Cleveland Heights, Cleveland's New Club for Tall People, Announces First Meetup

Update: Cleveland Heights, the Forest City's new club for tall people, has announced that its first meeting will take place at Around the Corner this week.

On Friday, March 27 from 8 - 10 p.m., folks of all statures are invited to the Lakewood watering hole for food, drinks, an Indians home opener ticket raffle, and conversation with tall people and even taller people.

Club founder Tim Gruscinski also told Scene that a big announcement will be made at the meeting (sorry, we won't release any spoilers ahead of time).

More details can be found on the meetup Facebook page or upon request from the cleheights.com.

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Originally posted on Feb. 9, 2015 at 3:18 p.m.

Clevelander Tim Gruscinski is really stinkin' tall. 6'8," to be exact. 

"It's not every day that I come across someone who I literally see eye to eye with," he told Scene recently via e-mail. "But when I do, I feel it's a very immediate bonding because we're used to hearing the same comments and dealing with the same daily struggles."

There was one night last year, Gruscinski said, when he was at a bar on W. 25th and noticed a handful of tall men and women standing by the bar. "[I] immediately thought 'hey, wouldn't it be cool if this whole bar was filled with people my height?'"

Enter, Cleveland Heights— a social club just for tall people, founded by Gruscinski, his brother Kevin, and a mutual friend, Shawn Sedlak.

The general gist of the group is this: A bunch of tall people get together every month at an area bar to discuss topics relevant to a tall person's lifestyle; where to buy clothes that fit, for example, or how to deal with frequently hitting your head on a low-hanging light fixture.  

"After discussing with friends and family, we have decided it would also make sense to use our social functions as fundraisers for local charities and families in need, because why not!" Gruscinski said.

Right now, Gruscinski said, the club's in a fairly early stage of development and just trying to gauge general interest.

"We made a quick website temporarily until we finish developing the full site, and so far almost 40 people have signed up in the few days the website has been live," he said.

Cleveland Heights isn't the first or only tall people's club in Cleveland, believe it or not. The Skyscraper Club of Cleveland, which is part of Tall Clubs International, has been active in Cleveland since the 1940s, though it has list of requirements as well as monetary dues for enrollment. 

"Cleveland Heights is entirely a non-profit social club. We will never ask for money from someone to receive or retain membership, nor will we turn anyone away from joining," Gruscinski said. "There is also no height requirement, because we don't look down on anyone."

Interested? Visit cleheights.com for more information.

The first gathering is slated to take place this spring.