In 1970, Fred Lau was measured at 5-foot-7 and 1/4 inches tall. Exactly. To get into the San Francisco Police Department, you had to be 5-foot-8.

The 21-year-old San Francisco State University student had dreamed of becoming a cop while growing up in Chinatown and had already passed the tough written exam, yet he was rejected outright. Like most other Chinese Americans of his generation, he didn’t measure up.

The competitive young man with a compact and powerful body took to hanging by his legs at the gym, strapped into stirrups and weighted down with a 50-pound barbell, hoping against hope to stretch himself into the police department. He reasoned that even after a night’s sleep, some people are a half to three-quarters of an inch taller, so maybe, just maybe…