Giraffe Woman Finally Takes Off Her Rings After Five Years Of Elongating Her Neck

This woman had coils around her neck for years in order to elongate it, and when she finally takes them off, the results are unbelievable. What did she look like? Why did she do this in the first place? Read on to see what these neck coils did to her body!

Why They Use It

Anthropologists have discovered several reasons why people wear these coils. One theory was that they made the women from this tribe seem less attractive, which served as their protection from slavery. On the other hand, another theory suggested that it was the opposite.

For Beauty

In some cultures, both men and women wear these neck coils. It’s more common for women in most cases, but sometimes you will find men doing it as well. These coils are seen as a symbol of beauty. After a while of wearing them your neck will appear to be longer, but it’s not because your neck actually stretched, but rather because your collarbone has been pushed down.

Beliefs

It is believed that these coils made them appear more attractive. In general, slender necks are deemed appealing and could be achieved with the help of these things. At any rate, this sort of body modification is special within the tribe.

The Dangers And Risks

It is not surprising to hear that people worry about the safety of such a practice. If you are not familiar with this, it probably looks dangerous. In reality, this is a safe practice as it does not really elongate the neck.

Cultural

Instead, they push down on the collar bone and compress the ribs. Over time, it can get risky. According to the Kayan women, they wear these necklaces because it is a part of their cultural identity.

Lifelong Goal

Sydney V. Smith is a 28-year-old girl who always dreamed of becoming a “giraffe woman.” For the past three years she has tried to extend her neck by wearing about 11 copper rings.

The Motivation

Sydney was always fascinated with body modification, specifically the tribal women of Thailand and Burma. ” “I’ve always had a long neck,” said Sydney. “In middle school, they called me ‘giraffe girl’. Then I saw pictures of the long-necked tribes in Thailand and Burma in National Geographic and I became fascinated with them.”

Experimenting

After seeing pictures of long-necked tribes in Thailand and Burma she decided to cut up coat hangers and wrap them around her neck when she went to sleep. While her parents found this to be completely ridiculous, she persisted. She really thought that this nighttime ritual would help elongate her neck.

 

Attachment

It was clear to Sydney that her neck was longer than other people, but not in a freaky way. She began to consider if she wanted to wear the rings and always be considered the “long neck girl.” After some time she realized she was actually attached to the rings.

 

Slow And Steady

Even though Sydney is not a member of the Kayan tribe, she chose to take on this challenge on her own. Sadly, it was tougher for her since she was already physically mature when she made the decision.

The Beginning

Sydney actually enjoyed the pressure on the top of her neck and shoulders. She was searching for comfort and exhilaration, and this was where to look. In 2011, she began wearing a tight-fitting copper necklace fit to her requirements.

Adjusting To The Rings

Her age meant that her body did not have more growing to do. She decided to go about this slowly and only added more rings as she got used to them. After some time, she already had 10 rings around her neck!

Shy Girl

Sydney was always rather shy about showing off her neck rings. When she was living in Maryland she even wore thick turtleneck sweaters to cover them up. She also worked in behind the scenes restaurant jobs, to avoid unwanted attention.

 

The Mastermind

Her rings are customized by a friend. They are also soldered around her neck but they do feature a special screw so that they can be taken apart in case of medical emergencies. But for her, they are permanently attached

 

The Risks

Through the process of putting the rings around her neck, Sydney says it was done safely, however she did manage to get burned a little. She also thinks her neck is around 10-11 inches long and she couldn’t be more grateful for the rings!

 

A Worldwide Sensation

You can tell that things are getting serious when you are featured in the comic books by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. If you are not familiar with the show, you should know that they feature the most unusual and bizarre stories out there.

In The Media

Her story made the cut for them! It did not take long before her story spread. What she decided to do was a very unique thing- not something people do very often if it’s not part of their culture- so it caught the media’s attention.

