Most people remember the version of Andre the Giant from The Princess Bride or the massive, lumbering heel who faced Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania III. He was the "Eighth Wonder of the World," a man who looked like he had been carved out of a mountain and poured into a singlet. But if you only know that Andre—the one with the back problems and the cane—you’re missing the most fascinating part of his life.
Andre the Giant young was a completely different animal.
Imagine a guy nearly seven feet tall who could move like a middleweight. Before the acromegaly truly took its toll on his joints, Andre was a freakish athlete. He wasn't just big; he was fast. He was doing dropkicks and leaping off the ropes in small French gymnasiums and smoke-filled Japanese arenas.
The Kid Who Outgrew the School Bus
Andre René Roussimoff wasn't born a giant. He was a big baby, sure—around 13 pounds—but for the first few years, he was just a normal kid in the rural village of Molien, France. Then the pituitary gland decided to go into overdrive. By the time he was 12, Andre stood 6’3” and weighed over 200 pounds.
There's a famous story about this period that sounds like a tall tale, but it’s actually true.
The local school bus couldn't fit him. His father, Boris, had a friend who lived nearby—a writer you might have heard of named Samuel Beckett. Yes, the Nobel Prize-winning playwright of Waiting for Godot. Beckett had a pickup truck, and because Andre couldn't fit on the bus, Beckett would drive the young giant to school in the back of his truck.
What did a future wrestling legend and a giant of literature talk about on those rides? Mostly cricket. Apparently, they didn't have much else in common, but they both liked the sport.
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Life on the Farm and the Paris Escape
By 14, Andre realized school wasn't for him. He was already stronger than most grown men in the village. He quit his studies and went to work on the family farm. His brother Jacques later recalled that Andre could do the work of three men. He’d pick up the back of a car to help a neighbor change a tire like it was a toy.
But a life of baling hay and tending cattle in a tiny French town wasn't enough for a guy who was literally outgrowing his environment.
At 18, he moved to Paris. He worked as a furniture mover by day—imagine him carrying a piano by himself—and started training at a wrestling gym at night. This is where the legend of Andre the Giant young really starts to take shape. A promoter named Robert Lageat saw him and immediately knew he’d found a gold mine.
The "Jean Ferré" Era: A Different Kind of Wrestler
In those early days in the mid-1960s, Andre didn't go by "Andre the Giant." He was "Géant Ferré," named after a legendary French folk hero.
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If you look up grainy footage of Andre from 1966 or 1968, it’s jarring. He’s lean. He has a full head of curly hair. And he is incredibly mobile. He wasn't just standing in the corner waiting to be punched; he was hitting gutbusters and even the occasional flying head-scissors.
He started touring the world. Africa, Germany, Australia, the UK—everyone wanted to see the French Giant. By the time he hit Japan in 1970 (wrestling as "Monster Roussimoff"), he was a legitimate international star. It was actually in Japan that a doctor finally gave him the diagnosis he’d been living with: acromegaly. They told him his heart wouldn't be able to support his frame forever. They predicted he wouldn't live past 40.
Andre’s response? He kept wrestling. He kept traveling. He started drinking legendary amounts of alcohol, partly because of his size and partly, many believe, to numb the growing pain in his bones.
The Myth of the 7'4" Height
Let’s get real about the numbers. The WWE loves to say Andre was 7’4”. In his youth, he was likely a legitimate 7’0” or maybe 7’1”. As he got older, the weight and the acromegaly compressed his spine, and he actually began to shrink. By the time he did the Hogan match in '87, he was probably closer to 6’10”, though his massive bulk made him look even more imposing than a taller, thinner man.
How to Appreciate the Young Andre Legacy
If you want to truly understand why Andre was such a big deal, don't just watch his WWF matches from the late 80s. Seek out the early stuff.
- Watch the 1960s matches: Look for "Jean Ferré" or "Monster Roussimoff" on YouTube. The speed will shock you.
- Read "Andre the Giant: Life and Legend": Box Brown’s graphic novel is meticulously researched and captures the loneliness of being that big.
- The Samuel Beckett Connection: Think about that car ride whenever you feel like life is too weird to be true.
The tragedy of Andre the Giant young is that his greatest gift—his size—was also the thing that was slowly killing him. He knew he was on borrowed time, which is probably why he lived so large, spent so much money on friends, and never turned down a chance to entertain a crowd. He wasn't just a "giant wrestler." He was a kid from a farm who became a global icon because he refused to let his condition keep him stationary.
Actionable Insights for Fans
To get the most out of Andre's history, start by separating the "Attraction" from the "Athlete." The attraction was what Vince McMahon Sr. sold to the world—an immovable object. The athlete was what existed in those early French and Japanese rings. If you're a student of wrestling history, studying Andre’s transition from a high-flyer to a "mountain" is the best way to understand how the business changed in the 70s and 80s.
Next time you see a clip of him, look at his eyes. Even when he was young and fast, there was a certain weight there. He knew he was different, and he made the world look at him on his own terms.