December 13, 2023, 1:05 pm | Read time: 6 minutes
As a basketball player and model, Wiebke Schwartau benefits from a certain height–at 6 feet 5 inches, she is among the tallest women even in these circles. In the documentary “FITBOOK Everyday Athletes,” she emotionally shares the challenges and insults she faces daily. She also explains why she participated in the TV show “Germany’s Next Top Model” despite her reservations.
Looking at childhood photos, basketball player Wiebke Schwartau from Alba Berlin has mixed feelings. On one hand, she had a happy childhood thanks to her family; on the other, there are also sad feelings associated with it. “At that age, I always felt very different from everyone else. I was shy and incredibly tall. I could never really hide,” Wiebke describes the difficult situation. The 24-year-old is 6 feet 5 inches tall. This is naturally advantageous for her in basketball and modeling. “Being the tallest is great now, but it was difficult during my childhood.”
Watch the documentary FITBOOK Everyday Athletes with Wiebke Schwartau, Part 1
Watch the documentary FITBOOK Everyday Athletes with Wiebke Schwartau, Part 2
Overview
- “I was told my body was wrong and unattractive”
- “Basketball was the anchor point for my self-confidence”
- Wiebke Schwartau on “GNTM” and the lack of tall women on TV
- “No matter how tough my exterior is, it will always hurt me”
- Wiebke Schwartau: “Wants to help tall women feel more comfortable in their bodies”
“I was told my body was wrong and unattractive”
Her mother, Kristin Schwartau, recalls in the documentary FITBOOK Everyday Athletes that comments like “Oh God, how tall is she?!” were common. Even the pediatrician was insensitive, which Wiebke’s mother couldn’t understand: “Yes, she was tall. But that didn’t bother me that the child was tall. But the environment reacts very strangely to it.” And Wiebke adds: “For my doctors, the worst imaginable scenario was that I would become an adult woman about 6 feet 5 inches tall as a twelve-year-old girl.” One can imagine what it does to a young girl when even doctors convey that this is “wrong, undesirable, unattractive.” They even wanted to give her hormones to stop her growth.
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“Basketball was the anchor point for my self-confidence”
“As a child and teenager, I wasn’t a confident person, but basketball was always a safe place, a refuge, and a constant in my life through which I could develop my self-confidence, even though I didn’t feel confident in other situations in my life.” Today, Wiebke Schwartau says: “Basketball was the anchor point for all the self-confidence I developed in my adult life.”
Wiebke Schwartau finds it important to share these feelings with the world: “I believe there are certainly many tall women who lack this feeling and also such a constant as basketball.”
Wiebke Schwartau on “GNTM” and the lack of tall women on TV
During her time as a college basketball player in the U.S., Wiebke Schwartau also developed self-confidence on another level, as she shares in the documentary “FITBOOK Everyday Athletes”: “In the U.S., there is a different beauty ideal. My body type and height were much more celebrated there.” This encouraged her to resume modeling after initial less pleasant experiences in Germany. “That’s where it started again, where I felt comfortable in front of the camera, where I felt beautiful. But it was a long journey,” Schwartau says.
Back in Germany, she eventually tried different ways to find her place in the modeling world and finally made a big decision: to participate in Heidi Klum’s TV show “Germany’s Next Top Model.” Wiebke Schwartau happened to see that there was going to be a diversity season. The 24-year-old wanted to seize this opportunity: “I participated because I had never seen a very tall woman on TV–never! And I knew how hard it was for me to grow up, literally, in a world where that wasn’t considered beautiful. I wanted to be that person for others. Even if the format is questionable and I don’t actually support it, I needed the platform.”
In connection with GNTM, Wiebke Schwartau recalls her most intense modeling experience to date. On the Greek island of Mykonos, the contestants had to walk up and down a massive stone staircase in high heels, in strong winds. “Getting up and down there, in high heels, without falling and still looking good, with cameras pointed at you–that was the most nerve-wracking modeling experience I’ve had. But that’s the show. They live for the drama!” Schwartau recalls. Even though she was eliminated relatively early, she doesn’t regret the experience. She received many positive messages from other tall women who saw her and felt empowered by her.
Exclusive Insights into the Life of Basketball Player Wiebke Schwartau–Watch Part 2 of the Documentary Now!
New Documentary! Wiebke Schwartau–Between the Basketball Bundesliga and GNTM
“No matter how tough my exterior is, it will always hurt me”
Such gestures can have a significant impact, as tall women still feel marginalized or even insulted in everyday life. Although Wiebke Schwartau is much more confident today than in her youth, certain interactions in daily life continue to hurt her. “On the train, I get comments every day, especially when I wear high heels,” Schwartau says. She is called a “giraffe” by strangers, which she can still chuckle about: “That was my Halloween costume last year.”
But there are also terms below the belt, like “mannish woman.” “No matter how tough my exterior is, it will always hurt me.” Even well-intentioned remarks from other women, like “It must be incredibly hard for you to find a boyfriend,” miss their mark. And then there are the mostly anonymous fetish followers on social media who stalkingly beg for videos of big feet. Understandably, Wiebke Schwartau wants to raise awareness of this issue in public to bring about change.
Wiebke Schwartau: “Wants to help tall women feel more comfortable in their bodies”
Wiebke Schwartau is a go-getter–even when it comes to another “size problem”: “Every time I go shopping, I have unpleasant experiences because nothing fits the way I imagined,” says Wiebke Schwartau. This feeling can probably be understood by all women who deviate from the so-called “normal” clothing sizes. With her own collection for tall women in collaboration with the Berlin design store “GE 03,” she wants to counteract this negative experience.
“If I want to achieve anything in my life, it’s that tall women feel more comfortable in their bodies,” Wiebke Schwartau describes her heartfelt wish. Tall girls should be able to grow into tall women in a world where they can develop a positive body image. “And if I can witness or influence even a small part of their development, I’ve achieved everything!”