A Comic Book Character

Not a lot of people can say that they have a comic book character inspired by them. We are not sure if Sydney has a superpower, but we bet she could stand in for Elastigirl or Plastic Man if she really had to. At any rate, she definitely attracted a lot of attention!

Making Progress

This photo came with the caption “Progress.” You do not have to be a rocket scientist to see what she meant. The coils grew from the first few days, and there seemed to be changed to her physique already.

Too Heavy

In the end, the coils on her neck would get so heavy that Sydney would have no choice but to take them off. By then, she had 15 rings coiled around her neck. They weighed five pounds!

Not Worth It

We know it might not sound like a lot of weight, but the truth is that it will get tiring when you have it on 24/7. For some people, it would start to feel like torture.

Medical Issues

Dr. Jonathan Nissanoff an orthopedic surgeon from Southern California says that he doesn’t recommend anyone doing this because it can severely injure the nerves in the neck. He adds, that at her age is already done growing, thus she is just stretching her skin but her neck won’t stretch anymore.

 

Not Giving Up

Despite this, nothing was stopping Sydney. She considered adding the 12th ring even after hearing doctors’ concerns. She also wanted to make money from her appearance. “I’d like to work as a specialty model, but my original intent was not to exploit myself,” she said. “However, it seems to be my calling.

 

Health First

However, the coils would later take its toll on her body. She would have no choice but to take them off. Her health came first, and if these rings were not working out for Sydney, she wasn’t going to risk her health and her life just to experiment with the rings anymore.

They Dominated Her Life

During one of the more recent interviews she had, Sydney explained her reasons for taking the painful coils off of her neck: “I couldn’t function properly as a long neck woman with fifteen rings around my neck in the United States of America.”

Her Life Changed

We are sure that it was hard for her to keep these tight coils wrapped around her neck all the time! She must have began to notice the things that she previously took for granted.

All About The Rings

People could not help but feel intrigued in some way when they took a look at the accessories. However, she started to get tired of all the questions five years later. The rings made her feel isolated as well.

Where Did Sydney Go

“It was always about the rings, it wasn’t about Sydney anymore. I tried sticking my neck out to make it work but logic kicked in after a while.” We can’t imagine that this was a fun feeling.

Freedom At Last

Five years after she got them, she decided that it was high time for her to take them off. She realized that they were simply not worth the effort. The burden of the coils made her life difficult.

Not Practical

She tried to explain it this way: “Unless you are willing to completely isolate yourself and you’re a trust fund baby and don’t ever need to leave the house, don’t ever need to drive, then maybe you can pull it off.”

Still The Giraffe Woman

Even though she has since taken off the coils, she still considers herself to be the “Giraffe Woman.” She does not regret what she did in the past, even though they have changed her body in certain ways.

It Took A Toll

Sydney got severe bruising in the collarbone area, but this is not surprising since she did have them on for five years! With the toll it took on her body, she seems lucky that it was only bruising.

In A Lot Of Pain

She first said that her neck was “very weak, kind of like arms on a toothpick.” While this does not conjure the most pleasant images, it is important to hear the consequences of her actions.

Trying To Recover

Even though she suffered from bruises and stiffness, the doctors informed her that the recovery was going along quicker than they thought it would. It seems like she must have gotten really lucky in this situation!

Not The Only One

She was not the only person recently who did such drastic things to improve their looks and change their bodies. Keep reading to see people who decided to get extreme operations to look like their favorite celebs.

Romario Dos Santos Alves

The Incredible Hulk has been portrayed by a number of stars in the past, but our favorite person to take on this challenge would be Lou Ferrigno. Romario Dos Santos was willing to give it a shot, however. This Brazilian man wanted to look like the comic book character, so he grew his biceps to 25 inches with the use of painkillers, alcohol, and synthol.

Almost The Hulk

This was not a good idea and even damaged his health. He nearly had to amputate both arms and later attempted to end his life. They had to remove the synthol rocks he added to his arms. He has since sworn off drugs and now works hard to be a great bodybuilder.

