He constantly has to stoop. His 200-kilogram (441-pound) frame hurts his joints. Frequent knee pains force him to use crutches. Stadnyk had to abandon his profession as a veterinarian after his feet became frostbitten. Not being able to find shoes large enough to fit his 43-centimeter (17-inch) feet, he had decided to run to work in the snow with only socks on. At home now, Stadnyk takes care of his family's garden and its horse, pigs, chickens and three cows.

Ever since Stadnyk had a brain operation when he was in his early teens, his body has increased the amount of growth hormones it produces. That's why Stadnyk keeps getting taller and taller -- almost a centimeter every year. For a long time, no one was sure exactly how tall Stadnyk was because he refused to be measured. This is the first year that the Guinness Book of World Records lists him as the tallest man in the world. He passed up the previous titleholder, China's Bao Xishun, who -- at 2.35 meters (7 feet 8 inches) -- is significantly shorter.

Stadnyk doesn't really enjoy his celebrity. Despite his imposing appearance, he is actually a shy man. He avoids crowds. "I don't like to attract attention because of my size," he says.

His fame has its good parts, though, too. People from all over the world have sent him oversized clothes to wear. Cash donations have made it possible for him to finally get his mother's house hooked up to the public water supply and to repair the power supply to their village. Stadnyk has even received a bicycle and exercise equipment that fits him as gifts. Add to that a cell phone, a satellite dish and a computer with Internet access, which the Goliath has used to make friends all over the world.

The car Stadnyk just got will make him more mobile, too. In his home village of Podolyantsi, there are no schools, no stores and no churches. And although the nearest provincial town is only three kilometers (1.9 miles) away, until now it was practically unreachable for Stadnyk. "I'll finally be able to travel more," he says with a smile, although he has already been to Germany, after a distant relative invited him to visit a few years ago. There, Stadnyk tasted frog legs and saw a roller coaster in an amusement park for the first time in his life. These kinds of experiences could now be a lot more frequent.

Now Stadnyk is looking for a driver, and the inhabitants of Podolyantsi have pooled donations to pay for his gas. "I've always dreamed about my life and that of my loved ones being more bearable," Stadnyk says.

And now the largest man in the world can dream about something else: a companion. That was also the case for his Chinese predecessor, Bao Xishun, who got married just a year ago. "I believe the future holds a lot for me," says Stadnyk, full of optimism.