Competitive eater spills his guts
Associated Press
Joey Chestnut was kind enough to participate in our football picks last week (and smoked us all, as posted by Keith), and this week we're running an interview with the champion eater, who consumed 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes, defeating six-time world champion Takeru Kobayashi at this year's July 4th contest. This Sunday at 1 p.m., you can catch Chestnut (6-1, 225) at the State Fair's Chevrolet Main Stage, where he'll defend his world waffle-eating title, which he's held for three years.
Here's what Chestnut had to say about his life as a competitive eater:
Q. How did you get into the sport?
A. About three years ago, I was in a burrito eating contest. I beat everyone easily, and I didn’t follow competitive eating, my little brother did, and he signed me up for my first big contest. It was a lobster-eating contest. I ended up getting third. During the contest I was actually a little weirded out, eating in front of people, but I wasn’t full at all and I knew I could do a lot better. The next contest I had friends and family members cheering me on, and that made me comfortable.
Q: How do you train?
Depends on what I’m eating. Like the hot dog contest, I trained once a week for a little over three months. Before my practice contest, I’d stop eating solid food for three days, go into practice completely empty. I’d do a 12-minute practice, then continue eating to my limit and push my limit. I make my body digest the food and make my body get stronger. I try to make my body used to the food and feel comfortable digesting that food.
Q. Do you have different techniques for different foods?
My main technique is just get into a rhythm. I have to find the fastest way to get the food inside of me. For some I have to drink more water, some no water at all. It’s also getting the breathing thing right after swallowing, too.
Q: Is it important to be in good shape to do this?
The biggest thing is you have to be healthy. We’re pushing our bodies really hard for 10 to 12 minutes, and we’re using muscles people don’t normally use, like the muscles in our throat.
Q. What’s your favorite food to eat when you’re not competing? Something my mom cooks. I love her pasta or her chicken parmesan.
Q. Is there a food you eat in competitions that you really hate?
One time I did a jalapeño eating contest. I thought, how hard could it be, it’s only a five-minute contest. It was the spice. It was definitely the heat. I didn’t do shoo-fly pie — it’s like a molasses pie. I stay away from a lot of the really sweet contests.
Q. Can you eat the foods you compete with on a normal basis, or are you sick of them?
No, I love to eat them. I have an endless supply of Nathan’s hot dogs. I love going to Waffle House. I think that’s the big part of being a competitive eater — loving to eat.
Q. Are there competitive eating groupies?
I wouldn’t call them groupies, more like fans. A lot of people at contests will come up to me and ask, ‘How did you eat 47 grilled cheese sandwiches?’ They know my stats. My parents — they’re listed in the phone book, and they get mail asking them for autographs.
Q. What record are you most proud of?
Definitely hot dogs. There were so many people supporting me. I’d get e-mails saying ‘You have to take the title back for America.’ People in the military were saying, ‘We watched you overseas.’ I was proud and happy. As weird as it is, we’re not hurting anybody. We’re having fun. I’m happy I’ve found a way to get paid to eat.
Q. Now that you’ve set the hot dog record, what are your goals?
That was my goal for like two years. I haven’t set a new one yet. I’m hoping something will come up or a challenger will start beating me so I can try to beat them.