Nadya Suleman

Nadya Suleman got famous even before she got plastic surgery. Best known as “Octomom”, she gave birth to a set of octuplets in January 2009. At one point, people started to point out the resemblance she had with Angelina Jolie. After hearing this, people believe that she decided to take it a step further by getting collagen injections and rhinoplasty.

Octomom

They said she got it to look more like the actress, but the post-surgery photos of her disproved this. She said, “I have never even thought of Angelina Jolie, except the last time I saw a movie. I think that was like years ago. This is so far away from the place I’m in right now, to think of any celebrity.”

Justin Jedlica

Justin Jedlica of New York spent almost a quarter of a million bucks to look like Ken. Yes, the doll! He had to undergo at least 190 procedures to achieve his goal. He did not do this to enjoy a successful modeling career. After all, he and his husband own a business in Chicago.

Real-Life Ken

Some of the procedures he got were calf implants, chest implants, rhinoplasty, gluteoplasty, thigh implants, lip augmentations, biceps implants, cheek augmentations, brow shaving, brow lifts, and shoulder implants. At the age of seventeen, he felt unhappy about his looks. This was the beginning of his plastic surgery obsession. He got his very first one only four days after he celebrated his eighteenth birthday.

Mikki Jay

It is not a secret that the late King of Pop got a bunch of plastic surgeries over the years. In fact, the attention that they drew nearly overshadowed his musical abilities. A British woman by the name of Mikki Jay is one of his biggest fans. She shelled out thousands of dollars for a chin implant, cheek implants, and rhinoplasty.

Michael Who?

He underwent all of these things to look like her idol! It is interesting to hear that she has the voice to go with her looks as well. In 1992, she started touring as one of the most famous Michael Jackson impersonators out there. She even performed for the music icon himself!

Crystal U

It is not surprising to hear that a lot of plastic surgery clients request the way Britney Spears looks. In the MTV program called I Want A Famous Face, an office worker called Crystal U always wanted to look like the pop star. She spent about $25k for a nose job, fat grafts, lip injections, and breast implants. She hoped that doing these things will help her achieve her dream of becoming a stripper or an Anaheim Angels Strike Force. We have no idea if she made either of these come true, however. We wish her the best of luck!

Claire Leeson

Claire Leeson got bullied when she was still in school. After going through two suicide attempts, she found peace by watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Her friends told her that she looked a lot like Kim Kardashian, so she spent over $30,000 to make this even truer.

Not Quite Kim

Debt collectors had been on her heels thanks to the climbing prices of plastic surgery. She decided to work as an impersonator and go on TV shows to help pay for the procedures. She recently admitted her regret about getting the procedures and even loathes the comparisons to the reality TV show star. Online attacks made things harder for her.

Toby Sheldon

Toby Sheldon is a German musician who decided to relocate to LA to go after his dreams of becoming a pop star. He wanted to be just like Justin Bieber, his idol. He was so obsessed with the Biebs that he spent over $100k to look just like him! He found some fame by appearing on TV shows like The Doctors, Botched, and My Strange Addiction. Sadly, they found his dead body when the 35-year-old consumed a cocktail of sleeping aids, Xanax, Valium, and alcohol. The last straw might be the fact that he just broke up with his boyfriend a few days before his tragic death.

Tiffany Taylor

Ivanka Trump had already been modeling for the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Sassoon Jeans, and Versace. On top of that, she also appeared in AskMen and Maxim Hot 100. An oil and gas consultant by the name of Tiffany Taylor probably thought that she would improve her self-esteem if she looked for like the first daughter. This is the reason she paid $60k for two nose jobs, an eyelift, a mini facelift, and two breast augmentations. Despite all of these, the Texan mother of three does not have any plans to stop just yet.

