Some people look at a plate of hot wings or hamburgers and look forward to relishing every bite. Others see it and imagine how to stuff as much of it down their throats as quickly as possible. Therein lies the difference between the average eater and competitive eaters, those who’ve made eating a sport and actually train themselves toward gluttony—guzzling water by the gallon, stretching their stomachs with low-calorie foods like cabbage, fasting, doing cardio for stamina, and having mini–gorge sessions before competition.
You’d think these events would attract a certain type of person, but a look at the International Federation of Competitive Eating’s (IFOCE’s) profiles of the most successful eaters in the field shows that they come in every size and from all walks of life. And oddly enough, the fact that they inhale every food imaginable at gag-inducing speeds isn’t always the most interesting part of their stories.
1. Bob Shoudt
Also known as the “Notorious B.O.B.” and “Humble Bob,” he’s eaten ninety-five hamburgers in eight minutes, 34.75 barbecue beef brisket sandwiches in ten minutes, and 23.4 pounds of salmon chowder in various competitions. But outside of contests, he eats like the rest of his family—that is to say, vegetarian. The only time Shoudt consumes meat is for events that offer prize money; the rest of his family is vegetarian 100 percent of the time. He claims his kids have never tasted meat. Considering how much Shoudt consumes at each event, it probably adds up to more than the average carnivore would eat in his lifetime, which is why he hesitated to call himself a vegetarian in a 2009 interview with the Houston Chronicle. But he has the blessing of his wife, just as long as it’s for competitive reasons only. That’s a pretty ingenious way to stay carnivorous in a house full of veggies. After all, eating 13.9 pounds of chili spaghetti is sure to quench a meat craving for at least a little while.
2. Timothy Janus
When competing, Janus, the current tiramisu-eating world champion, goes by the name “Eater X” and wears a mask for reasons unknown—to hide his shame? To add an air of mystique to his image while he hoovers 141 pieces of nigiri sushi in six minutes? It’s anyone’s guess. This masked eater has trained so much for events that his stomach muscles no longer contract on their own, at least according to a 2007 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study on the effects of competitive eating. Janus was able to eat thirty-six hot dogs in ten minutes before doctors stopped him—he wasn’t full yet. They found that the hot dogs were sitting in his stomach like rocks, when the muscles should have been contracting the food toward digestion. Perhaps the mask shields Janus’s pained face because he hasn’t had a proper bowel movement since he entered the field.
3. Sonya Thomas
She’s one of only two women in the IFOCE’s top forty ranked eaters, but at number five, she’s one of the most well-known and respected members, regardless of gender. Otherwise known as the “Black Widow,” this petite sensation (she weighs in at 105 pounds) earned her nickname by taking down men at least twice her size in competition. Some believe her small frame actually works to her advantage—the “belt of bat” theory in competitive eating suggests that stomachs can expand more if they don’t have much fat blocking the way. Given that Thomas has downed forty-eight soft tacos in eleven minutes, eleven pounds of cheesecake in nine minutes, and a nearly eight-pound turducken in just over ten minutes, there might be something to that theory.
4. Hall Hunt
Hall “Hoover” Hunt has actually found a use for his civil-engineering degree and MENSA-qualifying intellect in the world of competitive eating. According to the IFOCE’s Web site, he takes an “academic approach” to every event. He analyzes the weight of food and tries to pair whatever he’s eating with whatever beverage will help it go down fastest. And according to his blog, which features the Bible quote “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God,” he brings a spiritual approach to every event, too. Together, intelligence and glory have helped him claim the record at the Colusa Casino World Tri-Tip Eating Challenge in 2009—four pounds, eleven ounces in twelve minutes.
5. Joey Chestnut
The IFOCE currently ranks Chestnut as the number one competitive eater in the industry. After being named Rookie of the Year in 2005, he took the infamous Takeru Kobayashi’s Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Championship title away from him … twice. To prep for what’s arguably the most famous eating competition, which started in 1916, Chestnut eats nothing for one to two days, then eats as many hot dogs as possible. He repeats this process for months before July 4, when in 2009 he ate sixty-eight hot dogs with buns in ten minutes. But hot dogs aren’t his only claim to fame. At twenty-five, Chestnut’s already won four asparagus-eating contests. I guess a lifetime of funky-smelling pee is a small price to pay for glory.
6. Pete Davekos
“Pretty Boy” Davekos has a unique, if not slightly unbelievable, story about his first big eating win. When he was in college, he’d spend summers in various restaurants around town, trying to garner interest from girls with his hefty appetite. One particular girl he set his sights on was dating a restaurant bartender, who decided to settle the romantic triangle with an eating contest. Davekos trumped the bartender and got the girl, Mia, who later became his wife. The IFOCE says this was the moment Davekos knew that eating was his key to prosperity, which he proved again when he ate seven and a half pounds of “garlicky greens” in five minutes in late 2009. It’s a good thing he’d already married Mia by that time—the sheer force of that garlic breath wouldn’t win just any girl’s heart.
7. Eric Booker
Looking at four-hundred-pound Booker, you might surmise that he can put away a great deal of food, including four pounds of corned beef hash in less than two minutes. But you probably wouldn’t guess that he practices judo. You might be surprised that he was on an episode of Wife Swap. And you definitely wouldn’t know that he’s made no less than four rap albums—Hungry and Focused, I–IV—inspired by the sport. “I’m like Lance Armstrong when he mounts a bike,” he raps. “I’m no joke with a fork and a knife.” And somehow he accomplishes all this while working full-time as a subway conductor in New York. Here’s a man whose appetite for accomplishment is as big as his appetite for food.
Thanks to stations like ESPN, which now cover competitions like the Nathan’s one, what might’ve started in our caveman days (according to the IFOCE) has now become an international sport. Today’s eaters compete for everything from money to titles to nothing but the joy of knowing they’re the best at what they do. The IFOCE turned competitive eating into a bona fide industry in 1997, setting rules for what liquids are okay to use and even for how much vomit disqualifies a competitor. (Ew.) And lest you’re aghast at the sheer volume of waste such events must generate, here’s some food for thought: many of them raise money for charity in the process. It’s nice to know that some good can come from shoveling in mass quantities of oysters or tamales.