Giant Cabbie Stands Tall in Miami
Eight foot tall hack towers over the competition
By AMARA SOHN and BRIAN HAMACHER
Updated 8:09 AM EDT, Fri, Sep 18, 2009
The next time you step into a cab at Miami International Airport, expect a lot less leg room if Aurangzeb Khan is behind the wheel.
Khan, at eight feet tall, is the tallest man in America, but it's the big guy's big heart that's setting him apart among cabbies.
"People call me gentle giant, I love it," said the 400-pound, size 20 shoe -wearing Khan. "I feel very nice."
For the second time this year, Khan was named the Chauffer of the Quarter by the Miami-Dade County Consumer Services Department for his customer service.
He was given the honor thanks in part to an incident with an Australian tourist who left her purse behind in his cab. Not only did he drive to Homestead to return it, he refused any reward money from his grateful passenger.
"He did a great deed with this tourist, gave her a positive experience, a positive view of our county and chances are she'll come back," said Sonya Perez, with the Consumer Services Department.
Khan, who lives in Pembroke Pines with his wife and daughter, enjoys the idea of being a representative of South Florida and the country, and said his deed was just his way of trying to get more tourists into the U.S.
"This way they go back to their country and say good about us, so many people will come to America," Khan said.
Khan, 47, a native of Pakistan, has been a taxi driver for 19 years, and he says the 12-hour days behind the wheel are wearing him out.
And if his days behind the wheel are wearing him out, his tall stature is making him broke. Everything he wears must be custom made, from $95 pants to $900 super supportive shoes, not to mention always flying in first class, out of necessity.
Being tall is bleeding Khan dry.
"Very hard to sit in an economy class seat, they're small, I get stuck inside," Khan joked.
Before taxis, Khan worked in the circus, playing a giant king, but now this gentle giant is happy being king of the road, or at least the top cabbie in South Florida.
"I prove it, I am best!" Khan said.
First Published: Sep 17, 2009 7:10 AM EDT
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