Donna Marie Trego

Donna Marie Trego has worked in clubs that featured acts like Boyzone and Angie Brown. She was in awe of Lady Gaga, she decided that it was time to change the course of her career. Even though she shelled out $60,000 for the plastic surgeries, this South Wales native paid even more money to recreate the classic Gaga outfits and hire dancers for live shows.

Donna Gaga

She has appeared in a number of events all over Europe like GlastonBudget, a huge tribute concert in the area. She finally got the chance to meet the Mother Monster herself in 2014. She was very impressed with the dedication of Donna Marie!

Nileen Namita

Nefertiti is easily one of the best-known queens that history has ever seen. This historical figure has been featured on various films and TV shows in the past. Nileen Namita had always believed that she was the reincarnation of the Egyptian queen.

Queen Nileen

She got counseling during her early twenties and decided to work on looking like Nefertiti as well. She has spent around $100k towards 51 procedures ever since 1987. She has undergone 5 eye surgeries, six mini facelifts, and eight nose jobs. She has received the approval of her three kids, so we bet she will get more surgeries sometime in the future.

Matt And Mike Schlepp

Michael and Matt Schlepp are twin brothers who went to North Canyon High School in Phoenix, Arizona. They were huge fans of Brad Pitt and appeared on the MTV show I Want A Famous Face where they got to try looking like doppelgangers of the actor. For $20k, the two of them got nose jobs and chin implants.

Pitt Twins

Michael also got jaw and cheek implants on top of those. Sadly, they did not get a lot of kind words since some people thought that the end result did not look anything like the star. An online poll revealed that they look more like Steven Cojocaru, who is most popular for working on Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood.

Kitty

Kitty was a native of Houston. She was totally enamored with Jennifer Lawrence! She gained some weight after the birth of her daughter, so she decided that she was going to go all-in to look like the Academy Award winner. She enlisted the help of Dr. Franklin Rose from the First Surgical Hospital and got liposuction, rhinoplasty, and breast augmentation. Nightline covered and featured the process! Even though she liked the end result a lot, it turns out that her husband Eric is not a big fan of the actress and did not really approve of the surgery she got. In the end, he respected her choice.

Jordan James Parke

Jordan James Parke was a normal guy who worked as a makeup artist. His life changed when he started to get hooked on Keeping Up With The Kardashians and feel obsessed with Kim K. He began to get various procedures to look more like her! Among other things, he got eyebrow tattooing, laser hair removal, and many lip-filling procedures. In his quest to be the male Kim K, he spent more than $150k! However, he does not intend to slow down just yet. While he gets a lot of long stares in person and lots of negative comments online, he chooses to use this as a motivation to be a better person.

Xiaoqing

Xiaoqing had been 21 years old when she decided to get plastic surgery to look like Jessica Alba. It was in 2010 that the Chinese woman begun her transformation by wearing a blonde wig over her dark hair after her boyfriend gave her the wig and told her to wear it often. The turning point for her was their breakup. She got the operations to look more like her in an attempt to win him back! It turned out that her ex had an obsession with the actress. He allegedly had photos of the actress on his walls and kept many pictures on his phone.

Jocelyn Wildenstein

Up next, we have another woman who drastically changed her appearance to please her man. Unlike the other entries on the list, Jocelyn Wildenstein did not want to look like a celebrity. No, this Swiss-born socialite wanted to look like a cat! It cost her millions of dollars to look like this. She wanted to keep Alec Wildenstein, her husband at the time, happy. As a fan of big jungle cats and owner of a private African reserve, she was under the impression that he would like her again if she looked more feline. Sadly, it was a failure because they still got a divorce.

Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson had a dream, and it was to look like soccer icon David Beckham. He shelled out $26k in government benefits to achieve his goal. He had to get tanning injections, teeth enhancement, cheek and chin fillings, and tanning injections.

Biggest Fan

Did he think that looking like the athlete would give him more luck with the ladies or improve his skills on the soccer field? We just do not know. At any rate, Jack Johnson did say, “I’m happy looking like David Beckham.” We are glad that it has worked out for him!

