A man reported to have the "world's smallest penis" has said it is causing him some real problems. While this does include some bizarre ways to get down and dirty, this is not the only issue he faces.
Michael Phillips, a 36-year-old man from North Carolina in the US, has been incredibly open about the fact his member is not the largest out there. However, trying to function as a human being with one of the smallest appendages in the world can be hard.
Now, he has opened up on how hard having a small penis actually makes his life. It comes as he admitted that he still struggles with his diagnosis, months after being given the news.
According to UniLad, Michael figured out rather quickly that he was "smaller than average" as a child, but put it down to puberty and potentially being a late bloomer. But after years of living with his problem in silence, he finally opted to get it looked at.
Last year, doctors diagnosed Michael, whose piece apparently measures a just under an inch whilst flacid, with a rare condition. He was officially told he had a micropenis, which in scientific terms measures shorter than three inches.
The Cleveland Clinic describes a micropenis as "an atypically small penis that's discovered in infancy or early childhood". However, since the diagnosis, Michael has admitted that he is struggling to live a normal life after being given the news.
As well as this, Michael revealed that he faces daily struggles that those whose members are larger or more normal-sized do not. Speaking to IGV, he said that conversations around it are incredibly "embarrassing", and tries to avoid it where he can.
"The biggest challenges I've faced [are] having a sexual relationship and still being a virgin and being able to talk about it openly because of how embarrassing of a topic it is," Michael explained. He added that because of the potential embarrassment or rejection he may have because of it, he has avoided dating or having anything romantic with a girl.
His problems were made worse when, as a teenager, one girl had seen his willy and laughed at him, giving him a complex about his reproductive organs. But now, Michael is determined to speak out about his diagnosis, as many may not now having a micropenis is an actual condition.
"I think the biggest misconception is that if a guy has a small penis, he just has a small penis, and not that there may be a medical thing going on," he explained. "More people need to be aware that there is a medical condition called micro penis."
It is believed that the condition is caused in pregnancy when the baby does not receive enough foetal testosterone, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The condition is rare, and affects an average of 1.5 people per 100,000 in the US.
Since going public with his diagnosis, Michael is looking to raise awareness of the condition, saying that he may even look at going into the world record books. It wasn't until joking about being a Guinness World Record holder that I realised I might actually have the world's smallest," he explained, "if I could go for it -- I would; I think it could bring more awareness."