Champion eater Joey Chestnut talks to CNN about his superstar showdown against Takeru Kobayashi

(CNN) — Being the world’s most prodigious eater wasn’t quite the life or the career that Joey Chestnut had planned for himself when he was studying engineering and construction management at San Jose University, but a lobster-eating contest changed everything.

He already had a reputation for being the fastest around his family-of-eight dinner table and in his college dorms too, but he told CNN Sport that it was a different story when a competitive element was introduced.

“I was actually hesitant,” he recalled during an interview to promote his latest challenge, “because I didn’t want to eat fast in front of people. But as soon as I did the first contest, I fell in love with it. And I was like: ‘Oh my God, not only do I eat fast, but they’re encouraging me to keep going.’ It was crazy!”

A career change was made and, soon, a star would be born.

According to Major League Eating – yes, there really is such an organization – Chestnut holds 56 records. From deep fried asparagus spears (12.9 pounds) to glazed donuts (55) and virtually everything in-between, nobody can match the gargantuan quantities of food that he can devour at warp speed.

But he’s most famous for his dominance at the annual July 4th Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York, where in 2021 he set a record of 76 hot dogs in just 10 minutes. He also fondly ranks the 28 pounds of poutine and the 390 shrimp wontons he consumed among his proudest accomplishments and explains that none of it would be possible unless he ate like it was a sport and worshipped his body like a temple of gluttonous consumption.

“I can see how some people don’t call it a sport,” he said, but considering “the amount of time and work I put into it, it’s a sport to me. It’s a different athleticism.”

Anyone who’s witnessed him mashing fistfuls of food into his face can attest to how he acquired the nickname ‘Jaws’ and he almost revels in the inelegance of it all, comparing himself to the NBA legend Larry Bird.

“He grinds, he put his body on the line, he wasn’t necessarily graceful like other basketball players. I’ll grind, I’ll find a way and I’m going to muscle it down, even if it’s not pretty.”

Chestnut says he has modeled his training regimen on a would-be marathon runner, who clocks a certain distance at a certain speed, before pushing to go further and faster. He videotapes his practices and analyzes them to identify ways of eating faster and after competition – in the recovery period when he feels like a zombie “drunk on food” and reeking of whatever it is that he’s just inhaled – he resists the urge to purge it.

“You can tell who does that because they never get any better,” he cautions. “You have to build a tolerance, you’re not gonna get any better if you don’t digest it.”

A rivalry for the ages

Chestnut first competed at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2005, but it was two years later when he really burst onto the scene, downing 66 hot dogs and dethroning the six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi from Japan; a rivalry had been born.

Kobayashi unsuccessfully tried to win his Mustard Belt back from Chestnut in 2008 and 2009, after which a contractual dispute meant that Kobayashi was no longer able to compete at Coney Island. Chestnut won the event 16 times until a purported contractual dispute also kept him away in 2024.

Now though, Chestnut is going up against Kobayashi again for the first time in 15 years, as Netflix brings them together for ‘Chestnut vs Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef’ on Labor Day.

“I get goosebumps every time we go against each other,” Chestnut enthused. “I don’t know what he’s capable of, so I’m training with everything I have. I can guarantee we’re gonna get a new record, if not one of us, then maybe both of us!”

Despite being arguably the two most famous eaters in the world, it doesn’t sound like they have much of a relationship, partly because Chestnut says he wasn’t nice to Kobayashi after the contractual issues in 2010.

“I tried to say, ‘Hello,’ this morning and he kind of looked past me, which is alright, we’re competitors,” he explained. “When we do this contest, we’re gonna be pushing each other to uncomfortable limits, and if I really liked him, I wouldn’t want to push him, but I’m hoping afterwards I’ll give him a big sweaty hug.”

Competitive eating is most popular in the United States, also in countries including Canada, Germany and Japan, but health experts have criticized it, and China banned it in 2021.

Training to expand stomach capacity is particularly frowned upon and medical experts say that consequences of such a lifestyle could be gastric ruptures, seizures caused by low sodium levels and the development of eating disorders. Numerous people have died from choking, and in 2014, American competitive eater Patrick Bertoletti said that he was “trading on an eating disorder for money.”

Earlier this year, Kobayashi admitted that he’d completely lost his appetite, and he could go several days without even realizing that he hadn’t eaten. Discussing Kobayashi’s situation, Chestnut expressed concern.

“It kinda worried me,” he said. “One of my biggest splurges is a concierge doctor. It took me a while to find the right doctor, but he’s very happy with the way everything’s working. Every kind of athlete has to look at the risks, and whether you’re a football or tennis player or marathon runner, there’s gonna be some long-term risks.”

Having recently turned 40, Chestnut says that he’s starting to limit his competitions and is trying to avoid weight fluctuations of 30 to 40 pounds: “I have to make sure I stay away from any sugars, any kind of real starches, otherwise the weight really stays on. I’m putting a little bit more work into staying healthy so that I can keep doing what I love. I still love to eat.”

While by no means a picky eater, Chestnut does have limits. He once turned down a sponsor who wanted him to consume a mound of butter in a ‘gross out’ contest and says he’d think twice about crab cakes on a hot day; he did that once and says that everyone was sick afterwards.

Though Chestnut is clear in that the better the food, the easier it is to tuck away. “So long as they make it taste good, I’ll eat pretty much anything.” When asked if he could really taste the food when he was ramming it into his mouth at high speed, he recoiled in surprise: “Dude, are you serious?”

“That’s like, can a race car driver tell if they’re on a bad road? Yeah, if there’s a bump on a bad road, it’s gonna hit harder. If there’s a flavor I don’t like, oh my God, it hits me harder, and I have to eat it again and again. [But] when the food is prepared good, there’s no flavor fatigue and I’m in my happy place. I’m a fat boy having fun.”

No matter what anyone thinks of his career, Chestnut says that he wouldn’t do anything differently. “Food brings everybody together,” he explains, “and everybody’s happy.”

And one day, when he’s no longer eating competitively, how would he like to be remembered? He pauses for a moment and says: “Joey Chestnut is a happy guy that didn’t say no very often!”

The-CNN-Wire
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