Carolyn Anderson

These two women might share a last name, but Carolyn Anderson still wanted to have something else in common with Pamela Anderson. The former spent $40k to look like the actress. Over the course of more than 14 years, she spent $40k for her Botox, breast implants, hair extensions, teeth whitening, teeth straightening, skin peels, fake tans, and beauty spot tattoos to look more like the celeb. She has boasted that she now feels “better than the original” after spending yet another $160k on a wardrobe that can rival that of the Baywatch star. We know that this is a lot of money, but it is all worth it.

Rodrigo Alves

Rodrigo Alves decided to go on a mission to obtain the perfect body and face. He has gotten more than 10 nose jobs, silicone chest implants, calf shaping, laser liposuction, eight-pack abdominal implants, eyeball plastic surgery, and even a butt lift. He has gotten so much plastic surgery performed that medical professionals have claimed that his body can no longer take more procedures. Alves said he feels “100% happy with his looks,” bust doctors have told him to get therapy for his body dysphoric disorder.

Sarah Burge

Sarah Burge lived through the terrifying ordeal of getting beaten up and then being left for dead. It is a good thing that she survived, although she ended up with an obsession with looking like a Barbie doll. She got addicted to getting various operations after the incident.

Human Barbie

More importantly, she has spent over half a million pounds in her quest to look like a living, breathing doll. This beautician and housewife has actually undergone more than a hundred procedures to achieve her dreams. Among others, she has undergone liposuction, facial laser procedures, and breast surgery. The last one involved getting her nipples taken out!

Valeria Lukyanova And Olga Oleynik

Valeria Lukyanova has long had a dream of looking the way that Barbie looks. She has a lot of pretty drastic measures to make this a reality. She has spent thousands of bucks just to do this. She is not alone on this journey. She and Olga Oleynik started their friendship online, and they share the same odd obsession. For these two, their makeovers served as the anchor of their relationship. The two Barbie lookalikes come from Odessa, Ukraine. With the help of their looks, they have succeeded in attracting clients for their spirituality lectures. Their business boomed when they became internet sensations!

Herbert Chavez

It’s a bird. It’s a plane… It’s a guy who spent thousands of bucks to look like the superhero! Herbert Chavez is a Filipino dressmaker who spent a decade transforming himself into Superman or Clark Kent. The cleft chin operation cost him thousands of dollars already. The story goes that he has been obsessed with the comic book character since the age of five. In fact, he even holds the world record for the biggest collection of Superman merch and memorabilia. Chavez said that he had already gotten 19 procedures but has no plans of stopping soon: “When my body says it cannot endure it anymore or when my doctor says that my body can not handle it because of age, then I will stop.” The only thing that will get in the way of his dreams would be his doctor telling him he is too old for more procedures.

Guerra

Guerra also goes by the alias Venus D’Lite. He is best known for starring on RuPaul’s Drag Race. This drag queen often impersonates pop legend Madonna, but he was not satisfied with simply wearing wigs and makeup to look like her. He decided to take it up a notch and spent $175k on surgeries! He has said that he is passionate about looking like the Queen of Pop. His fixation is now bordering addiction. He has gotten brow surgery, cheek implants, and a jaw filling. After 19 procedures, it has been a while since his face has been “touched for the very first time.”

Gavin Paslow

This is a 39-year-old security guard who has decided to impersonate a pretty strange figure: Satan! He spent thousands of bucks trying to look like the devil himself. He has gotten many procedures to give himself horns, fangs, a forked tongue, the works. The horns come with two Teflon implants on his forehead. He has also changed his name from Gavin Paslow to Diablo Delenfer, which means “devil from the inferno.” He also has 29 tattoos all over his body and wears green contact lenses. He likes to wear a frilly shirt and a long tail coat as well. Let us not forget about the procedure to get pointy ears. He has clarified that he is no Satanist, just addicted to body mods.